 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: johng ★2017
Date: 2008-02-20 03:26
Does anyone here read French well? I am doing an arrangement of Erik Satie's Automatic Descriptions and have used Babelfish and a French dictionary to puzzle out the words Satie puts into the score.
I am not convinced I have it very close, so thought I would put the French with my idea of the translation. It would be highly appreciated if someone could help.
Sur un Casque - On a Helmet
Ils arrivent - They arrive
Que de monde! - what a world!
C'est le colonel, ce bel nomme tout seul - it is the colonel, this fine man all alone
Lourd comme une truie - heavy like a sow
Leger comme un oeuf - light like an egg
John Gibson, Founder of JB Linear Music, www.music4woodwinds.com
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2008-02-20 03:55
Que de monde! means So many people!
The rest is correct
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: stevensfo
Date: 2008-02-20 11:22
Lourd comme une truie - heavy like a sow
Leger comme un oeuf - light like an egg
The word 'comme' can mean like/as.
In this context, I think that 'light as an egg' etc makes more sense.
Steve
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2008-02-20 11:30
John -
Satie was famous for his titles, which subverted logic. When he was told that his pieces lacked form, he wrote "Three Pieces in the Form of a Pear." "Trois Gymnopedies" is "Three Barefoot Pieces."
An egg is heavy for its size. Thus "Light as an Egg" seems exactly what he meant.
Ken Shaw
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Author: stevensfo
Date: 2008-02-20 11:42
If you know french, try translating this:
"towards a green glass of green earthworms"
There's also an incredibly funny book called 'Mots d'heures: gousses, rames'.
e.g.
http://www.aescon.com/aesconsulting/french/num1.htm
Steve
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2008-02-20 13:35
vers un verre vert de vers de terre...
> "towards a green glass of green earthworms"
I guess it isn't fair for a French living in the US to answer these questions
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: davyd
Date: 2008-02-22 17:28
A Satie anthology titled "Piano music of Erik Satie" (published by Eschig/Associated) has the text translated thusly:
They're here
What a crowd (Demolished machinery)
It's wonderful
Here are the drums
That's the colonel, that handsome man by himself
Heavy as a sow
Light as an egg
For what ensemble are you arranging this suite?
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Author: johng ★2017
Date: 2008-02-23 03:14
Thank you for the help. I am setting this for flute quartet at this point, but may also do a clarinet quartet and/or woodwind quartet if it seems to work. I am only doing the 1st and 3rd movements. Fun music.
John Gibson, Founder of JB Linear Music, www.music4woodwinds.com
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Author: William
Date: 2008-02-23 13:52
Google has a translation tool that works for me. Find Google and click on "translation tools". Type in the phrase and it automatically converts it into almost any other language.
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Author: EuGeneSee
Date: 2008-02-23 15:07
Gotta try that translator with "Coca Cola" to see if it really translates from Chinese to English as, "bite the wax tadpole".
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