Ex. 9-11: Au bord de l'eau

No. 1 from Fauré's "3 Songs" (Op. 8). Fauré dedicated it to Marianne Viardot, daughter of the famous singer Pauline Viardot. He was deeply in love with her. They became engaged in 1877, but she broke it off within months. Around this time, Fauré dedicated songs to several of the Viardots — including "Barcarolle," written for Marianne's mother, Pauline, which is also in this app. (Ex. 4-9: Barcarolle by Gabriel Fauré)

The poem is by Sully Prudhomme, from his 1875 collection Les Vaines tendresses (Vain Tendernesses). Two lovers sit beside a flowing river and watch everything drift past — the water, the clouds, the smoke in the wind. They care about nothing but each other, and go on loving while the whole world passes away. In 1901 Sully Prudhomme became the very first winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Another of his poems set by Fauré, "Les berceaux," is also in this app. (Ex. 10-8: Les berceaux by Gabriel Fauré)

From the album L'amour, la mort, la mer by Patricia Petibon and Susan Manoff (2020)
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