Despite Charles Koechlin?s prolificacy, he is much less well known than his contemporaries and fellow pupils Maurice Ravel and Reynaldo Hahn, all of whom studied under Gabriel Fauré. Koechlin was a political radical who was passionate about many things, among them Bach, socialism, and Hollywood film stars, dedicating movements of his Seven Stars Symphony to various actors in their most acclaimed roles.
Si tu le veux, ô mon amour,
If you so desire, oh my love,
Ce soir dès que la fin du jour
This evening as soon as the end of the day
Sera venue,
Has come,
Quand les étoiles surgiront,
When the stars appear,
Et mettront des clous d'or au fond
And have set with studs of gold the depths
Bleu de la nue,
Blue of the sky,
Nous partirons seuls tous les deux
We shall depart alone together us two
Dans la nuit brune en amoureux,
Into the night dark in a loving way,
Sans qu'on nous voie,
Without anyone seeing us,
Et tendrement je te dirai
And tenderly I to you shall sing
Un chant d'amour où je mettrai
A song of love in which I shall place
Toute ma joie.
All my joy.
Mais quand tu rentreras chez toi,
But when you return to the home yours,
Si l'on te demande pourquoi,
If anyone asks you why,
Mignonne fée,
Lovely fairy,
Tes cheveux sont plus fous qu'avant,
Your hair is more tousled than before,
Tu répondras que seul le vent
You will answer that alone the wind
T'a décoiffée,
Has it ruffled,
Si tu le veux, ô mon amour.
If you so desire, oh my love.