Mercoledi Musicale

At their recent sold out Chamber Society concert here in Ottawa the King's Singers included a short cantata by Francis Poulenc as part of their Christmas programme.   Written in 1944 it is based on four poems that Paul Éluard sent him later in the winter of 1944.  Éluard was fighting for the Resistance and at the time was in hiding with other fighters and Jews who had been give cover at the mental asylum at Saint-Alban.   Poulenc lived in Paris during most of the occupation but was under constant surveillance because of his homosexuality and as a suspected Resistance supporter.   Earlier he had written Figure humaine, a cantata based on eight of Éluard's poems which had been banned for its final sentence: I was born to know, to name you: Liberty.    Needless to say the authorities squashed any attempt to perform it in France.

Un Soire de Neige is filled with hidden references to the life of the Resistance fighters:  the wolves refer to the German soldiers in their gray uniforms hunting down their prey.  And the elements of the winter are as cruel and unforgiving as the enemy.

The piece was written for six mixed voices or choir acapella: the Netherlands Chamber Choir's version is remarkably fine.  The songs will follow one after the other automatically on separate videos.

Un Soir de Neige	A Snowy Evening
I. De grandes cuillers de neige De grandes cuillers de neige Ramassent nos pieds glacés Et d’une dure parole Nous heurtons l’hiver têtu Chaque arbre a sa place en l’air Chaque roc son poids sur terre Chaque ruisseau son eau vive Nous nous n’avons pas de feu	I. Great snowy spoons Great snowy spoons Pick up our icy feet And with a harsh word We confront stubborn winter Each tree has its place in the air Each rock its weight on the earth Each stream its living water But we have no fire
II. La bonne neige La bonne neige le ciel noir Les branches mortes la détresse De la forêt pleine de pièges Honte à la bête pourchassée La fuite en flêche dans le coeur Les traces d’une proie atroce Hardi au loup et c’est toujours Le plus beau loup et c’est toujours Le dernier vivant que menace La masse absolue de la mort	II. The good snow The good snow, the black sky The dead branches, the pain Of the forest full of traps Shame to the hunted creature Flight like an arrow in its heart The tracks of a ferocious prey Onward, wolf, and it’s always The finest wolf and it’s always The last one alive threatened by The absolute weight of death
III. Bois meurtri Bois meurtri bois perdu d’un voyage en hiver Navire où la neige prend pied Bois d’asile bois mort où sans espoir je rêve De la mer aux miroirs crevés Un grand moment d’eau froide a saisi les noyés La foule de mon corps en souffre Je m’affaiblis je me disperse J’avoue ma vie j’avoue ma mort j’avoue autrui.	III. Bruised Woods Bruised woods, lost woods of a winter’s journey Ship where the snow takes hold Sheltering woods, dead woods, where without hope I dream Of the sea with its gutted mirrors A surge of cold water gripped the drowned Making the crowd of my body suffer I grow weak, I am scattered I confess my life, I confess my death, I confess the other
IV. La nuit le froid la solitude La nuit le froid la solitude On m’enferma soigneusement Mais les branches cherchaient leur voie dans la prison Autour de moi l’herbe trouva le ciel On verrouilla le ciel Ma prison s’écroula Le froid vivant le froid brûlant m’eut bien en main	IV. Night cold loneliness Night cold loneliness They locked me in carefully But the branches were seeking their way into the prison Around me grass found the sky They locked and bolted the sky My prison crumbled The living cold the burning cold had me right in its hand
Paul Éluard (1895-1952)

The composition, dated December 24 to 26, 1944, carries the dedication:

Pour le Noël de Marie-Blanche [de Polignac] tendrement, Francis, 25 décembre 1944. Excusez cette cantate sur la neige, tout à coup pleine de boue.

For  Christmas, to Marie-Blanche [de Polignac] tenderly, Francis.  25 December 1944. Excuse this mud-caked (somber) cantata on snow.

The Wikipedia link to the biography of Éluard makes for a fascinating reading and a left click on the link at the first reference to him (above) could prove interesting.

December 17 - 1790: Discovery of the Aztec calendar stone.