for mezzo-soprano, clarinet, string quartet and piano
When reading ‘‘Epitaph of Villon, in the form of a ballade’’, one is always struck, I think, by the vision (historic or legendary) of the poet who, emprisoned in his gaol, recognizes that he was only fairly condemned by justice, and implores that we, his fellow brothers, pray for his forgiveness. Villon does not apply this balance between realism and hope to himself only: by surpassing the limits of his own destiny, he addresses a message of Christian humanism to all his ‘‘human brothers’’.
As I was putting ‘‘Ballade des pendus’’ (Ballade of the Hanged Men) into music, I didn’t look for anything but let the musicality of François Villon’s text come out at once in all its sobriety and power of expression. My first task was indeed to write the vocal part only. I felt strongly about underlining the poem’s structure (three stanzas and an envoy) by inserting two purely instrumental commentaries, the one following the first strophe, the other in continuation of the second. The third stanza, however, erupts in the piece like a scherzo in the middle of a symphony, because it is a dance, in the spirit of medieval macabre dances. As for the final envoy, it is nothing but a prayer, since Villon addresses it to ‘‘Prince Jesus’’ for His mercy; the five last and very high-pitched notes of the first violon part are a quotation of the Gregorian antiphon, ‘‘In paradisum’’…
Written in 1988, ‘‘Ballade des pendus’’ was a commissioned work for the Reims-based company Prats & Bonany on a proposition by clarinettist Michel Bienaimé (to whom the piece is dedicated) who, along with Annie Tasset, soprano from the string quartet Quatuor Parisii and Jacques Moreau, piano, premiered it for the Reims Festival. The same musicians, under the conductorship of François Boulanger, made its premier recording soon afterwards.
poem by François Villon
composed in: 1988
commissioned work for the company Prats & Bonany for the 1988 Reims Festival
premiered in: 1988, Reims, at Palais du Tau, by Annie Tasset (sop.), Michel Bienaimé (cl.), Quatuor Parisii and Jacques Moreau (piano)
duration: 20’
publisher: Billaudot
discography :
Isabel Soccoja (mezzo), Florent Héau (cl.), le Quatuor Parisii, Jean-Michel Dayez (piano), Nicolas Krüger, cond., 2010
(La ballade des pendus, HORTUS 080)
Annie Tasset (sop.), Michel Bienaimé (cl.), Quatuor Parisii, Jacques Moreau (piano), François Boulanger, cond., 1989 (BNL, « Festival Reims- Champagne-Ardenne» BNL 112752 A, sold out)
also in the repertoire of Yves Sévère (cl.), string quartet Quatuor Liger, Yves Marat (piano), Atelier Musical de Touraine, ensemble 2E2M, Nvart Andreassian, Philippe Aïche, Franck Ollu and Ludovic Potié, cond.
YouTube Strophe I
YouTube Commentaire I
YouTube Strophe II
YouTube Commentaire II
YouTube Strophe III
YouTube Envoi