Description
The songs, composed for mezzo-soprano or tenor with piano accompaniment, were published in 1841 under the title “Les nuits d’été”. They are based on poems taken from a collection by Theophile Gautier issued in 1838 entitled “La comedie de la mort”.
Hector Berlioz arranged the song “Absence” for mezzo-soprano and small orchestra for Marie Recio, who later became his second wife. A few years later he also orchestrated the remaining five songs of the cycle. The orchestral version appeared in 1856. Two of the songs, “Le specter de la rose” and “Sur les lagunes,” were transposed into a lower key, thus spanning more than one vocal range.
For this edition for medium voice, some songs were therefore transposed lower:
– Villanelle: F major (originally A major)
– Le spectre de la rose: B-flat major
– Sur les lagunes: F minor
– Absence: E-flat major (originally F-sharp major)
– Au cimetière: B-flat major (original D major)
– L’île inconnue: D major (original F major)
