La Belle S’est Endormie – Charlaine Live @ Fête de la Musique

This is a short video which my lovely friend Manuela took during my June 21st 2009 concert at the gorgeous baroque Chapelle de l’Oratoire, in Le Mans. All my apologies in advance for the vid’s so-so image quality! I’m playing on a borrowed Dusty String Ravenna, which has 26 nylon strings. I love its sound and thank once again my harpist friend & pupil Lolita for lending me it. The song, La Belle S’est Endormie, comes from Cécile Corbel who arranged this old Acadian -French translated- song and taught it to me during one of her workshops in Paris… A couple of years ago. Since I don’t have the same range of voice as Cécile’s, and felt ill-at-ease with singing it, I rearranged it myself so that I could sing it sharper (my voice is better made for singing lyric, baroque operas, etc!). Here is the original meaning of the French lyrics: [Chorus] The beauty fell asleep, On a beautiful bed of roses, White as snow, Beautiful as day, They are three captains, Who want to court her. The youngest of the three, took the fair one’s hand, Come up, come p my beauty, on my handsome grey horse To Paris I’ll lead you, To a strong handsome home. Finishing this discourse, The captain returns, Eat, drink my Beauty, According to your appetite, With the captain, you’ll pass the night. In the middle of the meal, The beauty fell dead, Ring, ring church bells, Drums to the regiment, My mistress, she is dead, At the age of fifteen. … But at the end of three days, Her father walks there, Open …