After A Dream: The Sleeping Beauty Project

Hey there! Thanks for stopping by. With all the changes happening in my life (cancelled performances from the World pandemic, moving from NY to NC, establishing my new life in NC…) it’s been challenging to focus on creating new musical projects. I found I had to set new expectations and goals for myself to feel productive in my musical endeavors. As I was contemplating how I might find ways to create music again, I realized that the finished project wasn’t my only focus. If I truly wanted to dive into recording music as if it were being performed live and in the moment, I needed to find a way to enjoy the entire process required to get to that point.

For this project, I focused on choosing 3 songs that fit well together. They are all French mélodies composed by Garbiel Fauré. I wanted to do more than just record 3 separate art songs, instead, I wanted to tell a story. With art song, you have the opportunity to create your own version of the character from the poetic text and while typically not staged, no one says you can’t! After all, this is my personal musical project for my website right? There are no set rules here. Still, with limited space to physically recording space I worked within my limited boundaries.

I will have a separate post including the context of each “scene” and the text translations. While each song will be released separately, the goal for each piece to fit together in a sequence. The first of the 3 songs is “Aprés un rêve”. The character I have assigned to these stand alone pieces is well known Sleeping Beauty. There is a twist in my interpretation of the Sleeping Beauty character and story. Instead of waking to the kiss of a prince, Sleeping Beauty wakes to an empty cold and dark room. The spell that was placed on her 20 years prior has run its course and all this time she was living in a dream that she comes to find was not real at all.

I wanted to think deeper than just the backstory and interpretation of each song and add elements that helped me step into this iconic character. In this opening song I thought about what Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) would be wearing when she wakes up. Assuming she was put to sleep in her 20s and in whatever outfit she was currently wearing, I wanted to wear something youthful with a vibrant color. In the later songs, her dress changes to a more mature and less vibrant colored outfit. This choice not only reflects her change since the spell but also the change in season from summer (when she was put to sleep) and autumn (the current season, 20 years later).

While these details may seem small or insignificant for the viewer, they are important to me as the performer. Having these concepts planned out as I was learning this song helped me so much with getting past just focusing on the right notes and diction. I wanted to create something that I could internalize so this process was incredibly beneficial for me. There will still be mistakes in my performance but there are so many moments that come to fruition thanks to my thoughtfulness of the learning process. While there is plenty to keep working on, when I watch my performance of Aprés un rêve I find there are things that I used to struggle with vocally which are not an issue.

To conclude this post I want to again say THANK YOU for coming on this journey with me. It feels so good to share my voice with you.

Until my next post - Laura

Link to song: https://youtu.be/orNGieYQAus

Après un rêve                                                               After a dream

Dans un sommeil que charmait ton image                      In a sleep charmed by your image
Je rêvais le bonheur, ardent mirage;                               I dreamed of happiness, ardent mirage;
Tes yeux étaient plys doux, ta voix pure et sonore,         Your eyes were soft, your voice pure and rich,
Tu rayonnais comme un ciel éclairé par l’aurore.            You were radiant as a sky lit by the dawn.

Tu m’appelais et je guittais la terre                                 You called me, and I left the earth
Pour m’enfuir avec toi vers la lumière;                            To flee with you towards the light.
Les cieux pour nous, entr’ouvraient leurs nues,               The heavens parted their clouds for us
Splendeurs inconnues, lueurs divines entreveus…          Unknown splendors, glimpses of divine light…

Hélas, hélas, triste réveil des songes!                              Alas, alas, sad awakening from dreams!
Je t’apelle, ô nuit, rends-moi tes mensonges;                   I call to you, o night, give me back your illusions;
Reviens, reviens radieuse,                                              Return, return in radiance,
Reviens, ô nuit mystérieuse!                                           Return, o mysterious night!