Beau soir

1891 song composed by Claude Debussy with lyrics by Paul Bourget

"Beau soir" (French for Beautiful Evening, or Evening Fair), L. 84, is a French art song written by Claude Debussy, first published in 1891. It is a setting of a poem by Paul Bourget.

Lyrics

"Beau soir"

Performed Giuseppe De Luca

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Lorsque au soleil couchant les rivières sont roses
Et qu'un tiède frisson court sur les champs de blé,
Un conseil d'être heureux semble sortir des choses
Et monter vers le cœur troublé.

Un conseil de goûter le charme d'être au monde
Cependant qu'on est jeune et que le soir est beau,
Car nous nous en allons, comme s'en va cette onde :
Elle à la mer, nous au tombeau.

Description

"Beau soir" ("Beautiful Evening") is set to a poem by Paul Bourget. The poem paints the picture of a beautiful evening where the rivers are turned rose-colored by the sunset and the wheat fields are moved by a warm breeze. Debussy uses a gently flowing triplet rhythm in the accompaniment, which contrasts the duplets that drive the light melody. The piano and voice partner to create the sensation of peace that one might feel in the evening in nature, fitting the post-Romantic style. As any evening fades, however, so does the mood of the piece, and the song modulates from E major to F♯ minor. The piece reaches its climax when the melody reaches a high F♯, paired with the word "beau",^[1] about two-thirds through the piece, before entering its modulated conclusion.

Recordings

"Beau soir"

Instrumental (cello and piano)

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"Beau soir" has been recorded by many singers, including Barbra Streisand (on her album Classical Barbra), Maggie Teyte, Véronique Gens, Giuseppe De Luca, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Renée Fleming, Jessye Norman (last track on the album An Evening With Jessye Norman), and Diana Damrau.^{[citation needed]}

It has also been arranged for various instruments, including for violin and orchestra by Jascha Heifetz^[2] and cello and piano by Julian Lloyd Webber.^[3]

Notes

^ "Claude Debussy - Beau Soir (GSARCI VIDEO VERSION)". YouTube.
^ Arrangement for violin and orchestra on YouTube, Jascha Heifetz, The Bell Telephone Hour Orchestra, Donald Voorhees
^ Arrangement for cello and piano (audio) on YouTube, Julian Lloyd Webber, John Lenehan

External links

"Beau soir": Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
"Beau soir", French and English text, from Richard Stokes: A French Song Companion (Oxford, 2000)
Sheet music for "Beau soir"
Meredith Gailey. Claude Debussy: "Beau soir" (Lorsque au soleil couchant les rivières sont roses), song for voice & piano, L. 84 (6) at AllMusic
Jed Huang (flute), Jieyin Wu (harp) on YouTube

Claude Debussy

List of compositions

Opera

Rodrigue et Chimène (1890–1892)
Pelléas et Mélisande (1893–1902)
Le diable dans le beffroi (1902–1911)
La chute de la maison Usher (1908–1917)

Ballet

Khamma (1911–1912)
Jeux (1912–1913)
La boîte à joujoux (1913)

Orchestral

Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (1894)
Nocturnes (1897–1899)
La mer (1903–1905)
Images (1905–1912)

With a soloist	L'enfant prodigue (1884) Fantaisie for piano and orchestra (1889–1890) Première rhapsodie (1909–1910) Rhapsodie for saxophone and orchestra (1901-1911)

Chamber

Piano Trio (1879)
String Quartet (1893)
Dances for Harp and String Orchestra (1904)
Syrinx for flute (1913)
Six sonatas for various instruments (1915–1917): Cello Sonata (1915)

Piano

Solo	Two Arabesques (1888, 1891) Valse romantique (1890) Suite bergamasque (1890–1905) Pour le piano suite (1894–1901) Estampes (1903) Masques (1904) L'isle joyeuse (1904) Images, Set 1 (1905) Reflets dans l'eau Children's Corner (1906–1908) The Little Nigar (1909) Préludes, Book 1 (1909–1910) Voiles Des pas sur la neige Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest La fille aux cheveux de lin La sérénade interrompue La cathédrale engloutie La plus que lente (1910) Préludes, Book 2 (1912–1913) Brouillards Hommage à S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C. Études (1915)

Solo