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Mon07Jun2010
Ariettes oubliées
18:00 DKDM
Rosenørns Allé 22
Frederiksberg C
Denmark
C. Debussy: Ariettes oubliées
Kati Arikoski, klaver
Angelica Larsson Asp, sopran
No. 1. C’est l’extase
No. 2 Il pleure dans mon coeur
No. 3 L’ombre des arbres
No. 4. Chevaux de bois
No. 5. Green
No. 6. SpleenThe first item in Ariettes oubliées is typical of Verlaine’s work and a highly adept musical setting by Debussy: the gauzy, floating melodic line perfectly reflects the text of C’est l’extase langoureuse, in all its languorous ecstasy. Next is Il pleure dans mon coeur, with the piano accompanying the long vocal lines with what would become Debussy’s typical “raindrop” music; the singer notes that it rains in her heart as it rains in the town, but can’t understand the source of her sadness. “It’s pain’s darkest state/not to know why/without love, without hate/my heart feels such weight.”
The third song is L’ombre des arbes (The Shadows of the Trees), another doleful piece in which the singer’s state of mind reflects (rather than is reflected by) a sad, solemn landscape. Everything brightens significantly with Chevaux de bois, initially celebrating the energy of merry-go-round horses turning in their circular route, although midway through the mood changes to sadness and wistfulness, reflecting the knowledge that these are not living creatures.
The last two songs are “Green” and “Spleen” — the titles are in English, because Verlaine liked their sound. Debussy, following Verlaine, referred to this pair of songs as aquarelles, and the music does have a light, wispy, watercolor character. “Green” is a love song that begins with offerings from nature (fruits, flowers, leaves in the trees) and ends with a falling into slumber. “Spleen” is a song of despair — the sky is too blue, the sea too green, all because the loved one has done something “atrocious.” The vocal line becomes intentionally monotonous, and the music fades away, listlessly
