Beau soir

"Beau soir" (French for "Beautiful Evening") is a French art song written by Claude Debussy. It is a setting of a poem by Paul Bourget.

Lyrics

Lorsque au soleil couchant les rivières sont roses
Et qu'un tiède frisson court sur les champs de blé,
Un conseil d'être heureux semble sortir des choses
Et monter vers le coeur troublé.

Un conseil de goûter le charme d'être au monde
Cependant qu'on est jeune et que le soir est beau,
Car nous nous en allons, comme s'en va cette onde:
Elle à la mer, nous au tombeau.

Literal translation

Where the rivulets are rosy in the setting sun,
And a mild tremor runs over the wheat fields,
An exhortation to be happy seems to emanate from things
And rises towards the troubled heart.

An exhortation to enjoy the charm of being alive
While one is young and the evening is beautiful,
For we are going on, as this stream goes on:
The stream to the sea, we to the grave.

Less literal and more colloquial translation

When the rivers are rosy in the setting sun
And a warm shiver runs over the wheat fields,
Advice to be happy seems to rise up from things
And climb toward the troubled heart.

Advice to taste the charm of being in the world
While one is young and the evening is beautiful,
For we are going away, as this stream goes away:
The stream to the sea, we to the grave.

Poetic translation

When streams turn pink in the setting sun
And a slight shudder rushes through the wheat fields,
A plea for happiness seems to rise out of all things
And it climbs up towards the troubled heart.

A plea to relish the charm of life
While there is youth and the evening is fair,
For we pass away, as the wave passes:
The wave to the sea, we to the grave.

Commonly used by choirs

When 'neath the setting sun glows a river in evening
And the warm summer wind blows out across the fields,
And it calls us and tells us to be happy
And it climbs up towards the troubled heart.

A plea to relish the charm of life
While there is youth and the evening is fair,
For we shall go away, like water that is flowing:
Into the sea, we to the tomb.

Simplified translation

As the sun sets rivers run red
A lukewarm quiver through fields of wheat,
'Be happy' seems to sort things out
Comes close to a troubled heart.

'Taste the joy' of being alive
While we are young the evening still beautiful,
For on we go, as goes this wave:
She to the sea, us to the grave.

Description

"Beau soir" ("Beautiful Evening") is set to a poem by Paul Bourget. The poem paints the picture of a beautiful evening where the rivers are turned rose-colored by the sunset and the wheat fields are moved by a warm breeze. Debussy uses a gently flowing triplet rhythm in the accompaniment, which contrasts the duplets that drive the light melody. The piano and voice partner to create the sensation of peace that one might feel in the evening in nature, fitting the post-Romantic style. As any evening fades, however, so does the mood of the piece, and the song modulates from E major to F-sharp minor. The piece reaches its climax when the melody reaches a high F-sharp, paired with the word "beau". The combination of the text and melody powerfully depicts the beauty of the sun.

It was long thought that this was Debussy's first composition, written at age 15 or 16 in 1877 or 1878, to impress a girl he liked, but it has since been shown that the song was actually written when he was around 28 in 1890 or 1891 and already an accomplished composer, though he had yet to write his major break-through compositions.[1]

Recordings

"Beau soir" has been recorded by many singers, including Barbra Streisand (on her album Classical Barbra), Maggie Teyte, Véronique Gens, Giuseppe De Luca, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Renée Fleming, Jessye Norman (last track on the album An Evening With Jessye Norman), and Diana Damrau.

It has also been successfully arranged for various instruments, including for violin and orchestra by Jascha Heifetz[2] and cello and piano by Julian Lloyd Webber.[3]

Use in other media

The piece is used as a backdrop near the very end of the 1927 film The Jazz Singer, which is generally credited as the very first "talkie" motion picture. It is also featured in the 1950 film All About Eve.

An arrangement of the song for orchestra and voice by Larry Mayfield was the theme song of religious DJ Bill Pearce's Nightsounds broadcast from 1970 to 2007.

An arrangement of the song for solo piano by Koji Attwood has been recorded by pianists Michael Lewin and Ernest So.

The piece is used as performance with Gustav Klimt-like decor in the 1992 episode "The Master Blackmailer" from the TV-series Sherlock Holmes.[4]

Notes
  1. Debussy's true first composition was indeed a song, written in 1879 when he was 17, called "Madrid, Princess of Spain", to a text by Alfred de Musset, followed the next year by several settings of poems by his favorite poet at the time, Théodore de Banville.
  2. Arrangement for violin and orchestra on YouTube, Jascha Heifetz, The Bell Telephone Hour Orchestra, Donald Voorhees
  3. Arrangement for cello and piano (audio) on YouTube, Julian Lloyd Webber, John Lenehan
  4. The Master Blackmailer on IMDb
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