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Le Bestiaire .​.​. Guillaume Apollinaire (2018)

by Thomas Oboe Lee

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1.
1. Orpheé: Admirez le pouvoir insigne Et la noblesse de la ligne: Elle est la voix que la lumière fit entendre Et dont parle Hermès Trismégiste en son Pimandre. Admire the remarkable power And the nobility of the line: This is the voice that came from light Which Hermes Trismegistus cites in his Pymander.
2.
La Tortue. Du Thrace magique, ô délire! Mes doigts sûr font sonner la lyre. Les animaux passent aux sons De ma tortue, de mes chansons. The Tortoise. From magic Thrace - delight! My sure fingers strum the lyre. Animals troop past to the sounds Of my turtle, of my songs. Le Cheval. Mes durs rêves formels sauront te chevaucher, Mon destin au char d’or sera ton beau cocher Qui pour rênes tiendra tendus à frénésie, Mes vers, les parangons de toute poésie. The Horse. My hard, formal dreams will know just how to ride you, My destiny to a gold chariot will be your handsome driver, Who will take for reins, drawn tight in frenzy, My verses, paragons of all poetry. Le Chevre du Thibet. Les poils de cette chèvre et même Ceux d’or pour qui prit tant de peine Jason, ne valent rien au prix Des cheveux dont je suis épris. The Tibetan Goat. The fleece of this goat and even The golden one that Jason labored for Are worth nothing when compared To the hair that I’m in love with. Le Serpent Tu t’acharnes sur la beauté. Et quelles femmes ont été Victimes de la cruauté! Éve, Eurydice, Cléopâtre; J’en connais encore trois ou quatre. The Snake You set yourself against beauty. And what women have been Victims of your cruelty! Eve, Eurydice, Cleopatra; I myself know three or four others. Le Chat. Je souhaite dans ma maison: Une femme ayant sa raison, Un chat passant parmi les livres, Des amis en toute saison Sans lesquels je ne peux pas vivre. The Cat. I want to have in my house: A sensible woman, A cat moving among the books, Friends in every season Without which I can’t live. Le Lion. O lion, malheureuse image des rois chus lamentablement, Tu en nais maintenant qu’en cage A Hambourg, chez les Allemands. The Lion. Oh lion, unhappy image Of kings pitifully fallen, Now you’re born only in cages In Hamburg, among the Germans. Le Liévre. Ne sois pas lascif et peureux Comme le liévre et l’amoureux. Mais, que toujours ton cerveau soit La hase pleine qui conçoit. The Hare. Don’t be timid and lewd Like the buck hare and the lover. But may your brain be always The doe that conceives while pregnant. Le Lapin. Je connais un autre connin Que tout vivant je voudrais prendre. Sa garenne est parmi le thym Des vallons du pays de Tendre. The Rabbit. I know another kind of rabbit I wish I could take alive. Her warren’s amid the thyme Of the valleys in the land of Tender. Le Dromadaire. Avec ses quatre dromadaires Do Pedro d’Alfaroubeira Courut le monde ed l’admira Il fit ce que je voudrais faire Si jamais quatre dromadaires. The Dromedary. With his four dromedaries Dom Pedro of Alfaroubeira Roamed the world and liked it. He did what I’d do If I had four dromedaries. La Souris. Belles journées, souris du temps, Vous rongez peu à peu ma vie. Dieu! je vais avoir vingt-huit ans, Et mal vécus, à mon envie. The Mouse. Beautiful days, mice of time, You gnaw away my life bit by bit. My God! I'm going to be twenty-eight - a wasted life, as I wanted it. L’Éléphant. Comme en éléphant son ivoire, J’ai en bouche un bien précieux. Pourpre mort! J’achète ma gloire Au prix des mots mélodieux. The Elephant. As an elephant has his ivory, So I have in the mouth precious goods. Purple death! … I buy my glory At the price of melodious words.
3.
2. Orpheé: Regardez cette troupe infecte Aux mille pattes, aux cent yeux: Rotifères, cirons, insectes Et microbes plus merveilleux Que les sept merveilles du monde Et la palais de Rosemonde! Look at this wretched herd With its thousand feet, its hundred eyes: Rotifers, mites, insects And microbes more wonderful Than the seven wonders of the world And Rosemond’s palace!
4.
La Chenille. Le travail mené à la richesse, Pauvres poètes, travaillons! La chenille en peinant sans cesse Devient le riche papillon. The Caterpillar. Labor leads to riches, Poor poets, let's get to it! The caterpillar, by its diligence, Becomes the rich butterfly. La Mouche. Nos mouches savent des chansons Que leur apprirent en Norvège Les mouches ganiques qui sont Les divinités de la neige. The Fly. Our flies know songs Taught to them in Norway By ganique flies which are Deities of the snow. La Puce. Puces, amis, amantes même, Qu’ils sont cruels ceux qui nous aiment! Tout notre sang coule pour eux. Les bien-aimés sont malheureux. The Flea. Fleas, friends, even lovers —- How cruel are those who love us! All our blood is spilled for them. It’s the beloved who are wretched. La Sauterelle. Voici la fine sauterelle, La nourriture de Saint Jean. Puissent mes vers être comme elle, Le régal des meilleures gens. The Grasshopper. Here’s the fine grasshopper, John the Baptist’s food. May my poetry be like it, The treat of the best people.
5.
3. Orpheé: Que ton coeur soit l’appât et le ciel, la piscine! Car, pécheur, quel poisson d’eau douce ou bien marine Égale-t-il, et par la forme et la saveur, Ce beau poisson divin qu’est JÉSUS, Mon Sauveur? May your heart be the bait and heaven the pond! For, sinner, what fish of fresh water or ocean In form or in flavor can equal The beautiful, divine fish that is JESUS, My Savior?
6.
Le Dauphin. Dauphins, vous jouez dans la mer, Mais le flot est toujours amer. Parfois, ma joie éclate-t-elle? La vie est encore cruelle. The Dolphin. Dolphins, you romp in the sea, But the waves are always bitter. Yes, my joy breaks through at times. But life is as hard as ever. Le Poulpe. Jetant son encre vers les cieux, Suçant le sang de ce qu’il aime Et le trouvant délicieux, Ce monstre inhumain, c’est moi-même. The Octopus. Flinging his ink towards the heavens, Sucking the blood from all he loves And finding it delicious, This inhuman monster is myself. Le Méduse. Méduses, malheureuses têtes Aux chevelures violettes Vous vous plaisez dans les tempêtes, Et je m’y plais comme vous faites. The Jellyfish. Jellyfish, unfortunate heads Of violet hair You take your pleasure in tempests And I take mine there, too. L’Écrevisse. Incertitude, ô mes délices Vous et noi nous nous en allons Comme s’en vont les écrivisses, A reculons, à reculons. The Crayfish. Uncertainty, oh my delights You and I we get away As crayfish do, Backwards, backwards. La Carpe. Dans vos viviers, dans vos étangs, Carpes, que vous vivez longtemps! Est-ce que la mort vous oublie, Poissons de la mélancolie. The Carp. In your pools, in your ponds, Carp, you live such a long time! Does death pass over you, Fish of despondency?
7.
4. Orpheus: La femelle de l’alcyon, L’Amour, les volantes Sirènes, Savent de mortelle chansons Dangereuses et inhumaines. N’oyez pas ces oiseaux maudits, Mais les Anges du paradis. The female halcyon, Eros, the flying Sirens Know deadly songs —— Dangerous, inhuman. Don’t listen to these doomed birds, But to the angels of paradise.
8.
Les Sirènes. Sachè-je d’où provient, Sirènes, votre ennui Quand vous vous lamentez, au large, dans la nuit? Mer, je suis, come toi, plein de voix machinées Et mes vaisseaux chantants se nomment les années. The Sirens. How should I know, Sirens, where your tedium comes from When you moan in the night from far off the shores? Sea, like you, I’m full of scheming voices And my singing ships are called my years. La Colombe. Colombe, l’amour et l’esprit Qui engendrâtes Jésus-Christ, Comme vous j’aime une Marie. Qu’avec elle je me marie. The Dove. Dove, the love and the spirit That endangered Jesus Christ, Like you I love a Mary, Whom I hope to marry. Le Paon. En faisant la roue, cet oiseau, Dont le pennage traîne à terre, Apparaît encore plus beau, Mais se découvre le derrière. The Peacock. When he spreads his tail this bird, Whose plumage trails on the ground, Seems more beautiful than ever But reveals his rear end. Le Hibou. Mon pauvre coeur est un hibou Qu’on cloue, qu’on décloue, qu’on recloue. De sang, d’ardeur, il est à bout. Tous ceux qui m’aiment, je les loue. The Owl. My poor heart is an owl They nail up, take down, nail up again. It’s run out of blood, of zeal. All those who love me I commend. Ibis. Oui, j’irai dans l’ombre terreuse. O mort certaine, ainsi soit-il! Latin mortel, parole affreuse, Ibis, oiseau des bords du Nil. Ibis. Yes, I will go into the shadowy earth. Oh certain death, so let it be! Deadly Latin, frightful word, Ibis, bird of the banks of the Nile. Le Boeuf. Ce chérubin dit la louange Du paradis, où, près des anges, Nous revivrons, mes chers amis Quand le bon Dieu l’aura permis. The Ox. This cherubim recites the praise Of paradise, where, close to the angels, We’ll live again, my dear friends When the good Lord allows.

