Notes provided by Laura Prichard about the song by Alexandre Georges: Eighteen years after the beginning of the novel, the tarot cards have revealed to La Vougne that her granddaughter will one day be queen of a Romani tribe. Miarka prepares for this role by learning sacred stories, songs, and rituals.
The poetic text in the preface to Georges’ complete score is preceded with this introduction: "Oui, oui," faisait Miarka, "Cela est beau, grand-mère, je ne dis pas non. Mais il y a dans le livre bien d’autres chansons encore plus belles. Celle des Nuages, par exemple, qui est si triste." Et les yeux au ciel, comme si elle s’adressait aux nuages eux-mêmes, d’une voix douce comme un murmure d’eau courante, Miarka chantait la chanson." (Roman page 141) ["Yes, yes," said Miarka, "That's beautiful, Grandma, I won't say no. But there are many other even more beautiful songs in the book. The one about the Clouds, for example, is so sad." And looking up at the sky, as if addressing the clouds themselves, in a voice as soft as the murmur of running water, Miarka sang this song.]

Composition:

Set to music by Frederick Delius (1862 - 1934), "Nuages", 1893, stanzas 1-2 [ high voice and piano ]

Text Authorship:

• by Jean Richepin (1849 - 1926), "Nuages, nuages, que vous êtes loin !", written 1883, appears in Miarka la fille à l'ours, in 3. Miarka s'instruit, Paris, Éd. Charpentier, first published 1883

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• ENG English (Laura Prichard) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

This text was added to the website: 2017-06-01
Line count: 28
Word count: 170