DESCRIPTION:
I KNOW, THE "LATE APRIL FOOLS DAY TRIBUTE" WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ONLY YESTERDAY, I BUT I DECIDED TO EXTEND IT UNTIL TODAY, APRIL 7, 2015, PHILIPPINE STANDARD TIME. SO HERE YOU GO -- THE "EXTENDED LATE APRIL FOOLS DAY TRIBUTE." ENJOY. :D -- gsarci2011

Pierrot: Le bon Pierrot que la foule contemple for voice and piano, art song for voice and piano, L. 15, by French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918). (year composed 1881)

The first setting, that of Théodore de Banville’s Pierrot, was composed in 1881, but was left unpublished until after the composer’s death. Debussy’s music is humorous with a particularly taunting melodic figure that appears within the first few measures of the song. This motif then becomes a principle element of the accompaniment, appearing both as a sort of counterpoint to the vocal line or as an addition to the end of its phrases. In the final line of text, treated by Debussy in a sort of quasi-recitative, Banville makes a direct reference to Deburau himself as the sad and hapless clown.

The lyrics are from the poem "Pierrot" (1842?) by French poet Theodore Faullain de Banville. (1823-1891).

English translation of the lyrics:

The good Pierrot, whom the crowd watches,
Having finished at Harlequin's wedding,
Wanders as in a dream along the Boulevard du Temple.

A young girl in a flimsy blouse
In vain entices him with her scamp's eye;

And meanwhile, mysterious and shiny
Making him its dearest delight,
The white moon with horns of a bull
Casts a glance offstage
At his friend Jean-Gaspard Deburau.

Ah!

(Wikipedia, ClassicalConnect, RecMusic)

Please take note that the audio AND the sheet music ARE NOT mine. Change the quality to 480p if the video is blurry.

Performance by: Anna Sohn (soprano), Hui-Won Lee (piano)
(original audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBv1kpLBDS4)