Bertrand: Ame de Nuit, Op. 12

Description

In Âme chaude, on a poem by Maurice Maeterlink, the regular reoccurrence of ethereal piano chords refiects the Belgian poet's mystery-laden, symbolist world. The listener is shrouded in a misty atmosphere that reveals the sadness of disappointed love.

While the piano remains discreet in the first melody, it is on a par with the voice in the second melody, La Nuit, on a text by Claude Roy. in the poet's dream world, both combine in an almost symbiotic relationship. Night personified is endowed with a certain human depth tinged with sensuality. The lyrical piano part accompanies the voice in its journey through contrasting images of snow, sand, sea and jellyfish.

The last melody, Nuits de Juin, unfolds in the calm atmosphere of a peaceful andf agrant June night, elating the senses. A subdued Adagio, the piano unfolds a melancholy theme, soon taken up by the voice. But it is the piano that has the last word and completes the piece, in an incredibly tender postlude.

These melodies testify to the composer 's predilection for the genre of the art song for voice and piano, ever since the Romantic era the composers'favorite way of expressing the most intimate feelings.