 Benoît Menut wrote those words for “These works were a request of Valérie Fayet and were written in June, 2006 for the Choeur National des Jeunes ACJ. I chose three little known fables which deal with vanity, stupidity and human violence. Jean de La Fontaine’s writing is always strong, fine and funny. As each fable is based on a precise thing, I chose subtitles to explain them. That’s why I precised “Parole de Socrate” was dealing with monodic research and intertextuality, I precised “L’Oiseau blessé d’une fleche” was dealing with fundamentals and colors, and I precised that “Le Singe” was dealing with rhythmic and modal analysis. Those pieces can be performed separately, but they are gathered in a particular rhythmic order, which is: moderate, slow, and quick. This is similar to the way choir cycles worked at the beginning of the 20th century (Ravel, Debussy, and others). I think that if the fables are recited before being musically performed by an actor or a chorister, it enables the public to see the entire work from a more ‘poetic’ angle.” |
