The Art Song Cycle as Meaningful Structure: Paul Verlaine's Paysages tristes set to music by Charles Bordes

Abstract

This article explores Charles Bordes's cycle Paysages tristes, composed in 1884 but first published in 1902, which sets to music four poems by Paul Verlaine from the "Paysages tristes" section of Poèmes saturniens (1866). Bordes's reordering and selection of these poems from Verlaine's original sequence raise questions about their impact on the intertextual network created by the poet. Examining Bordes's interpretations reveals a creative dialogue where the musical pieces reshape the narrative coherence and thematic unity of Verlaine's texts. Additionally, this article explores in detail the themes of time and human presence within both Verlaine's poems and Bordes's musical interpretations.