So I've just worked with the head of the languages department, Dr.Baldridge, for an hour on translating a French set for my recital this coming October. All I have to say is WOW, I LOVE FRENCH POETRY!!! Between his help and Mme Roussel, I am getting such a better understanding of these poems.
The set is by Philip Cannon, a current Franco-British composer who is not very well known, unfortunately. He has taken 5 poems and created a set called Cinq Chanson de Femmes, set for a soprano/ lyric mezzo with harp accompaniment. The music is absolutely gorgeous! The text I've always thought pretty, but today I realized that I'm just beginning to discover the depth of their beauty. Several of them are from 13th century. Three of the poems have unknown authors, but the other two poets are Christine de Pisan and Olivier Basselin. The pieces came with "translations" for when they are sung in English, but they are not accurate in the French text in general or what the text emotes. Thus far I have loved translating the poems by Pasin and Basselin.
As an artist I feel that it is SO important to know word for word what you are saying, the flow of the language, and understand the deeper meaning of the poetry itself. I spent an hour on 3 of these poems today and I still feel that I have so much more to discover about them. It is my duty and responsibility as an artist to give justice to not only the composer, but also the poet when I perform these beautiful pieces. The amount of time, energy, and soul that these artists have poured into their work should not be shrugged off by the performer. I hope that as artists, we all can dig in and enjoy time spent on discovering the depth of our art. As Joyce DiDonato kindly reminded me/my colleagues last week, "Why are you doing this?" Why are we musicians, actors, and poets? What are we trying to convey? What message needs to be heard?
The set is by Philip Cannon, a current Franco-British composer who is not very well known, unfortunately. He has taken 5 poems and created a set called Cinq Chanson de Femmes, set for a soprano/ lyric mezzo with harp accompaniment. The music is absolutely gorgeous! The text I've always thought pretty, but today I realized that I'm just beginning to discover the depth of their beauty. Several of them are from 13th century. Three of the poems have unknown authors, but the other two poets are Christine de Pisan and Olivier Basselin. The pieces came with "translations" for when they are sung in English, but they are not accurate in the French text in general or what the text emotes. Thus far I have loved translating the poems by Pasin and Basselin.
As an artist I feel that it is SO important to know word for word what you are saying, the flow of the language, and understand the deeper meaning of the poetry itself. I spent an hour on 3 of these poems today and I still feel that I have so much more to discover about them. It is my duty and responsibility as an artist to give justice to not only the composer, but also the poet when I perform these beautiful pieces. The amount of time, energy, and soul that these artists have poured into their work should not be shrugged off by the performer. I hope that as artists, we all can dig in and enjoy time spent on discovering the depth of our art. As Joyce DiDonato kindly reminded me/my colleagues last week, "Why are you doing this?" Why are we musicians, actors, and poets? What are we trying to convey? What message needs to be heard?
