A commemoration of the battles and peace relating to the First World War, this work was premiered in Berlin in November 2018, by choirs from all over Europe. The large double-choir a cappella Valeurs composed on the French translation of a text by Erri de Luca, is integrated into the 4th part.
The choirs are divided into several groups around the audience at the beginning of the work, playing off their antagonisms, and gradually drawing closer and closer and reconcile until they unite in the finale, celebrating their common trials in many European and African languages.
In addition to the parts based on soldiers’ haikus, I have used extracts from various opuses that make sense in this context, including Îngenunchiez, taken from Opus 28, Laisser porter au vent (Opus 32), Purify (Opus 33), Le feu and Danser avec l’autoroute (Opus 46), Ich bin Leben … (Opus 60) and Valeurs.
Difficulty rating: moderate to difficult
Soldiers from the First World War, and various authors including Erri de Luca, Kathleen Raine, Yves Bonnefoy, Lucian Blaga, Jean-Yves Léopold, Eugène Guillevic, Walter-Helmut Fritz, Georges-Marie Lory, Thierry Machuel, etc.
French, German, English, Romanian, Bosnian, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Wolof, etc.
3 mixed choirs and a women’s choir, trumpet, bells and low tom.
Occasional reciters and soloists from the various choirs are required.
75 mins.
4 parts
Part 1: Introduction au feu, Le feu, Introduction à Sur la terre simple, Sur la terre simple, Entre Sur la terre simple et Ingenunchiez, Après Ingenunchiez
Part 2: Introduction à U sredini, U sredini, Entre U sredini et Laissez porter, Laissez porter au vent, Entre Laissez porter et Memorial Requiem, Memorial Requiem, Z ziemia, Après Z ziemia
Part 3: Purify, Entre Purify et Il n’y a pas d’ennemi, Il n’y a pas d’ennemi, Teilhaben, Après Teilhaben
Part 4: Cet accent, Valeurs, Introduction au Final, Danser avec l’autoroute, Nous rêvons, Introduction à Madone de miséricorde, Madone de miséricorde