Composition by Gabriel Fauré, arrangement by Bastien Bernier for 2 equal voices and piano, text by Sully Prudhomme
Au bord de l'eau is a melody by Gabriel Fauré published in 1875 to a poem by Sully Prudhomme. The work evokes a peaceful, intimate scene where the narrator and his love are at the water's edge, the sensations of calm and eternal happiness shared as water and time pass, which the poet invites us to contemplate. The work is here arranged for choir of 2 equal voices.
Duration: approx. 2 minutes
This melody is one of Gabriel Fauré's best-known. They are essential French melodies, adapted to music for equal voices choir. This arrangement offers vocal ensembles the chance to take on a repertoire usually reserved for soloists, to offer the rich sound of a women's choir whose expressiveness, homogeneity and purity of timbre lend themselves perfectly to the interpretation of these works, retaining the suppleness of Fauré's melodies, their delicate simplicity and highlighting the subtle palette of harmonic colours he uses.
Bastien Bernier:
"Passionate about writing music as a teenager, I began composing and arranging contemporary music projects and music applied to images on a self-taught basis.
In 2016, I went to Nice CRR to join M. Martelli's harmony classes. Martelli's harmony classes, where I acquired a solid technique in harmony and counterpoint. I then joined the CRR in Lyon in 2019, where I obtained a DEM in composition in 2021.
I supplemented my classical training with jazz training and took part in various projects as a composer and arranger. I became increasingly passionate about fugues and compositions for vocal ensembles. Inspired by the work of singers and choral conductors who have given me a wealth of knowledge about the sung voice, I focus particularly on arrangements for choirs, ranging from children's voices to mixed choirs."
