SATB Choir and Piano
SKU: BT.PMC3297
From Les Chansons des
Roses. Composed by
Rainer Maria Rilke.
Arranged by Morten
Lauridsen. Choral Score.
8 pages. Peermusic
Classical #PMC3297.
Published by Peermusic
Classical (BT.PMC3297).
In addition to
his vast output of German
poetry, Rainer Maria
Rilke (1875-1926)
composed nearly 400 poems
in French. His poems on
roses struck me as
especially charming,
filled with gorgeous
lyricism, deftly crafted
and elegant in their
imagery. These exquisite
poems are primarily
light, joyous and
playful, and the musical
settings are designed to
enhance these
characteristics and
capture the delicate
beauty and sensuousness
of the poetry. Distinct
melodic and harmonic
materials recur
throughout the cycle,
especially between
Rilke''s poignant 'Contre
qui, rose' (set as a
wistful nocturne) and his
moving 'La rose
complète.' The final
piece, 'Dirait-on,' is
composed as a tuneful
chanson populaire, or
folksong, that weaves
together two melodic
ideas first heard in
fragmentary form in
preceding movements. 'Les
Chansons des Roses' was
premiered and recorded in
1993 by Portland, Oregon
''s celebrated chamber
choir, Choral Cross-Ties,
conducted by Bruce
Browne. The complete
cycle has been widely
performed since then and
also recorded by the Los
Angeles Master Chorale,
Los Angeles Chamber
Singers, Nordic Chamber
Choir and tonight's
performers, the Donald
Brinegar Singers. (Morten
Lauridsen).
