VERY MAD SONGS
Anne Magouët : soprano
Bruno Helstroffer : theorbo
David Chevallier : theory, arrangements
Création le 19/06/21 au festival "Les Traversées" - Abbaye de Noirlac.
Les Mad Songs de la fin du XVIIe siècle et du début du XVIIIe siècle sont des œuvres d'art délicieuses et fantaisistes. Elles proposent des textes riches et des mélodies sauvages, non seulement divertissantes, mais aussi éclairantes sur les habitudes musicales et psychologiques de l’époque.
The Mad Songs of the late 17th and early 18th centuries are delightful and fanciful works of art. They offer rich lyrics and wild melodies, not only entertaining but also enlightening on the musical and psychological habits of the time.
In the seventeenth century, England was fascinated by the "abnormals", especially by madness and the occupants of madhouses such as the Bethlem Royal Hospital.
By painting what was then considered insanity, the Mad Songs give us a better understanding of the norm at the time.
The Mad Songs that developed from the English Restoration certainly received less attention than they deserve. Indeed, musicologist Craig Timberlake believes that "there is no repertoire as neglected as the Mad Songs, which can stimulate the creative imagination of the English-speaking singer.
With VERY MAD SONGS, David Chevallier offers a contemporary reinterpretation of these works, while respecting their identity. We find their particular atmosphere and the extreme emotional fluctuations on which the Mad Songs are built.
The English origins of soprano Anne Magouët, and her acute sense of dramaturgy make her the ideal interpreter of this repertoire, sometimes exuberant, sometimes introspective.
Bruno Helstroffer's and David Chevallier's theorboes bring to life arrangements of great rhythmic and harmonic richness, underlining the instability of the characters embodied.
The Mad Songs of the late 17th and early 18th centuries are delightful and fanciful works of art. They offer rich lyrics and wild melodies, not only entertaining but also enlightening on the musical and psychological habits of the time.
In the seventeenth century, England was fascinated by the "abnormals", especially by madness and the occupants of madhouses such as the Bethlem Royal Hospital.
By painting what was then considered insanity, the Mad Songs give us a better understanding of the norm at the time.
The Mad Songs that developed from the English Restoration certainly received less attention than they deserve. Indeed, musicologist Craig Timberlake believes that "there is no repertoire as neglected as the Mad Songs, which can stimulate the creative imagination of the English-speaking singer.
With VERY MAD SONGS, David Chevallier offers a contemporary reinterpretation of these works, while respecting their identity. We find their particular atmosphere and the extreme emotional fluctuations on which the Mad Songs are built.
The English origins of soprano Anne Magouët, and her acute sense of dramaturgy make her the ideal interpreter of this repertoire, sometimes exuberant, sometimes introspective.
Bruno Helstroffer's and David Chevallier's theorboes bring to life arrangements of great rhythmic and harmonic richness, underlining the instability of the characters embodied.