about

"Le Bestiaire ou Cortège d'Orphée" is an album of 30 short poems by Guillaume Apollinaire, published in 1911. I acquired a facsimile copy published by the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. The album is divided into four sections. Each section begins with an oration by Orpheus, which is then followed by a set of poems depicting animals, insects, sea creatures, birds and a few mythological beasts. Francis Poulenc set six of these poems. I decided to do all thirty. Why not?

Following the format of the original poems, my cycle is divided into four movements with each movement subdivided into two parts.

credits

released October 11, 2018

Sarah Yanovitch, soprano
Tae Kim, piano

Music by Thomas Oboe Lee
Poems by Guillaume Apollinaire (1880 - 1918), P.D.
Translation by Lauren Shakley

Recorded in the Fraser Studio @ WGBH
September 7, 2018
Antonio Oliart, audio engineer and editor

© Departed Feathers Music, Inc. - BMI - 2018

Photo credit: Thomas Oboe Lee

Alfonso Balzico's "Cleopatra" @ Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna
Rome, Italy

YouTube link: youtu.be/7bAb7V-2k_A

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Thomas Oboe Lee Cambridge, Massachusetts

Thomas Oboe Lee was born in China in 1945. He lived in São Paulo, Brazil, for six years before coming to the United States in 1966. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, he studied composition at the New England Conservatory and Harvard University. He has been a member of the music faculty at Boston College since 1990. ... more

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