canasg choral music publishing - Soun, soun, béni, béni

WT2021

Soun, soun, béni, béni

words and tune traditional French

arranged by Sheena Phillips
for soprano, alto, tenor and bass chorus

SATB performance time approx 2m 00s

Arranger's note

This lullaby is from the Massif Central region of France. The key word is 'soun' (sleep) which, pronounced as a nasal 'soo' creates a wonderful effect, over many repetitions, of some patient mum, dad or granny trying to hush a reluctant child to sleep. A few dynamics have been marked, but feel free to try other ideas too. The piece should flow simply and gently throughout.

Music

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Hear a MIDI file of the song

Words

Soun, soun, béni, béni

Soun, soun, béni, béni, soun, soun, béni, béni, doun!
Soun, soun, béni, béni, soun, soun, béni, d'en docon.
Lou soun, soun bouol pas béni:
Pêcairé!
L'éfontou s'en bouol pas durmi.
Soun, soun, béni O l'éfon.

Traditional song

The words and tune of this lullaby were collected by Sir Henry Walford Davies and published in French Songs (1938). They are used by permission of the Trustees of Sir Henry Walford Davies.

Translation

Sleep, come now!
Sleep, come here.

Sleep doesn't want to come:
What a nuisance!
The baby doesn't want to sleep.

Sleep, come to this child.

Full pronunciation guide provided

Price

The price of this piece depends on the number of singers in your group. This is a single payment for a licence to make as many copies as you need for your group to rehearse and perform the song as often as you wish. Copies of the song must not be given, lent or sold to any other group.

Number of singers in your group
up to 12 singers	13 to 24 singers	25 singers or more
£5 (approx US$8.00)	£10 (approx US$16)	£15 (approx US$24)
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Companion pieces

Browse the 'World folk and traditional' section of the Canasg catalogue for more songs like this one. To go there now, click on the 'catalogue' box to the right.

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