Bleuet (Francis Poulenc)

“Bleuet” (Francis Poulenc), written in 1939, setting a text by Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) written in 1917.

This extraordinary song links the twin catastrophes of World War I and World War II. Italian born Guillaume Apollinaire fought in World War I and, in 1916, received a serious shrapnel wound to the temple, from which he would never fully recover. The war-weakened Apollinaire died of influenza during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. Shortly before his death he wrote a poem, which, despite its creative and unusal visual layout, is remarkably direct in its emotional communication. A narrator adresses a young soldier of 20. The battle will start at 5pm. The only question is the manner in which he will die. The heartbreakingly matter-of-fact poem was set by Francis Poulenc, in October 1939, one month after Adolf Hitler initiated World War II by invading Poland.

The song is dedicated to André Bonnélie. Poulenc had known the young man since he was a boy, and on that day, had been told that the young Bonnélie had been killed in battle. He then set to work on the poem. After completing the song, Poulenc found out that the message had been incorrect, and that the young man was indeed in good health and about to get married. Poulenc was so delighted and relived, he decided on the spot to dedicate the song to him. [Schmidt, Carl B., Entrancing muse: a documented biography of Francis Poulenc, Pendragon Press, New York, P.262]

Poulenc and his lover Bernac – for whom he wrote the majority of his vocal works – were both in active military duty. At this point, France’s losses were still minor – compared to the horrors ahead. Poulenc seems to capture a heartbreaking premonition of what was to come. The song lay too high for Pierre Bernac’s baritone: Poulenc must have been conscious of this when he wrote it. Why did he not want his beloved to be the narrator? There must have been fear that this might have been sung TO his lover. Indeed, Swiss tenor Hugues Cuenod was the first to perform it, with Poulenc at the piano. [Ibid. P.388] Poulenc and Cuenod had met in 1930 at the studio of Nadia Boulanger – a name that pops up time and again in the lives of Parisian creative artists of all description.

“Bleuet”

The title is an untranslateable conflagration of images.

“Bleuet” (Francis Poulenc): Sung by Mark Padmore (tenor) and Iain Burnside (Pian0)

 

“Bleuet” (Francis Poulenc): Sung by Anthony Rolfe-Johnson (Tenor) and Graham Johnson (Piano)

“Bleuet” (Francis Poulenc): Sung as part of a complete performance of the complete cycle “Cinq poèmes d’Apollinaire”, by Bruno Laplante (Baritone) and Marc Durand (Piano). (Recorded 1978).

0.00 Dans le jardin d’Anna
3.25 Allons, plus vite
6.10 Montparnasse
9.30 Rosemonde
11.10 Bleuet

Buy a copy of the Sheet Music of  “Bleuet” by Francis Poulenc (Text by Guillaume Apollinaire) HERE.

“Bleuet” (F. Poulenc), Text by Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918): Lyrics in French

 

          Jeune homme
          De vingt ans
          Qui as vu des choses si affreuses
          Que penses-tu des hommes de ton enfance
 Tu                                Tu 
   as
     vu                          connais 
       la
         mort            la bravoure et la ruse,
             en
               face
                   plus
                       de
                         cent
                             fois
                                 tu
                                   ne
                                     sais
   Transmets ton intrépidité             pas
                                            ce 
   À ceux qui viendront                       que
                                                 c'est
        Après toi                                     que
                                                         la
                                                           vie

        Jeune homme
 Tu es joyeux, ta mémoire est ensanglantée
        Ton âme est rouge aussi
            De joie
 Tu as absorbé la vie de ceux qui sont morts près de toi

     Tu as de la décision
 Il est 17 heures et tu saurais
              Mourir
 Sinon mieux que tes aînés
       Du moins plus pieusement
       Car tu connais mieux la mort que la vie
       Ô douceur d'autrefois,
           Lenteur immémoriale.

 

“Bleuet” (F. Poulenc), Text by Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918): Lyrics in English

Young man
Of twenty
You who have seen such terrible things
What do you think of the men from your childhood
You know what bravery is and cunning
You have faced death more than a hundred times
You do not know what life is
Hand down your fearlessness
To those who shall come
After you
Young man
You are joyous your memory is steeped in blood
Your soul is red also
With joy
You have absorbed the life of those who died beside you
You are resolute
It is 1700 hours and you would know
How to die
If not better than your elders
At least with great piety
For you are better acquainted with death than life
O sweetness of bygone days
Slow moving
beyond all memory