Plaisir d’amour
The text of Plaisir d’amour first appeared in Florian’s novel Célestine in 1784, and Martini’s setting was published shortly afterwards as a romance. It has long been a staple introductory French song in voice studios. Its compact refrain, simple harmonic plan and clear declamation make it a useful piece for learning the schwa, closed and open e, and the front rounded u – foundations of French diction.
Line-by-line IPA
Plaisir d’amour ne dure qu’un moment,
[plɛˈziʁ daˈmuʁ nə ˈdy.ʁə kœ̃ mɔˈmɑ̃]
Chagrin d’amour dure toute la vie.
[ʃaˈɡʁɛ̃ daˈmuʁ ˈdy.ʁə ˈtu.tə la ˈvi.ə]
J’ai tout quitté pour l’ingrate Sylvie,
[ʒe tu kiˈte puʁ lɛ̃ˈɡʁa.tə silˈvi.ə]
Elle me quitte et prend un autre amant.
[ˈɛ.lə mə ˈki.tə e pʁɑ̃ œ̃ ˈo.tʁə aˈmɑ̃]
Tant que cette eau coulera doucement
[tɑ̃ kə ˈsɛ.tə o ku.ləˈʁa du.səˈmɑ̃]
Vers ce ruisseau qui borde la prairie,
[vɛʁ sə ʁɥiˈso ki ˈbɔʁ.də la pʁɛˈʁi.ə]
Je t’aimerai, me répétait Sylvie,
[ʒə tɛm.ˈʁe mə ʁe.peˈtɛ silˈvi.ə]
L’eau coule encor, elle a changé pourtant.
[lo ˈku.lə ɑ̃ˈkɔʁ | ˈɛ.lə a ʃɑ̃ˈʒe puʁˈtɑ̃]
English translation
The pleasure of love lasts only a moment, the sorrow of love lasts a whole life. I gave up everything for the ungrateful Sylvie; she leaves me and takes another lover. The pleasure of love lasts only a moment, the sorrow of love lasts a whole life. As long as this water flows gently toward that stream which borders the meadow, “I will love you,” Sylvie used to tell me – the water still flows, yet she has changed.
Diction notes
- The refrain – Plaisir d’amour ne dure qu’un moment. The schwa appears in ne /nə/ and, when the music sets it, in the final syllable of dure /ˈdy.ʁə/. Moment is /mɔˈmɑ̃/: the first syllable has /ɔ/, not schwa, and the final syllable is nasal /ɑ̃/. Qu’un is the contracted que un – one syllable, the nasal /œ̃/.
- Sylvie, vie, prairie – in citation form (and in conversation) these end in a single /i/: /silˈvi/, /vi/, /pʁɛˈʁi/. In Martini’s setting, the music gives the final mute -e its own note, so they are sung with an added schwa: /silˈvi.ə/, /ˈvi.ə/, /pʁɛˈʁi.ə/ – Sylvie three syllables in singing, not two. This is why the line IPA above shows the schwa even though VoxLingo’s transcriber, which gives citation form, does not.
- Chagrin, ingrate, un, prend – four different nasals close together in verse one. Chagrin /ɛ̃/, ingrate /ɛ̃/ (the n is silent – do not say /ɛn.ɡʁat/), un /œ̃/, prend /ɑ̃/. Each must be nasal from the start of the vowel.
- Prend un – in performance the silent -d of prend surfaces as /t/ before the vowel: /pʁɑ̃.ˈtœ̃/. This is an obligatory liaison after a verb form.
- Elle a, cette eau, coule encor – in conservatoire practice the schwa of elle, cette, and coule elides before the following vowel: /ˈɛ.l‿a/, /ˈsɛ.t‿o/, /ˈku.l‿ɑ̃ˈkɔʁ/. Many singers preserve the schwa instead when the score gives it a note. Either is defensible; be consistent.
- Dure, doucement, ruisseau, du – the front rounded u /y/ recurs constantly. Lips rounded as for English oo, tongue forward as for English ee. Never tu as English too.
- Toute, doucement, tout – closed back ou /u/, distinct from u /y/ above. The contrast between du /dy/ and doux /du/ is meaningful in French.
- Ruisseau – the ui-glide /ɥi/: a brief rounded y sliding into i, then the open syllable closes on /o/. /ʁɥiˈso/.
- Plaisir, amour, dure, jour, encor, pourtant – every r is the French r, not the English. Choose the uvular /ʁ/ (modern standard) or the rolled /r/ (older tradition) and use it consistently throughout the piece.