boudewijn cox
Boudewijn Cox

c o m p o s i t i o n s

Voyelles (1999)

for 16 part choir a cappella

I’ve written Voyelles in 1999 for 16 part choir a cappella. This was deliberately done so to present a diversity in voice leading but also unity!
The composition is based on the famous text of Arthur Rimbaud’s poem “Voyelles”. To enter the music and to get beyond the surface of the original words, I used only the vowels. In this way I created a strong unity amongst the voices and, since more modern and demanding techniques are used than usual in choral music, also a unity amongst the musicians and the meaning of their part.

Text is – as communication between humans - often also misleading and we all know that the only universally understandable communication is a musical one. Many artists in theatre and writers of poetry agree on the fact that musical communication is a communication of the highest level. And so that’s another reason why I changed text into sound. Sound used as an everchanging orchestral colour as possible interpretation of the original poem. And by the way, what’s in a name...

 specifics
  • 4 sopranos, 4 mezzo-sopranos, 4 tenors, 4 basses choir a cappella
  • duration : ca 6'00"
  • Score available via : www.cebedem.be
audio

score

Text

VOYELLES

A noir, E blanc, I rouge, U vert, O blue : voyelles,
Je dirai quelque jour vos naissances latentes :
A, noir corset velu des mouches éclatantes
Qui bombinent autour des puanteurs cruelles,

Golfes d’ombres; E, candeurs des vapeurs et des tentes,
Lances des glaciers fiers, rois blancs, frissons d’ombelles;
I, pourpres, sang craché, rire des lèvres belles
Dans la colère ou les ivresses pénitentes;

U, cycles, vibrements divins des mers virides,
Paix des pâtis semés d’animaux, paix des rides
Que l’alchimie imprime aux grands fronts studieux;

O, suprême Clairon plein des strideurs étranges,
Silences traversés des Mondes et des Anges:
- O l’Oméga, rayon violet de Ses Yeux!


Arthur Rimbaud