Chanson de la mer

The following commentary to the above image was written by the Occitan musician Miquèu Montanaro originally in French, but on its concert recording in Szeged, accompanied by the Hungarian Ghymes from Slovakia and the Serbian Vujicsics from Hungary, the guest singers – Nena Venetsanou, Pedro Aledo, Renat Sette, Hayet Ayad, Samia Benchikh, Sara Alexander – as well as Montanaro himself sang each of its strophes in their own mother tongues, in Hebrew, Kabyle, Spanish, Occitan, Turkish and Arabic. Except for the Kabyle, which exceeds our capacities, we translate them now for the first time to English. Thanks to Bumbó for the French text and to Gyuri for the Hebrew transcription.



Vent d’Est (Ghymes – Vujicsics – Miquèu Montanaro): Chanson de la mer (Song on the sea). From the CD Ballade pour une mer qui chante III (1997).

Un peu d’eau, de vent, de sable Quelques peuples s’y baignant Soleil, lumière, ombres et pierres mêlées d’odeurs de goûts troublants.		A few water, wind, sand some people bathing sun, light and shadow, stones mixed with troubling odors
הערב כאן לשם פרידה לים הזה אומר תודה על שסחף אותנו עד הלום אתכם לשיר שירת שלום Ha-erev kan le-shem preda La-yam ha-ze omar toda Al she-sachaf otanu ad halom Itkhem lashir shirat shalom		Tonight, as a farewell we say thanks to the sea that she has brought us here so we sing the song of peace
Elle crie la cornemuse quand elle appelle la mer. Chante sa force maudit ses ruses pour mener marins aux enfers.		The bagpipe screams when she is invoking the sea, her damned force and her tricks with which she leads the sailors in the depths
[Kabyle]
Qué me cuenta la guitarra Cuando me habla de la mar son tantas notas derramadas que a mí me suelen amargar		What does the guitar tell me when she speaks about the sea? She sheds so many melodies that often make me so bitter
Lo rocàs, la mar e l’aura Fan levar lo còr d’espóscs Lo soleu dur dins l’ombra paura A rais ponhents cava son potz.		The rocks, the sea and the wind lift up the heart with a light drizzle, the hard sun with acute beams hollows its wells in the poor shadow
Çekinmem ruzgarlardan Denizden esen yelden Bana seni hatırlatır Ayrıyım ne gelir elden		I don’t fear the wind, neither the storm blowing from the sea. It reminds me of you I am far away, what can I do.
صوت العود و الرباب یغني يقول ماقالوه اخرین أحلد نغمة في سمعي يريت اتكون هكذا طول عمري sut al-‘ud va al-rebab ighani ighul maghaluh akhorin ahlada naghmah fi sam‘ai yaryet atkun hakida tul ‘umeri		The voice of the oud and rebab responds to the song of the others. I have never heard more beautiful song, neither will I in my life
Que me conte la guitare Quand ses accords disent la mer Trop de guerres sur cette mare Mes notes ont un son amer		What does the guitar relate when she is speaking of the sea? There are too many wars on this water that embitter the tune of my song
Je dis pour vous, mes chers amies Juste avant d’autre départ: C’est la mer qui nous sépare C’est elle aussi qui nous unit.		I tell you, my dear friends before we set on a new journey that it is the sea who separates and it is also her who unites us