Naissances
(Births)

Equal voices choir
Poems of the composer
1.Dreams 2.Flames 3.Hallucinations 4.Slidings
(2000)
Duration : 9’
Commissioned by the Florilège vocal de Tours.
First performance on june 2d et 3rd 2001 at the Grand Théâtre of Tours.
Editions Billaudot

NAISSANCES (Births)
Dreams – Flames – Hallucinations – Slidings

The cycle Naissances (Births) is a lovely tribute from the composer to his own children.
“With energy”, “Softly”, “Lively” then “Very quiet”, piano first of all, forte, even fortissimo in the middle, and pianissimo to conclude, the whole work draws a kind of arc, all the more representative of his author’s concerns as the birth’s concept is here associated with those of growth and soaring in a progressive deployment of energy.
Thus we get here the births of the child as much as the births of the voice.
Most of the time, the singers enter one after the other in a more and more tightened way ; so the additional notes increase the harmony until the counterpoint become more complex with the birth of new motives.
“Rêves” (“Dreams”) first breed and then close like a fan.
“Flammes” (“Flames”) grows and expand from inside, by progressive division of the initial tutti.
In “Hallucinations”, the canon become distorted by the mirror’s effects.
And in “Glissements” (“Slidings”), the singers switch from one note to another by slow portamentos, before escaping in all the directions to build a very delicate conclusive cluster …

(From the program of Maîtrise de Radio-France – April  25th 2013)

Poems

1 – Rêves (Dreams)

Réveille-toi !
Isole ton monde d’hier et
Chante, les yeux fermés, ce que dicte ta voix.
Hume les senteurs
Aériennes qui souflent sur ton visage.
Respire encore leur haleine afin de
Deviner ce qu’elles n’osent te dire…

2 – Flammes (Flames)

Fragile comme la montagne blanche qui
Etincelle, là-haut ;
Limpide comme la goutte d’eau
Irrisée sur le rebord de ta paupière : tel
Xerxès, mais vainqueur enfin !

3 – Hallucinations

Hercule n’oserait pas
Essuyer ton audace.
Contre vents et marées, ta
Tête impertinente ramasse les défis qui
Orneront bientôt les plis doux de ta
Rage immense

4 – Glissements (Slidings)

Goûte cette perle mauve qui nargue ton sourire : c’est
Une goutte de sel.
Sens-tu comme elle glisse sur ton front et
Trace de ses yeux de sable,
Avides océans en quête du
Vouloir, la douce
Espérance de ton envol ?