In his late teens, Debussy hadn't quite made his mark with the radical harmonies he would later become famous for, but he was still a marvelous composer. In this video violinist Kyung-Wha Chung plays the vocal part for Debussy's "Beau Soir." Even without breaking out the aesthetic of his time I find his compositions to be overflowing with imagery. It's no surprise given lyrical basis for the piece, a poem by Paul Bourget.
French:
Lorsque au soleil couchant les rivières sont roses
Et qu'un tiède frisson court sur les champs de blé,
Un conseil d'être heureux semble sortir des choses
Et monter vers le coeur troublé.
Un conseil de goûter le charme d'être au monde
Cependant qu'on est jeune et que le soir est beau,
Car nous nous en allons, comme s'en va cette onde:
Elle à la mer, nous au tombeau.
English:
When the rivulets are rosy in the setting sun,
And a mild tremor runs over the wheat fields,
An exhortation to be happy seems to emanate from things
And rises towards the troubled heart.
While one is young and the evening is beautiful,
For we are going on, as this stream goes on:
The stream to the sea, we to the grave.
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