Fauré’s Trois Mélodies (Op.7) were composed between 1870 and 1877, finally published in 1878.
Accompanying the other chansons Hymne (with a text by Charles Baudelaire), and Barcarolle (with a text by Marc Monnier), Après un Rêve (‘After a dream’) sets the text of an anonymous Italian poet, adapted into French by Romain Bussine.
The song is amongst Fauré’s most popular, notable for its melody and harmony, both of which look easy but are the work of a master craftsman of French mélodie. Notice how he changes the expect chords in the opening.
Composed in 1877 and published in 1882, exemplifies the refinement and expressivity of the nineteenth-century French art song, or mélodie. Scored for voice and piano, the song sets a tender, dreamlike poem by Romain Bussine, in which the speaker recounts a vision of idealised love. Fauré’s music mirrors the poem’s intimate and ethereal qualities: the vocal line floats effortlessly above a gently undulating piano accompaniment, employing subtle chromaticism and delicate harmonic shifts that enhance the sense of longing and reverie.
The song’s lyricism, expressive nuance, and careful attention to text-setting are characteristic of Fauré’s mature style and of the broader French chanson tradition in the late nineteenth century, which prioritises poetic subtlety, vocal elegance, and a seamless integration of words and music. Après un rêve remains a quintessential example of the mélodie’s capacity to convey personal emotion with understated sophistication.
Après un rêve is structured in a simple ternary (ABA) form, reflecting the song’s narrative arc of longing, fleeting joy, and wistful reflection. The piano accompaniment opens with a gentle, undulating triplet figure that establishes a dreamlike, flowing atmosphere, which continues throughout, subtly supporting the vocal line without dominating it.
Harmonically, Fauré employs chromatic inflections and delayed resolutions, particularly in the modulation to the distant key areas in the central section, heightening the sense of yearning and instability inherent in the text. The vocal line itself is characterised by smooth, legato phrases that trace the natural contours of the French language, with carefully placed leaps and suspensions that evoke the speaker’s emotional intensity.
Text-painting is subtle yet effective: moments such as “mon rêve était si doux” are highlighted by rising melodic gestures and gentle harmonic tension. Rhythmically, the song is flexible, allowing for expressive rubato, which, combined with the harmonic palette and lyrical line, conveys both intimacy and ethereal longing. Overall, Après un rêve demonstrates Fauré’s mastery of the mélodie: a seamless fusion of poetic nuance and musical sophistication that encapsulates the expressive potential of late nineteenth-century French art song.
Richard Wigmore’s translation can be found here: https://oxfordsong.org/song/apr%C3%A8s-un-r%C3%AAve
What do you notice about the melody? What particular features are there?
What do you notice about the harmony? What particular features are there?
How successful do you think Fauré’s setting of this poem is?
What would you have done differently?
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