Ex. 5-11: Si mes vers avaient des ailes

Composed around 1888 by Reynaldo Hahn when he was only about 13 years old. Hahn was born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1874 — his father was a businessman from a German-Jewish family and an adviser on money matters to the president of Venezuela, and his mother was Venezuelan. The family moved to Paris when Reynaldo was three. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1885, where Massenet took a particular interest in the young prodigy; he also had private lessons with Saint-Saëns.

The poem is by Victor Hugo, from Les Contemplations (1856), published during Hugo's exile in England. In the poem, the singer wishes that his verses had wings, so they could fly to the one he loves. Hahn dedicated the song to his sister, Maria.

This is Hahn's most famous song, but most of his well-known mélodies were composed before the age of 20.

From the album La Belle Époque: The Songs of Reynaldo Hahn by Susan Graham and Roger Vignoles (1998)
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