Platform: ARD Klassik Mediathek
Streaming date: 30 May 2025, from 20:00 CET
Venue: Isarphilharmonie, Gasteig HP8, Munich
Orchestra: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Choir: Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle
Programme:
– Pierre Boulez: Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna
– Francis Poulenc: Figure humaine (for double choir, a cappella)
– Maurice Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé (complete ballet, with choir)
A rare chance to hear Poulenc’s Figure humaine live
Sir Simon Rattle leads the BRSO and the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks in a powerful French programme that moves between commemoration, resistance, and myth. Alongside Boulez’s Rituel and Ravel’s complete Daphnis et Chloé, the centrepiece is Poulenc’s rarely performed Figure humaine — one of the most striking choral works of the 20th century.
Overview: Poulenc’s cry for liberty
Composed in 1943 while France was under Nazi occupation, Figure humaine is Poulenc’s most ambitious and politically charged choral work. Written for double a cappella choir and setting poetry by Paul Éluard, the piece traces an emotional arc from darkness to light, ending with a setting of Éluard’s now-famous poem Liberté. The final moments require the sopranos to soar to a high E in a radiant chord spanning four octaves — a sonic symbol of liberation.
Premiered only after the war, in London in 1945, the cantata remains a challenge for choirs due to its vocal demands and emotional intensity. But for Poulenc, the fusion of Éluard’s surrealist imagery with his own melodic language was deeply personal. Rattle, who has long championed the piece, calls it a “choral jewel” and a testament to the power of music as spiritual resistance.
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