Mon âme est une infante

This beautiful poem of disillusion, resignation, and longing for a vanished past was bound to inspire Nadia Boulanger. Sadly, the manuscript of this song (composed from August 29 to September 1^st, 1906) has come down to us only as a draft, with no dynamics or tempo markings, empty staves, incomplete chord voicings, and some uncertainty about certain notes. The piece nonetheless remains of real interest, notably for the wealth of images and emotions that unfold across the seven quatrains of Albert Samain’s poem. The vocal line is finely wrought and favors a continual renewal of melodic ideas, each stanza opening with a new motif. The vocal writing is varied. At times it lingers on a few low notes, articulating each word (“Ainsi qu’une galère oubliée en la rade”). At other moments it favors lyrical curves, rising lines in which the voice opens out (“Lui lit d’ensorcelants poèmes à mi-voix”). The poem offers fine opportunities for contrast, as in the radiant brilliance of “Allume en elle tous les rubis de l’orgueil,” followed by “Mais d’un sourire triste elle apaise ses fièvres,” to be sung in a murmur, very freely. Likewise, the harmony alternates between an archaic-sounding modality that evokes times past, tonal progressions suited to supporting broad modulating phrases, and enigmatic colors wherever the secret emotions of an intimate solitude must come to light.

© Leduc 2020

This song was published in Volume III of the Mélodies pour voix moyenne, where it is titled simply Mon âme.

© Anthony Girard