SATB Choir, Piano - Level
2
SKU: CA.926000
Composed by Charles
Francois Gounod. Arranged
by Denis Rouger. Separate
edition to the CD.
Lieder, Secular choral
music. Full Score.
Composed 1870. CG 449.
Duration 3 minutes. Carus
Verlag #CV 09.260/00.
Published by Carus Verlag
(CA.926000).
ISBN
9790007249229. Key: F
major. Language: French.
Text: Barbier,
Jules.
The three
verses of Aimons-nous,
separated by piano
interludes, are cheerful
and amorous, an
invitation to everlasting
mutual love. The text
portrays this almost as a
law of nature: rivers and
streams combine, the sun
embraces the earth, and
the birds snuggle close
to each other in their
nest. Light, rippling
syncopations in the piano
accompany Gounod's
typical catchy melodic
writing in the vocal
parts. The writer Jules
Barbier was Gounod's
favored opera librettist
(Faust, Romeo et
Juliette), but many other
19th century opera
composers also set his
texts, including Camille
Saint-Saens, Giacomo
Meyerbeer, and Jacques
Offenbach. 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).
Julie Rivers
