Notes for: July 13, 2010
Victor Hugo published this little poem without title in an 1856 collection, Les contemplations. Since then it has been set to music as both a solo song and a choral piece by a long list of composers, including André Caplet, Leo Delibes, Benjamin Godard, Georges Bizet, Gabriel Pierné and Camille Saint-Saëns. Saint-Saëns, in fact, set it twice – in 1856 as a vocal duet, and in 1885, the year of Hugo’s death, for voice, flute and piano. This is his second version.
The words are simple and a little sentimental: A young man declares his love while “a flute unseen sighs in the orchards.” The song is “most joyful” like the song of the birds, and “most charming” like the song of love. The flute sings along with the soprano, and has the last word.