Translating the French in our scores… all of it!

Francis Poulenc - Sanglots

This article concerns as much singers as it does pianists. We are very familiar with Italian when it comes to markings in our scores: piano, lento, colla voce, etc...

While French music often utilizes the Italian, many markings are written in the original French. One major characteristic of French music is that nothing is left to chance; the composer writes exactly what he wants and you can use the score as a trusted roadmap to performing the piece as accurately as he would have wanted.

Taking the time to translate the text of the song is as important as taking the time to translate the markings in French. You may see the "p" marking indicating to sing one phrase piano, but above it or shortly after, you may see "comme dans un sanglot" or "très aimable": "as if sobbing" or "very kindly". This is valuable information, that can take your performance and your understanding of the piece to the next level.

Same for the piano or orchestral parts, beyond the Italian "colla voce", or even the French words we may be more used to, like "suivez" (follow) or "allant" (energetic), many more indications may inform our interpretation.

One good example to consider is Francis Poulenc's music. He leaves nothing out, for the singer or the accompaniment. The result is very different if we follow all he writes to the letter.

I cannot stress enough the importance of taking the time to translate all these markings in all the French pieces you work on.

My work on French diction in coachings focuses on the interpretation and style as well. Let's schedule a time together to work on your repertoire!