Et la Mer et l’Amour - Renaissance French Song

Music and vocals by Farya Faraji, lyrics by Pierre de Marbeuf. This is an original song I composed in the style of Renaissance French music, with four independent melodic lines coalescing together to form harmony together. Marbeuf was a renowned French poet of the 17th century and wrote this one in 1628, dedicating it to a certain Phillis. The instruments used are the lute, viola de gamba, harpsichord, and flute. Lyrics in French: Et la mer et l’amour ont l’amer pour partage, Et la mer est amère, et l’amour est amer, L’on s’abîme en l’amour aussi bien qu’en la mer, Car la mer et l’amour ne sont point sans orage. Celui qui craint les eaux, qu’il demeure au rivage, Celui qui craint les maux qu’on souffre pour aimer, Qu’il ne se laisse pas à l’amour enflammer, Et tous deux ils seront sans hasard de naufrage. La mère de l’amour eut la mer pour berceau, Le feu sort de l’amour, sa mère sort de l’eau, Mais l’eau contre ce feu ne peut fournir des armes. Si l’eau pouvait éteindre un brasier amoureux, Ton amour qui me brûle est si fort douloureux, Que j’eusse éteint son feu de la mer de mes larmes. English translation: And the sea and love have bitterness for sharing, And the sea is bitter, and love is bitter, We ruin ourselves in love as well as in the sea, For the sea and love are not without storms. He who fears the waters, let him stay on the shore, The one who fears the evils that we suffer to love, Let him not let love set him on fire, And both of them will be without chance of shipwreck. The mother of love had the sea as her cradle, Fire comes out of love, her mother comes out of the water, But water against this fire cannot provide weapons. If only water could extinguish a blaze of love, For your love that burns me is so painful, That I would have extinguished its fire with the sea of my tears.