Lemoine Pesson - Chansons (5) - MEZZO-soprano et 5 Instruments

Summary of This Score

Cinq Chansonsis part of a creative programming initiative launched at the Théâtre du Châtelet: it was not only about commissioning a work but imagining a concert that dialogues with, extends, or provokes it. The cycle's instrumentation thus arises from a deliberate rapprochement with two major universes of the 20th-century repertoire, echoing a common theme of dreamed tradition and reinvented folklore.

At the heart of the writing, the song becomes a theatrical object: it summons a supposed collective memory, then distances itself with a mischievous detachment. These "children's songs" traverse spaces and female roles while exploring several models of the genre. The first piece takes the form of an urban lament, while the second, more rhapsodic, evokes sub-Saharan Africa with a distinctive percussive approach: piano with closed keyboard, viola and cello used as wooden drums, and flute played solely with the instrument's head joint.

The third song, featuring piccolo, presents itself as an epigram where sparseness becomes metaphor, before a fourth piece with an epic breath that deliberately dissociates music and melody. The last closes the cycle with a strophic song traversed by a "draft" suggested by the text, establishing a colder and more refined color. Premiered in Paris on January 2, 2000, at the Théâtre du Châtelet, these pages offer ideal material for performers seeking a contemporary chamber music score, precise in its gestures and rich in sonic imagery.

Technical specifications

Musical Genre

Classical

Publication

Sheet music

Composer	Gérard Pesson	Pages	27
Instrumentation	mezzo-soprano and 5 instruments	Year of publication	1999
Genre	contemporary