SSATB Choir, Piano -
Level 3
SKU:
CA.926200
Composed by
Claude Debussy. Arranged
by Denis Rouger. Separate
edition to the CD.
Lieder, Secular choral
music. Full Score.
Composed 1883. L 6.
Duration 3 minutes. Carus
Verlag #CV 09.262/00.
Published by Carus Verlag
(CA.926200).
ISBN
9790007249243. Key: E
major. Language: French.
Text: Bourget,
Paul.
Beau soir
seems to have inspired
musicians to make their
own arrangements - for
violin, cello, saxophone
quartet, or even for
five-part chamber choir
and piano, as in this
version by Denis Rouger.
Unlike the instrumental
versions, this one
retains Paul Bourget's
text: the poetic
depiction of a sunset on
a mild summer evening, on
which light and shade
merge into one another
like the rhythm and
harmony in Debussy's
setting. It is not an
unclouded depiction, but
the recognition of our
own finiteness. This art
song was originally
composed not for chamber
choir, but for solo voice
and piano. Denis Rouger
has carefully adapted it
to suit the requirements
and expressive
possibilities offered by
a larger ensemble,
without losing the any of
the qualities of the
original in the process.
Each part in the choir
has a melodic line drawn
from the harmonic and
rhythmic framework. In
the process, the variety
and refinement of the
choral language combines
with an enormous
flexibility in form and
expression, as French
melodies or German art
song demand from a
soloist and pianist. The
songs have been recorded
by the figure humaine
chamber choir on the CD
Kennst du das Land ...
(Carus 83.495).