Cleveland Chamber Choir: "Le Ruisseau" by Gabriel Fauré

Artistic Director Gregory Ristow conducts the Cleveland Chamber Choir in a performance of “Le Ruisseau” by Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924). Anonymous text.
Recorded LIVE on April 2, 2023 at Drinko Hall, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH. Pianist Javier González.
TEXT:
Le Ruisseau (The Stream) (anonymous text; translation by Gregory Ristow)
Au bord du clair ruisseau croît la fleur solitaire,
Dont la corolle brille au milieu des roseaux;
Pensive, elle s’incline et son ombre légère
Se berce mollement sur la moire des eaux.
Ô fleur, ô doux parfum, lui dit le flot qui passe,
A mes tendres accents ta tristesse répond!
A mon suave élan vient marier ta grâce.
Laisse-moi t’entraîner vers l’océan profond!
Mais il l’entoure en vain de sa douce caresse,
Cette flottante image aux incertains contours,
Se dérobe au baiser humide qui l’oppresse,
Et le flot éploré tristement suit son cours!
On the banks of the clear stream grows the solitary flower,
Whose petals glimmer in the midst of the reeds;
Thoughtful, she bends and her light shadow
Rocks itself languidly on the iridescence of the water.
O flower, o sweet perfume, says the passing stream,
To my tender words your sadness responds!
Come and join your grace to my suave flair.
Let me carry you away to the deep ocean!
But he holds her in vain with his sweet caress.
This floating image of inexact contour
Shies away from the humid kiss that grips it,
And the tearful brook sadly follows its course!
Cleveland Chamber Choir: More Than Music
This concert of the Cleveland Chamber Choir and the Cleveland Composers Guild is supported in part by generous grants from Bascom Little Fund, Ohio Arts Council, Cleveland Foundation; in-kind support from Cleveland State University; and corporate sponsorship from Forge Biologics and Good Company Cleveland.