SSATB Choir, Piano
SKU: CA.926400
Composed by Camille
Saint-Saens. Arranged by
Denis Rouger, Denis
Rouger. Carus digital:
Extra digital products.
Full Score. Composed
1862. Op. 13, No. 1.
Duration 5 minutes.
Published by Carus Verlag
(CA.926400).
ISBN
9790007261870. French.
Text: Victor
Hugo.
In his poem
Soiree en mer, Victor
Hugo describes how the
sea can be perceived very
differently by two lovers
at the same time in the
same place. While the man
perceives the deepening
shadows on the dancing
waves, the woman marvels
at the stars shining ever
brighter in the
firmament. In nature, as
in the words of the poem,
the painful ambiguity
that represents life at
its core can be
experienced. Like no
other poet, Hugo captures
this almost unbearable
simultaneity of living
and dying, of love and
suffering. Saint-Saens
translates this into
music - probably the most
ephemeral and
contemporary of all art
forms. His balanced
musical form leaves
plenty of room for the
poetry and his subtle
variations in timbre,
which also inspired Denis
Rouger to his choral
arrangement, create a
seething motion under the
surface of the
sea.
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
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
...wo die Ztronen bluhn
(Carus 83.514).
