French is a great language for singing.
The letter E alone can give you at least four distinct sounds, depending on what kind of accent sits on top of it. The letter C gets a wonderful piece of punctuation beneath it when it’s meant to be soft. It almost looks like a drip of honey falling from its underside.
Meanwhile, the letter X, usually an ugly, harsh letter in English, is used in French to elegantly tie words together, as in the first line of this piece. The words beaux oiseaux come out as the syrupy bo-zwa-zo. Even the word for war, guerre, gets an extra syllable when sung: guerr-e. Almost makes war sound cuddly.
Few composers have put this lovely language to work better than Maurice Ravel.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. Unlike many composers, Ravel didn’t write religious pieces, focusing instead on the natural world. Here, a narrator admires the beauty of birds, while lamenting a loved one gone off to war.
2. The supporting chorus of ‘ahs’ is wonderful the whole way through, but I especially love the unexpected A-naturals from 1:15 to 1:20.
3. The word for crimson at 2:01 is cramoisi. What a word. Sounds like a delicious new flavour of frozen yoghurt.
Recommended listening activity:
Augmenting your speech with elegant hand gestures.