This is a blog about music, photography, history, and culture.
These are photographs from my collection that tell a story about lost time and forgotten music.

Mike Brubaker
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The Music Lesson

01 August 2014




LA LEÇON DE MUSIQUE – LL.

THE LESSON OF MUSIC – LL.

No.1

L'ÈLÈVE ―
Mi, mi, sol. — La musique est
un art ridicule! 
Je ne pourrai bien sùr
rien chanter aujourd'hui
Je ne sais pas vraiment quelle
 fièvre me brûle
Lorsqu'il me faut paraître
et chanter devant lui

THE STUDENT ―
Mi, mi, so. - Music is
a ridiculous art!
I can sing nothing well today
I do not really know
what fever burns me
When I must appear
before him and sing.


> <










No. 2

L'ÈLÈVE ―
Monsieur, décidément je vais
vous prendre en haine
Vous et votre musique
et votre Rossini!
L'ariette est atroce et j'en
ai la migraine
Je ne veux plus vous
voir Monsieur Paganini.

THE STUDENT ―
Sir, I will definitely make you hate 
You and your music
and your Rossini! 
The aria is atrocious
and I have a headache 
I never want to see you,
Mr. Paganini.

> <





No. 3

LE PROFESSEUR ―
L'art est Long, très long même,
a dit un très grand maitre
C'est par l'effort que le talent
se fait connaître

PROFESSOR ―
Art is Long, even very long,
said a great master 
This is the effort that
makes itself known
as talent!


> <




No. 4

L'ÈLÈVE ―
Vous en parlez, Monsieur,
très  doctoralement !


LE PROFESSEUR ―
Commençons, voulez-vous,
par quelques vocalises.

THE STUDENT ―
You speak, sir, very doctorally! 


PROFESSOR
Start, if you will,
with some vocalizations.

> <




No. 5

LE PROFESSEUR ―
Mais vous ne chantez pas ?

L'ÈLÈVE ―
Cela vous scandalise
Je vous écoute, vous jouez divinement !

PROFESSOR ―
But you are not singing? 

THE STUDENT ―
Does this offend you
I listen to you, you play divinely!

> <




No. 6

L'ÈLÈVE ―
Tiens ! je me sens en voix;
Mi, mi, sol ... L'ariette
Par vous accompagnée
est un chant d'alouette ..

THE STUDENT ―
Here! I feel in voice;
Mi, mi, sol ... The aria 
Accompanied by you is
like singing with a lark ..


> <




No. 7

LE PROFESSEUR ―
Pas mal ! Sons bien posés, mais vous manquez de flamme
Reprenons ce passage
et chantons tous les deux:
 ― Oui, vous l'arrachez
a mon âme !
Ce secret qu'ont trahi mes yeux ...

PROFESSOR  ―
Not bad! Well set sounds,
but you miss the flame 
Resume this passage
and sing both:
 ― Yes, you tear at my soul! 
This secret has been betrayed by my eyes ...


> < 




No. 8

L'ÈLÈVE ―
C'est là ce beau secret
que j'arrache à votre àme !
Vous m'aimez ! -- Un baiser !...
Monsieur l'audacieux
Dites-moi maintenant que je
manque de flamme !

THE STUDENT ―
It is this beautiful secret
that tears your soul!
You love me! - A kiss ...
Mr Audacious
Tell me now that I lack flame!


> < 




No. 9

LE PROFESSEUR ―
O joie. ô transport! ô bonheur!
Je veux être le Paganini
de ton cœur !

L'ÈLÈVE ―
Et mon cœur vibre avec délices
Sous vos baisers,
charmant complice !

PROFESSOR ―
Oh joy. Oh transport! Oh joy! 
I want to be the Paganini
of your heart! 

THE STUDENT ―
And my heart vibrates with delight
Under your kisses,
my charming accomplice!


> <




No. 10

MONSIEUR & MADAME ―
L'Hymen nous rend boudeurs: Pourquoi? Nous sommes fous
Si par hasard quelque
fausse note s'y glisse
Recommençons notre duo; embrassons-nous !

MORALE: 
Imitez leur exemple,
ô moroses époux.

MR & MRS  ―
Hymen [the Greek god of marriage] makes us sulky: Why? We are fools 
If by chance some false note slips in 
Let us begin our duo again;
let us kiss! 

MORAL:
Imitate their example,
O morose husband.


> <






These ten postcards were each sent one at a time from Monte Carlo to Mademoiselle Marthe Simone of Trévoux, Ain, France in April 1904.

Please pardon my effort at French translation. All offers for a better English meaning accepted, merci!.






























This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

click the link for lessons of another kind.







By a nice coincidence the Sepia Saturday theme this weekend fits very well with one of my family photographs from 63 years ago. I suppose we could call it the first official family photograph.

Félicitations to Madame and Monsieur Brubaker 

for their many years of making music together.  







And just in case they forgot the details. Here is the announcement published a few days later
in the Hanover PA Evening Sun. 





13 comments:

Wendy said...

What an amusing set of flirty postcards. And congrats to all the Brubakers. (My son-in-law is stationed at Fort Benning right now.)

La Nightingail said...

Those postcards were great fun. Reminded me of a favorite English Music Hall song I used to sing called "Tuner's Opportunity" about a piano tuner who came frequently to tune a young lady's piano, or so they would have the neighborhood believe. :))

Little Nell said...

Charming postcards which match the prompt nicely as well as in keeping with your musical theme. Congratulations to the happy couple too.

Anonymous said...

Modern communcations are great but we have given up a lot to have this "progress". How lovely to receive a series of postcards like these. It's hard to cherish an email the way these cards would have been cherished.

Postcardy said...

A very entertaining set of postcards.

Alex Daw said...

Tres amusant. Felicitations.

Helen Killeen Bauch McHargue said...

Oh joy! Oh transport! Post card #9 is my favorite, when things reach a crescendo moment. I think I'll call my husband Mr. Audacious from now on. Congratulations to your parents.

Anonymous said...

I wonder who was sending the postcards and why they chose these particular postcards

Alan Burnett said...

PROFESSOR : A perfect symphony, Mister Mike / You always give us posts we are sure to like.

Sharon said...

Wow! Those postcards match the theme perfectly. Once again, I think the humour was somewhat lost in the translation though!

Anonymous said...

Love the postcards! The woman certainly has a spark of playfulness in her eyes.

Tattered and Lost said...

I'm guessing that people wrote their own captions for these cards and I'm betting they were pretty naughty. The photos say one thing, the captions say another.

Jofeath said...

With that moral, I was expecting the postcards to have been sent or passed on to some disgruntled lady's husband, but no, Mademoiselle couldn't have been married. Amazing that she could be located with that very basic address.

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