Après un rêve

This mélodie is the first in a set of three songs, opus 7, which also comprises Hymne and Barcarolle respectively. All three were composed between 1870 and 1877, then collected and published in 1878 under the title Trois Mélodies.  Not originally conceived as a song cycle, these three songs acquired this opus number much later, in the 1890s. The poem for Après un rêve was loosely adapted from an anonymous Italian text by Romain Bussine. It describes, in the form of a dream, the imaginary flight of two lovers who are head over heels in love, although the last verse brings the dreamer inexorably back to harsh reality as dawn is breaking. In the original key of C minor, often transposed to suit all voices, this eminently romantic pièce is characteristic of Fauré’s youthful style, differing substantially from the abstract harmonic ideas of his mature period. The melody unfolds over a thick swathe of regular quavers, its lyricism liberated from this fixed rhythmic base by flowing triplet figures. The success of this song is entirely due to the fluidity of the melody, which is why it was often adapted for instrument and piano, sacrificing the words which are suggested by the title alone.