Saariaho - Émilie w. karita mattila - Vii enfant

As if she suddenly discovered that "deliverance" also means the birth of a child... ...perhaps of a daughter, Emily addresses her, and also at times, her own father, the Baron de Breteuil. -And you who are here, you child, my love, what existence will you have after me? If you're a girl, beware! Beware never to let your portion of happiness be stolen from you! (She states as a theorem, perhaps reading her "Discourse on Happiness".) -We have nothing to do in this world but to provide ourselves with sensations and pleasant feelings. Sometimes, like myself, you have to say to yourself: I am a woman, and sententious men burst and all prude women! I wish you a father like mine. Who wants to teach you everything he himself learned, and who invites you to sing out loud with him. Women, the knight, the arms, loves... Tell yourself that the world is yours, my daughter, if only you dare conquer it! The courtesies, the daring enterprises I sing... (Spoken, whispered, turning to her father) -Your voice was the breeze that blew in the sails of my frail raft. If you're a girl, my visitor, my visitor, my passenger, do not protect yourself from passions, nor from temptations. Sometimes, you will suffer, but beware of crying, other than in the moments where tears are a weapon. And before all, do not rehash ever! Our remorses do not instruct us, they destroy us. I refuse to curse my late passion, even though it leads me to nothingness.