La vie antèrieure

The harmonic turns and piano configurations in “La vie antérieure” – the “former life” – seem almost exuberantly lyrical. At the beginning, the archaic sounds and words of the male choir conjure up a dream world that is soon flooded with the power of the waves and the rich polyphonic harmony of the choir and the piano. With the outcry “C’est là que j’ai vécu!” (I have lived there) which expresses the fervent yearning to return to a past life, the collective desperately reinforces the longing for the past. Once more, the women’s choir conjures up this lost paradise in an undulating soft sound before the desolate sadness is pierced by the power of the music of the piano postlude, creating a moment that is completely in the present. 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).