Leduc Stephenson - Ponts

Summary of this score

This score is part of an artistic approach that is at once sensitive, contemporary and deeply human. Conceived as a "small musical postcard" for the children's choir of the Maîtrise de Radio France, it is based on a text by Antoine Thiollier written during a period marked by distance and isolation. The image of bridges becomes a powerful symbol: one of connection, passage and bringing voices and individuals closer together.

The text draws inspiration from Rimbaud's "Bridges", echoing some of its contrasts and freely reinventing its form. The result evokes a poetic and philosophical bubble, imbued with a discreet mischievousness, leading to a final line that plays with the idea of a loop and vertigo. This tension between depth, lightness and strangeness gives the work a genuine individuality, particularly well suited to collective vocal work.

Musically, Joséphine Stephenson accompanies this text with writing that is fluid, immediate and expressive. Her language here is closer to a pop aesthetic than in other works in her catalogue, relying on a simple electronic accompaniment. This sonic choice brings a restrained, almost cold color that resonates with the context in which the work was created, while leaving the children's voices, their presence and the intelligibility of the words fully to the fore. The score will appeal to ensembles looking for a contemporary choral work that is accessible in spirit, striking in its imagery and memorable in its atmosphere.

Technical specifications

Composer

Joséphine Stephenson

Instrumentation

children's choir and simple electronic accompaniment