I am an amateur composer of classical (or concert) music, living in rural Ohio (USA). I hold a B.M. in Composition with a minor in vocal performance from the University of Tulsa and an M.M. in Theory and Composition from the University of Kansas. While in graduate school, I pursued vocal studies at the Conservatoire de musique in Bordeaux, France, where I also studied French language, literature and philosophy at the Université Michel de Montaigne (Bordeaux III). I completed my doctorate in French at the University of Kansas. By profession, I am a professor of languages and humanities, and I have published many studies on French literature and culture. But my real love is writing music. As I compose mostly in my spare time, I tend to work in smaller forms, and especially the art song, which permits me to combine a love of music and literature. However, I have written a fair number of works for various chamber ensembles, piano solo, and chorus, as well as one work for orchestra.
Merci bien. Moi aussi, j'ai un goût bien ancré dans le romantisme. Je me fous des tendances modernes de la musique de concert. C'est pour cette raison que j'ai opté contre une carrière comme prof de musique. Je compose ce que j'ai envie d'entendre. Mais cela fait du bien quand les autres aiment l'entendre aussi !
Here are the texts of the four songs on this recording: Quatre mélodies françaises Je ne puis … I may not … Je ne puis exister qu'au soleil I may not exist but in the sunlight de tes bras of your arms je renaîtrai I shall be reborn rebelle rebellious Du fond de tes prunelles. from the depth of your eyes. Je suis femme I am a woman pour toi for you C'est toi qui me rend belle. It is you who make me beautiful. (Marion Lubréac) Moments perdus au Parc Floral Lost Moments in Floral Park Tu venais de jouer : nous étions assises You had just been playing: we were sitting Sur un banc, sur les fleurs, dans la brise. On a bench, amid the flowers, in the breeze. Peut-être, qui sait, tu étais de musique Perhaps, who knows, you were made of music Comme on est de marbre. De musique. As one is made of marble. Of music. Chopin le fou chantait encore au loin The wild Chopin kept chanting in the distance Son air de fantôme qui me revient. His ghostly air that comes back to me. La brise est-elle mélomane, crois-tu ? Is the breeze a lover of music, do you think? Ou se fiche-t-elle des moments perdus ? Or does it care nothing for lost moments? (Thérèse Guilbert) Exigences Exigencies Je te voudrais rivière I would have you be a river Pour plonger dans tes eaux To plunge into you waters La source de jouvence The fountain of youth Je te voudrais colline I would have you be a hill Pour gravir tes coteaux To climb your slopes La clé de l’espérance The key of hope Je te voudrais légende I would have you be a legend Et boire tes paroles And drink in all your words Je te voudrais promesse I would have you be a promise Et me nourrir d’espoir And feed upon a wish Je te voudrais caresse I would have you a caress Pendant mes nuits frivoles During my empty nights Je te voudrais lavande I would have you be lavender Pour parfumer le soir To perfume the evening Si tu étais mirage If you were a mirage Je deviendrais reflet I would become a reflection Si tu étais nuage If you were a cloud Vers toi je monterais Toward you I would ascend (Liza Lo Bartolo Bardin) Dans le chaud de tes mains … In the warmth of your hands … Dans le chaud de tes mains In the warmth of you hands Il y a les étoiles, Are the stars, La mer et le soleil, The sea and the sun, L’univers tout entier. The entire universe. Dans le chaud de tes mains In the warmth of your hands J’ai trouvé la puissance, I have found strength, La force et le courage, Force and courage, Le « vouloir continuer ». The “will to carry on.” Dans le chaud de tes mains In the warmth of your hands Il y a le désespoir, There is despair, L’angoisse d’un enfant The anguish of a child Qui ne se trouve pas. Who cannot find himself. Deux mains qui se tendent Two hands stretched forth Réclamant les miennes. Asking for my own. Et le chaud de mes mains And the warmth of my hands Calme ton cœur d’enfant Calms your child’s heart Et rassure ton âme. And reassures your soul. Dans le chaud de nos mains In the warmth of our hands Tout existe, tout se créé, All exists, all is created, Dans le chaud de nos mains In the warmth of our hands Il y a l’amitié. There is companionship. C’est l’union de deux âmes It is the union of two souls Qui n’ont plus à chercher, Who no longer have to seek, Puisqu’elles ont tout trouvé ! For they have found everything! (Marion Lubréac) About the poets… A celebrated author of Haiku and Senryu, Marion Lubréac lives in Préseau, France. She is also widely admired for her short stories and intensely lyrical love poetry. Residing in Montreuil, France, Thérèse Guilbert holds a doctorat in American film and literature from the prestigious Université de Paris-Nanterre. She has written a beautiful collection of poetry entitled Paroles de Paris (Words from Paris). Liza Lo Bartolo Bardin lives in Embrun, in the French Alps. She is a widely published author of novels, shorts stories and poetry, including a collection of lyrical poems entitled Flammes d’âme (Flames of the Soul), published by Millepoètes.
