English Versions of Song & Aria Texts

Translations/Versifications
English Versions of Song & Aria Texts

The linked English versions of various sung texts mostly have been made to use in program notes I have written. But, first off, let me state that I am not fluent in any language other than English. My versions have depended on literal translations of others and online translation tools for the meaning of the words. What I have attempted is to take the literal and translate it into poetry, usually as free verse, but sometimes also using the rhyme schemes of the original poetry.

For all texts/translations/versifications of the following go to http://sites.google.com/site/edwardlein/Home/translations, or click on the individual title:

•Berlioz / Gautier : Les nuits d'ete
•Conti: Il mio bel foco
•La llorona (The Weeping Woman) (Folk song)
•Mozart/Metastasio: L'amerò, sarò costante
•Poulenc/Apollinaire: Hôtel
•Poulenc/Apollinaire: Rosemonde
•Poulenc/Apollinaire: Voyage à Paris
•Poulenc/Vilmorin: Mazurka (English version only)
•Puccini: Donde lieta uscì
•Puccini: Chi bel il sogno di Doretta
•Ravel / Klingsor: Shéhérazade
•Santoliquido: 'I canti della sera'
•Verdi / Piave: La donna è mobile

House exterior

The Ashram's Progress

Well, we've been in about a month now.

Interior slideshow of the progress...

The New House

Here's a before and after (still a work in progress...) pic of the living room to the new place. The big furniture is being moved tomorrow... Everything here was hauled in the back of a Ford Focus & a Honda CRV !

"Hoodoo" performed by the kids at Prelude Chamber Music Camp

June 19, 2009: Vernon Humbert conducts the Camp's PRIMO ORCHESTRA in the first ever performance of Hoodoo -- Great job, especially considering that the mostly middle and high school students played this after only 3-4 brief rehearsals, on top of all their other camp activities!

Beginner's Guide to XHTML (ne HTML)

The brief (but pretty thorough, imho) introduction to basic HTML coding is available online: Ed's Guide to Beginning XHTML. It's a free online tutorial that at least can get you started (if anybody's still interested with all th wysiwyg page builders available...) The thing is, most of the page builders will let you edit the html code so you can include things they don't have buttons for. If you know how. Although it dates from a 2003 workshop for Jacksonville Public Library staff, the coding information is still current (despite some side references to Netscape browsers and IE6).
https://sites.google.com/site/edswebref/

• • Beginner's Guide to HTML

• Basic Tags for Text Markup
• Character Entity References
• Core Attributes
• CSS Reference
• HTML Root Elements
• Link and Image Tags
• Tables & Lists
• Web Page Template

An English translation & versification of Théophile Gautier's 'Absence,' from Berlioz's "Les nuits d'ete"

CLICK HERE for the entire set of six poems

Revisions to the original translation (below) will be found at the above link.

IV. Absence Reviens, reviens, ma bien-aimée! Comme une fleur loin du soleil, La fleur de ma vie est fermée Loin de ton sourire vermeil. Entre nos coeurs quelle distance! Tant d'espace entre nos baisers! Ô sort amer! ô dure absence! Ô grands désirs inapaisés! Reviens, reviens, ma bien-aimée! Comme une fleur loin du soleil, La fleur de ma vie est fermée Loin de ton sourire vermeil. D'ici 1à-bas, que de campagnes, Que de villes et de hameaux, Que de vallons et de montagnes, A lasser le pied des chevaux! Reviens, reviens, ma bien-aimée! Comme une fleur loin du soleil, La fleur de ma vie est fermée Loin de ton sourire vermeil.

IV. Absence Return, return, my own belovéd! As closes the sun-lorn posy, Thus has my life's flower been closéd Sans thy smiling lips, e'er rosy. CONTINUED HERE