Après un rêve
Published as the first of Fauré’s Trois mélodies, Op. 7, Après un rêve is one of the best-known and most frequently recorded French mélodies, and a standard study and audition piece for many voice types. The long sustained line demands pure, unbroken vowels and well-supported schwa endings where the score sets them; the rising tessitura on splendeurs inconnues exposes any unclean diphthongs or English vowel colour.
Line-by-line IPA
Dans un sommeil que charmait ton image
[dɑ̃ zœ̃ sɔˈmɛj kə ʃaʁˈmɛ tɔ̃ niˈma.ʒə]
Je rêvais le bonheur, ardent mirage,
[ʒə ʁɛˈvɛ lə bɔˈnœʁ | aʁˈdɑ̃ miˈʁa.ʒə]
Tes yeux étaient plus doux, ta voix pure et sonore,
[te zjø e.ˈtɛ ply du | ta vwa ˈpy.ʁ‿e sɔˈnɔ.ʁə]
Tu rayonnais comme un ciel éclairé par l’aurore;
[ty ʁɛ.jɔˈnɛ ˈkɔ.mə œ̃ sjɛl e.klɛˈʁe paʁ lɔˈʁɔ.ʁə]
Tu m’appelais et je quittais la terre
[ty ma.pəˈlɛ e ʒə kiˈtɛ la ˈtɛ.ʁə]
Pour m’enfuir avec toi vers la lumière,
[puʁ mɑ̃ˈfɥiʁ aˈvɛk twa vɛʁ la lyˈmjɛ.ʁə]
Les cieux pour nous entr’ouvraient leurs nues,
[le sjø puʁ nu zɑ̃.tʁuˈvʁɛ lœʁ ˈny.ə]
Splendeurs inconnues, lueurs divines entrevues.
[splɑ̃ˈdœʁ zɛ̃.kɔˈny.ə | lɥœʁ diˈvi.nə zɑ̃.tʁəˈvy.ə]
Hélas! Hélas! triste réveil des songes
[eˈlas eˈlas | ˈtʁis.tə ʁeˈvɛj de ˈsɔ̃.ʒə]
Je t’appelle, ô nuit, rends-moi tes mensonges,
[ʒə taˈpɛ.lə o nɥi | ʁɑ̃ mwa te mɑ̃ˈsɔ̃.ʒə]
Reviens, reviens radieuse,
[ʁəˈvjɛ̃ ʁəˈvjɛ̃ ʁaˈdjø.zə]
Reviens, ô nuit mystérieuse!
[ʁəˈvjɛ̃ o nɥi mis.teˈʁjø.zə]
English translation
In a sleep made gentle by your image, I dreamed of happiness, ardent illusion. Your eyes were softer, your voice pure and resonant; you shone like a sky lit by the dawn. You called me and I left the earth to flee with you toward the light. The heavens parted their clouds for us – splendours unknown, divine glimmers half-seen. Alas! Alas! Sad waking from dreams! I call to you, O night, give me back your illusions. Return, return, radiant; return, O mysterious night!
Diction notes
- Dans un sommeil – the opening words set the tone. Dans ends in nasal /ɑ̃/; the silent -s liaises with un as /z/: /dɑ̃ zœ̃/. Sommeil ends on the yod /j/: the -eil ending sounds /ɛj/, with no /l/ at the end.
- Ton image, tes yeux, des songes – three obligatory liaisons. Ton image: nasal /ɔ̃/ + /n/ link /tɔ̃ niˈma.ʒə/; tes yeux silent -s surfaces as /z/ before yeux: /te zjø/; des songes: no liaison needed, songes begins with a consonant.
- Splendeurs inconnues, divines entrevues – the climactic high tessitura. Both liaisons are obligatory and audible: splendeurs inconnues /splɑ̃ˈdœʁ zɛ̃.kɔˈny.ə/; divines entrevues /diˈvi.nə zɑ̃.tʁəˈvy.ə/. The schwas on -nues and -vues are essential – they release the line.
- The yod /j/ family – sommeil /sɔˈmɛj/, réveil /ʁeˈvɛj/, yeux /jø/, ciel /sjɛl/, cieux /sjø/, lumière /lyˈmjɛ.ʁə/, radieuse /ʁaˈdjø.zə/, mystérieuse /mis.teˈʁjø.zə/. The j-glide is brief and clean, never elongated into a separate syllable.
- The /ɥ/ glide – nuit /nɥi/, m’enfuir /mɑ̃ˈfɥiʁ/, lueurs /lɥœʁ/. A rounded high front glide: shape the lips as for u /y/, then slide into the following vowel without an English w.
- Open vs closed eu – yeux /jø/, cieux /sjø/, radieuse /.djø.zə/, mystérieuse /.ʁjø.zə/ all use closed /ø/ (open syllable). Bonheur /bɔˈnœʁ/, lueurs /lɥœʁ/ use open /œ/ (closed by r).
- Plus doux – /ply du/. The -s in plus is silent before a consonant and in this fixed context. The vowel of doux is closed back /u/, distinct from the front u /y/ in pure just before it.
- Rends-moi – /ʁɑ̃ mwa/. The final -s in rends is silent here; no liaison occurs before moi (which is not a clitic). The hyphenated form is purely orthographic.
- Reviens, reviens, reviens – three repetitions, each on the nasal /ɛ̃/. Re- is schwa /ə/; -viens is the yod-onset nasal /vjɛ̃/. Total two syllables per word: /ʁəˈvjɛ̃/. Keep each one identical – the music intensifies through repetition, not through pronunciation change.
- R consistency – the closing line Reviens, ô nuit mystérieuse contains four r sounds in close succession. Choose your /ʁ/ or /r/ and keep it identical throughout the piece.