"Surgis" is a love poem, obvious and luminous, taken from "Le livre ouvert" by Paul Eluard, harmonized for four mixed voices by Dominique Plénat::
"Le livre ouvert" is a collection of poems written between 1938 and 1944 by Paul Eluard, dedicated to Pablo Picasso.
If they bear witness to the heavy context of the time, they also express the expectation of better days, like a light at the end of the tunnel.
From this collection, "Surgis" is a love poem, tangible and luminous.
As usual, apart from the full stop, Eluard does not use punctuation marks, and this feature makes for a free and fluid reading from beginning to end.
In this composition for a four-part mixed choir, Dominique Plénat has sought to rediscover this fluidity.
In a sort of open book, he proposes a musical recitation of the poem, simply highlighted in colour.After the successive entries of the first two bars, the four synchronous voices clearly state the text to make it speak as if in writing.
The last, shorter line of each of the three stanzas is accompanied by a triplet that adds a touch of sweetness and tenderness.
A few passing dissonances, quickly resolved, do not disturb the harmony, which is very tonal, making it easy to decipher from the first approach to the score.
"Give life to all our dreams" says Eluard.
Why not by singing? A beautiful project for a choir...
Composition for four mixed voices SATB a cappella.
Duration 2’18’’
