Little is known about the composition of the orchestral song cycle, Les nuits d’été [Summer nights]. The six songs date from 1840-41 and were originally written for the traditional combination of voice and piano, but are rarely heard in that form, the keyboard version having been supplanted by the polychrome orchestral version.
One of the main reasons we know so little about the songs’ genesis is that the author of the poems, Théophile Gautier (see above) shared a part-time profession (journalism) with the composer and was also a near neighbour of his; they would have met, both in the course of their employment, and socially – no need for correspondence when you could chat in person. Hence the paucity of documentary evidence.
I. Villanelle 00:34
II. Le spectre de la rose 03:00
III. Sur les lagunes 09:00
IV. Absence 14:55
V. Au cimetière – Clair de lune 19:33
VI. L’île inconnue 24:07 ∙
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The Art of Listening 