Trois Chansons (Debussy)
Trois Chansons | |
---|---|
Choral music by L 99 (92) | |
Text | Poems by Charles, Duke of Orléans |
Composed | 1898 | , 1908
Performed | 11 March 1909 |
Published | 1909 |
Scoring | A cappella choir |
Trois Chansons (French for "Three Songs"), or Chansons de Charles d’Orléans,
History
Using the poetry of medieval poet
Texts and music
All songs are scored for a four-part unaccompanied mixed chorus, except for "Quand j'ai ouy le tambourin sonner", which is set for
The poetry is set in ballade form, consisting of three or four stanzas and a refrain.[4] There is an unchanging meter and equal number of syllables in each piece.[4] Thematically, the poems are unrelated.
I. Dieu! qu'il la fait bon regarder!
The key signature features five sharps, normally indicating a B major or G♯ minor scale.[6] However, due to Debussy's oscillating harmonies between F♯ major and C♯ minor, the music is in neither key.[6] Debussy asserts the tonic is F♯ and the minor dominant is C♯, with the Mixolydian mode beginning on F♯.[6] In the poem, a lover expresses his adoration of his mistress.[4] The mistress is revealed to be France itself, as Charles d'Orléans was imprisoned for 25 years in England and created this poem as an ode to his native country.
II. Quand j'ai ouy le tambourin sonner
The key is F♯ minor with the dominant chords inflections being largely based on an Aeolian mode.[5] The tempo gives the feeling of a romantic dance piece.[5] The alto soloist is singing about how they would "rather stay warm in bed while everyone else is out enjoying May-time celebrations" while the other three voices mimic the percussion sound of a tambourin.[7] The speaker in the poem is presumably male, so there is a mystery in the differences of the published edition assigning the solo to a contralto, whereas the manuscript designates it for tenor.[1] This is the only movement of the set that deviates from SATB voicing; it is set for alto soloist and ATB choir (with divisi).
III. Yver, vous n'estes qu'un villain
The key signature is E minor.[5] The poem (Winter, you're just a villain) is a denunciation of winter's harsh cold. The piece opens in biting, staccato E minor, decrying Winter. There follows a pastoral interlude in the parallel major about the warmth and gentleness of Summer (featuring a solo SATB quartet interspersed with the full-choir texture). Winter then returns ("but you, Winter, you exude snow, wind, rain and hail"[8]) with harsh chromaticism (hovering around the key of F♯ minor), and eventually we hear the original theme reprised in its original key.
References
- ^ a b c d "Trois Chansons de Charles d'Orléans, L99" (PDF). Hyperion Records. 1992. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
- ^ "Biography: 1894–1902". Centre de documentation Claude Debussy. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
- ^ a b c "Biography: 1903–1909". Centre de documentation Claude Debussy. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
- ^ JSTOR 23545236.
- ^ JSTOR 23547465.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-517742-8.
- ^ Ivan, Hewett (2013-09-05). "Ivan's Classic 50 No 37: Debussy – Cloches à travers les feuilles from Images". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
- ^ "Yver, vous n'estes qu'un villain: Song Texts, Lyrics & Translations". Oxford Lieder. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
External links
- Trois Chansons (Debussy): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Free scores of Trois Chansons by Claude Debussey in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)