At one point during his life, the poet Paul Verlaine was imprisoned for the attempted murder of his companion and fellow-poet Arthur Rimbaud. The poem that resulted from Verlaine's experience received memorable musical settings by both Gabriel Fauré and Reynaldo Hahn. In his version, Hahn uses an ostinato figure in the piano accompaniment to establish a sense of the slow passage of time, as the poet sits alone in his prison cell. The mood is calm at first, but becomes increasingly agitated as the prisoner reflects on his wasted youth. After an outburst of desperation, Hahn returns to the serenity with which the song began and repeats the first line of the poem, suggesting that little changes in this bleak setting.

D'une prison (Paul Verlaine)

Le ciel est par dessus le toit, si bleu, si calme . . . Un arbre, par dessus le toit berce sa palme . . . La cloche dans le ciel qu'on voit, doucement tinte, Un oiseau sur l'arbre qu'on voit, chante sa plainte . . . Mon Dieu! La vie est la simple et tranquille! Cette paisible rumeur la vient de la ville . . . Qu'as-tu fair, ô toi que voilà pleurant sans cesse, Dis! qu'as-tu fait, toi que voilà, de ta jeunesse?

From a prison (Paul Verlaine)

The sky is so blue, above the housetops, so calm! A tree over the roofs stirs its branches. The bell in the sky can be seen as it rings sweetly. A bird in a tree can be seen singing its sad song. My God, my God, there is life, simple and tranquil. That peaceful rumbling comes from the village. "What have you done, you there, Weeping without end, Tell, what have you done, you there, With your youth?"

© All Music Guide

Portions of Content Provided by All Music Guide.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.