Je crois entendre encore from "The Pearl Fishers" (Bizet) - Solo Violoncello and Piano by Georges Bizet Piano - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1291461

Les pêcheurs de perles (“The Pearl Fishers”) is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The opera is set on the island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), back in “ancient times”, and tells the story of two men and their eternal vow of friendship becomes strained when the fall in love with the same women. She, in turn, has her own struggles between her sacred oath and secular love. Perhaps the most famous piece from the opera is known as “The Pearl Fishers Duet”, originally “Au fond du temple saint” (“At the back of the holy temple” or “Deep inside the sacred temple”) in French; some might say it is the best-known duet in Western opera.

The opera was premiered on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris. Bizet was only 25 years old at the time, unestablished and only have been given the commission due to being a former winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome. Whilst the public enjoyed the opera, the press critics were much more hostile and dismissive, resulting in it not being performed again during Bizet's life. However, it was performed again in 1886 and become a part of the general operatic repertoire by the mid-20th century. Modern musicologists say that, whilst the opera can be uneven and unoriginal (at times), it clearly foreshadows what was come 10 years later when Bizet completed Carmen. But his gift for melody is very clear in The Pearl Fishers, with Je crois entendre encore (“I believe I still hear”) being an excellent example of this.

Taken from Act 1, Je crois entendre encore is sung by Nadir, one of the friends who made the friendship vow, and tells of how he had broken this pact to Zurga (the other friend, now leader of the fishermen), to pursue his love for the veiled woman (Leila). It was selected by the tenor Wynne Evans as one of the most romantic songs for his top ten arias for Classic FM. He described it as “one of [Bizet’s] saddest and most heart-rending” songs.

The piece was used in the 2020 film The Father.

This arrangement (for solo violoncello and piano accompaniment) includes an alternative part where the ‘cello is an octave lower. A recording of the original song can be found on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Q1rTaw3O1wI

 
Other searchable terms: Eugène Cormon, Michel Carré, France.