Trois poèmes d'Henri Michaux was written for the Zagreb Biennale and first performed there by the orchestra and choir of Radio Zagreb, conducted by the composer and Slavko Zlatic on 9 May 1963. It is composed for 20-part choir and an orchestra similar to that of the Symphony of Psalms, though without the lower strings of the latter.Lutoslaswski has said that the general outline of the work came to him first, and only then did he choose the three poems. These reflect his Francophile taste: Henri Michaux was born in Belgium in 1899 and later became a painter: the trenchant Le Grand Combat, with its onomatopoeic invented words, dates form the 1920s- the other two texts, which are more philosophic than pictorial, form the 1930s. Choir and orchestra need separate conductors even though throughout they alternate more often than they combine.A description of the course of the music itself will be more useful than any discussion of its technical processes or of its notation. A quiet section of orchestral polyphony, which brass sforzandi punctuate with increasing frequency, frames the beginning and end of Pensées. After the choir's first unaccompanied passage, the woodwind have a staccato section over which the female voices, singing downward glissandi, are superimposed ('Ombre de mondes infimes?'). Then the woodwind and both pianos join in a lapping ostinato which illustrates the text of the next forte choir entry 'Pensées à la nage merveilleuse?' The climax of the movement comes as these characteristic woodwind figures alternate with the tintinnabulation of a gamelan-like ensemble of vibraphone, céleste, harp and pianos. / Orchestre

Par SAINT-SAENS CAMILLE. Psalm 137 'Super flumina Babylonis' also known as 'By the rivers of Babylon' was an inspiration for many composers including Camille Saint-Saëns. He repeatedly occupied himself with his psalm motet for solo soprano, mixed choir, saxophone quartet, string orchestra and organ, originally composed in 1854. Two of the four versions ? the first version in Latin and a much later version in English for alto solo, SATB choir and piano ? are now available for the first time in Urtext performing editions taking a meticulous account of all the sources. Saint-Saëns lived up to his reputation as an innovative composer by exploring the use of the saxophone family in sacred music just a few years after the invention of these instruments. The successful combination of voice and saxophone creates a special sound experience. / Date parution : 2023-07-31/ Répertoire / Soprano, SATB et Ensemble