Verborgenheit

Hugo Wolf composed over 250 songs to texts by the greatest poets of his day. One of the best-known of these is “Verborgenheit” (Hiddenness). In Denis Rouger’s arrangement it reveals its own momentum which does not conflict with the original masterpiece, but presents new facets alongside it, inviting us to discover something new in the old. This art song was originally composed not for chamber choir, but for solo voice and piano. Denis Rouger has carefully adapted it to suit the requirements and expressive possibilities offered by a larger ensemble, without losing the any of the qualities of the original in the process. Each part in the choir has a melodic line drawn from the harmonic and rhythmic framework. In the process, the variety and refinement of the choral language combines with an enormous flexibility in form and expression, as French melodies or German art song demand from a soloist and pianist. The songs have been recorded by the figure humaine chamber choir on the CD “Kennst du das Land...” (Carus 83.495/00).