Ariette Oubliée for cor anglais (English horn) and guitar

Description

Arrangement of Ariette Oubliée No 4 originally written for alto and guitar (also available on this site).The song is based on a poem by Paul Verlaine in which he imagines himself and his boyfriend Rimbaud as two innocent little girls

Il faut, voyez-vous, nous pardonner les choses:
De cette façon nous serons bien heureuses
Et si notre vie a des instants moroses,
Du moins nous serons, n`est-ce pas? deux pleureuses.

Ô que nous mêlions, âmes soeurs que nous sommes,
A nos voeux confus la douceur puérile
De cheminer loin des femmes et des hommes,
Dans le frais oubli de ce qui nous exile !

Soyons deux enfants, soyons deux jeunes filles
Éprises de rien et de tout étonnées
Qui s`en vont pâlir sous les chastes charmilles
Sans même savoir qu`elles sont pardonnées.

Paul Verlaine

[literal translation into English]
You see, you`ll have to forgive us a few things
Then we`ll be two happy little girls
And if our life is a bit sad at times
at least there will be two of us sobbing together, won`t there?

Oh sister souls that we are, wouldn`t we just mingle
Childish sweetness with our embarassed vows
To wander far from the world of adults
And forget our banishment in all our fresh innocence

Let`s be two children, two little girls
In love with nought and astonished by all
Going pale-faced down innocent tree-lined paths
Not even aware that they`ve been forgiven.

Performed here by Ágnes Jakab (cor anglais) and András Csáki (guitar)