d'Arkor's C in Salut demeure (Faust)

here is a question for the musicologists aand singers among you
in his recording of this aria Andre d'Arkor sings , at the High C
section, ou la presence se divine, instead of ou se divine la
presence
why did he change it round. was it a mistake. surely he did not prefer
to tackle the top note on an ee vowel instead of the much easier ah or
the French en???

Charlie operaphile schrieb:

> here is a question for the musicologists aand singers among you
> in his recording of this aria Andre d'Arkor sings , at the High C
> section, ou la presence se divine, instead of ou se divine la
> presence
> why did he change it round. was it a mistake. surely he did not prefer
> to tackle the top note on an ee vowel instead of the much easier ah or
> the French en???

d' Arkor is not the only one to do it.
Micheletti sings it also this way in what is considered by many one of
the top recordings of this aria.
The reason may be a prosodic one. "devine" rhymes with "divine" .

The original verses are

Salut, demeure chaste et pure où se devine
La présence d' une âme innocente et divine

2 alexandrins

Gounod broke them into 3 octosyllables:

Salut, demeure chaste et pure
Où se devine la présence
D' une âme innocente et divine.

thus cancelling the rhyme.

Some singers, or publishers, may have thought that a rhyme was needed
at the end of the aria and reversed the order to have "divine " rhyming
with "devine" again.

th.