Text Painting in L'Heure Exquise by Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn (August 9, 1875 – January 28, 1947) was a Venezuelan, naturalised French, composer, conductor, music critic, diarist, theatre director, and salon singer. Best known as a composer of songs, he wrote in the French classical tradition of the mélodie. The fine craftsmanship, remarkable beauty, and originality of his works. Probably the most beautiful pieces (in my opinion) ever composed by Hahn was "Lhuere exquise" with is simplicity and perfect illustration of text. The (French) text reads: "La lune blanche luit dans les bois. De chaque branche part une voix sous la ramée. O bien aimée. L’étang reflète, profond miroir, la silhouette du saule noir où le vent pleure. Rêvons, c’est l’heure. Un vaste et tendre apaisement semble descendre du firmament que l’astre irise. C’est l’heure exquise!" Translated: "The white moon shines in the woods. From each branch springs a voice beneath the arbor. Oh my beloved... Like a deep mirror the pond reflects the silhouette of the black willow where the wind weeps. Let us dream! It is the hour... A vast and tender calm seems to descend from a sky made iridescent by the moon. It is the exquisite hour!" The accompaniment to the piece is quite lovely and is perfect for the txt of the piece. The speaker in this art song, which is usually sung by high voice although it has been transposed, is speaking of how perfect the setting is for them to be with their lover. While the meter of the music flows along in a docile sense it almost has a tedious sense about it. The detail to which the speaker lends their description gives a little bit of anxiety almost because of how delicate the scene seems to be. It's almost as if the speaker wants to be careful not to break the perfection as if it has the tensile strength of a cobweb even. Small breaks in the accompaniment to be left to the soloist give a sense of very