Georges Pascal d’Aix (born 6 Nov 1862, but date of death unknown -posterior to 1934) was a French diplomat who, when young, went to the "Conservatoire de Paris" where he made friends with Claude Debussy and Paul Dukas. This setting of the famous poem by Charles Baudelaire, dated 1882, is from this period and is the only piece of music that is known from him, as his diplomatic career as a Consul Général de France took precedence. L’invitation au voyage (The invitation to travel overseas) was published by Charles Baudelaire in Les Fleurs du Mal (1857). It has also been set to music by Ernest Chabrier, Benjamin Godard, Henri Duparc and by Alain Jacques. Literal translation (AJ):

1.My child, my sister, Imagine the sweetness Of going there to live together, To love at leisure, To love and die In the land that looks like you; The wet suns Of those jumbled skies Have to my mind the charms So mysterious Of your treacherous eyes Shining through their tears.

There, all is order and beauty, Luxury, calm and sensuousness.

2.Some shining pieces of furniture Polished by the years, Would decorate our room; The rarest flowers Mixing their fragrances To the vague scents of amber, The rich ceilings, The deep mirrors, The splendor of the East, All would talk, there, To the soul in secret.

There, all is order and beauty, Luxury, calm and sensuousness.

3.See on the canals Those sleeping vessels Whose mood is to wander; It is to fulfill Your least desire That they come from the end of the world. The setting suns Dress the fields, The canals, the entire city, With hyacinth and gold; The world is falling asleep In a warm light.

There, all is order and beauty, Luxury, calm and sensuousness.