Averse de pétales – direction score

This song, commissioned by the Chœur-Mixte de Bulle (Mixed Choir of the City of Bulle), Switzerland, to mark its 80th anniversary, was intended as a celebration of spring. Haikus being traditionally linked to the seasons, I chose four to evoke this particular time of year that, at the same time, would provide the text of the piece and determine its structure. Three of the four voices each take a segment of one of the haikus, which is sung on a repetitive and rhythmical motif that combines with the other segments to provide an acoustic background for the solo line sung by the remaining voice. The fourth voice sings the entire haiku, thus creating a more continuous and lyrical texture that contrasts with the other voices. The first solo is sung by the basses, then successively by the higher voices before culminating with the sopranos at the high point of the piece. This progression towards the high voices is also an evocation of spring, expressing in music the rise of the sap in plants after the winter sleep.

Extract «Averse de pétales»