Au bord de l’eau (By the water) by Gabriel Fauré
No. 1 from Three Songs (Op. 8), arranged for solo piano by Nigel Edmund-Jones for Fullscore Publishing: two versions (Advanced and Easier) in one edition.
Two dreamy lovers sit by a stream, removed from the reality of the conflicted world. Time passes as their dream-like state takes the edge off the flowing water, gliding clouds, a distant smoking chimney on a thatched roof, while a flower imbues its fragrance on them. The evocative words of poet Sully Prudhomme (the first Nobel prize-winner for literature, in 1901), end with the reminder that love is immortal; composer Gabriel Fauré heralds this assertion with a transition from minor to major.
Originally written for solo singer with piano accompaniment, Fauré’s beautiful mélodie from 1875 is as enchanting as the flowing, jazz-like chromatic harmonies he employs.
- The phrasing of the tune follows the syllabic layout of the original lyrics - it should be played as lyrically as if it were being sung. Pedalling should be used freely throughout; such markings as are included indicate any specific need.
- Also included in this edition is an easier-to-play version.
- Fullscore Music also publish the original song as an arrangement for C/Bb/Eb instruments.
Listen to these arrangements on Spotify:
Voice (Véronique Gens) & Piano (or YouTube)
Harmonica (Tommy Reilly) & Strings
Violin (Mischa Maisky) & Piano
Jazzy piano solo (Henry Butler/Windham Hill)
Original French/English song text:
S'asseoir tous deux au bord du flot qui passe
Le voir passer,
Tous deux s'il glisse un nuage en l'espace,
Le voir glisser,
To sit, both of us, beside a stream that passes by,
we watch it passing;
If a cloud glides across the sky,
we both see it glide;
À l'horizon s'il fume un toit de chaume
Le voir fumer,
Aux alentours si quelque fleur embaume
S'embaumer.
On the horizon. if a thatched roof is smoking,
We see it smoking;
If somewhere nearby a flower is fragrant,
It fills one with its fragrance;
Entendre au pied du saule où l'eau murmure
L'eau murmurer,
Ne pas sentir tant que ce rêve dure
Le temps durer;
To hear under the willow tree where the water slides by,
The water whispering;
Not feeling, as long as this dream lasts,
Time enduring;
Mais n'apportant de passion profonde
Qu'à s'adorer.
Sans nul souci des querelles du monde
Les ignorer;
Not bringing any deep passion
Other than to adore each other,
With no concern for the quarrels of the world,
We ignore them;
Et seuls tous deux devant tout ce qui lasse
Sans se lasser,
Sentir l'amour devant tout ce qui passe
Ne point passer!
And alone, together, in the face of everything wearying,
Without feeling weary,
To feel that love, amid all that's happening around us,
Will never die!
Biography: Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) was one of the foremost, influential French composers of his generation, and a master of the French art song (mélodie). Among some of his earliest published works are Chants Sans Paroles (Songs Without Words) and Cantique de Jean Racine, a popular choral miniature from 1865. He married Marie Fremiet, daughter of the renowned sculptor, Emmanuel. In 1892, Fauré was appointed Inspector of Music in Paris. Four years later he was appointed chief organist of Église de La Madeleine. During his 25 years as professor of composition
at the Paris Conservatoire (where he succeeded Massenet), Ravel, Cortot, Enescu, Roger-Ducasse and Nadia Boulanger were among his pupils. Fauré died from pneumonia, having suffered
increasing deafness and disturbing aural hallucinations later in lilfe.
Cover image: Promenade au Bord de l'Eau Pontoise by Camille Pissarro (1877), from the collection of the Albertina, Vienna, Austria.
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You might also like the songs Morgen! by Richard Strauss
and A Mirage by Amy Beach, both arranged for solo piano,
published by Fullscore.
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Gabriel Fauré ~ Au bord de l'eau (arr. for piano)
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6 pages - inc. both Advanced and Easier versions in one edition - (10 pages inc. covers)
