Madrigal aux muses, Opus 25for two sopranos and alto
| Written: 1923 | Premiered: Paris, February 6, 1924 Groupe Nivard |
| Length: 5 minutes | One madrigal |
| Words by: Gentil Bernard | Voice(s): two sopranos and alto, a cappela |
| Publisher: Durand | Dedication: Poul Schierbeck |
About this Work:|
A madrigal is a contrapuntal work for unaccompanied voices, often with an archaic character. Madrigal aux Muses is the only madrigal in Roussel's oeuvre to have an opus number, but he had one of his earliest major successes with this form.
In 1897, when Roussel was still a student of Eugene Gigout, he entered a composition contest organized by the Société des Compositeurs, submitting two four-part madrigals under different pseudonyms. Unable to choose between the two excellent madrigals, the judges awarded them both first prize. (These two early madrigals were published for the first time in 1982 by L'Art Musical Populaire.) |
Other opinions:|
Roussel's setting is deceptively straightforward. The miniature form is superbly handled, the writing is smooth and colour is obtained by contrasts and by vocalisations. [Basil Deane]
[English madrigal] composers lay the greatest store by the crossing of the parts. Roussel crosses the second soprano and contralto quite a lot, but not often does the crossing appear to be dictated by the rise and fall of the melodic lines. Of free imitation there is a sufficiency, and, with the exception mentioned above, this charming and unpretentious madrigal shows a complete grasp of things in a small frame. [Norman Demuth]
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