Composed by Gabriel Fauré
Arranged by Alan Raines
Voicing: SSA
Instrumentation: piano
Catalog number: AMP 0560
Price: $2.50

Les berceaux
Text by Sully-Prudhomme
Music by Gabriel Fauré

About the Music

Fauré's interest in choral music was superseded by his love for chanson as evidenced by his output. His fascination for the texts he chose to set is clearly seen in the delicate melodies and subtle harmonies that surround them. Perhaps even more than that of Debussy, Fauré's chansons are in the hands of almost every young man and woman studying voice. They are the epitome of great literature for the young singer. The arranger set “Les Berceaux” with this in concept mind and to expose a wider audience to the beautiful lyricism of Gabriel Fauré.

Les Berceaux		The Cradles
Le long du quai, les grands vaisseaux, Que la houle incline en silence, Ne prennent pas garde aux berceaux, Que la main des femmes balance. Mais viendra le jour des adieux, Car il faut que les femmes pleurent, Et que les hommes curieux, Tentent les horizons qui leurrent! Et ce jour,la les grands vaisseaux, Fuyant le port qui diminue, Sentent leur masse retenue Par l'c1me des lointains berceaux.		Along the quay, the great ships, silently listing to the swell, are unmindful of the cradles rocked by the women's hands. But the day of parting will come, for it must be that women weep, and men with inquiring minds, attempt alluring horizons. And on that day the great ships, leaving the port growing smaller in the feel their hulls held back by the soul of the distant cradles.

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