Moonlight: The Sleeping Beauty Project

Welcome back to week 2 of the Sleeping Beauty Project release. This week’s song is “Clair de lune” by Fauré. I really wanted to have some fun and add props to my limited environment. When I read this poem, I imagine an elegant party in a garden during a full moon. The text describes people interacting with each other in masks, while singing and playing the lute. There is a fountain nearby with birds up in a tree’s branches. In my interpretation, I give Sleeping Beauty a chance to experience how life has changed since she was put under the sleeping spell.

I love when I am able to add costumes or props because it makes me feel like I’ve become the character that I’ve developed in my mind. It’s a little awkward to sing with a mask that covers half your face, but I wanted to show that while Sleeping Beauty is present at this party, she feels like she’s not being her true self. Her mask is removed when she addresses the moonlight directly (Au calme clair de lune triste et beau).

As I mentioned in my last blog, Aurora (sleeping beauty) has darker and more mature attire for this song; reflecting that she is older and the season has changed. I’ll post the song text with translation below. Any guesses what the third and final song of this art song trilogy will be???

Clair de lune                                                                  Moonlight

Votre âme est un paysage choisi                                       Your soul is a rare landscape
Que vont charmant masques et bergamasques              Charmed by masks and bergamasks
Jouant du luth et dansant et quasi                                  Playing the lute and dancing, and almost
Tristes sous leurs déguisements fantasques.                   Sad beneath their fantastic disguises.

 Tout en chantant sur le mode mineur                            While singing in the minor key
L’amour vainqueur et la vie opportune,                          Of victorious love and the good life,
Ils n’ont pas l’air de croire à leur boneur                        They do not seem to believe in their happiness,
Et leur chanson se mêle au clair de lune.                        And their song blends with the moonlight.

Au calm eclair de lune triste et beau,                             With the calm moonlight, sad and beautiful,
Qui fait rêver les oiseaux dans les arbres                         That makes the birds dream in the trees,
Et sangloter d’extase les jets d’eau,                                 And the fountains sob with rapture,
Les grands jets d’eau sveltes parmi les marbres.             The tall slender fountains among the marble statues.

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!

Music Projects

Hello and welcome to my new site and blog! This is where I will post about projects I’m working on.

I’ve always been told you have to love the process more than the result and this past year has truly shown me that! I hope that in sharing my projects you’ll feel inspired to take on a project you’ve been putting off! I currently have some recordings available for viewing on my media page. For the month of November I will be uploading a project that combines my love for art song and staged works! Check back for my upcoming blog discussing the process of creating a character when learning and performing art song.