« Quatre Mélodies sur le Poème de Cante Jondo »
by Federico Garcia Lorca

1965
Duration : 7 minutes 30

It is a work of youth, characteristic of my concerns at that time.
As a matter of fact, with a rather deep knowledge of the German Lied and of some master works of the lyric repertory, I was very much attracted to the idea of
- dealing with voice
- dealing with subjects which have to do with human nature in a dramatic style
- composing a music capable of transmitting emotion
To carry out this project, I chose four poems by Lorca, all of them from the « Cante Jondo Poem » in the French translation of Pierre Darmangeat : Poème de la Solea, Embuscade, La Solea, Grotte.
The music, in a free atonal style, is above all very spontaneous : in order to give a true interpretation of the text, it was modeled without any preconceived musical idea.
While it tempts to express the meaning of the words, it applies itself to making them as comprehensible as possible within the vocal lines.
Very keen on voice and lyricism, I took private singing lessons for several years, before learning under the guidance of Janine Fourrier (of the Paris Opera) at the Argenteuil Conservatory.
At the time I was composing this work, the opera singer Nadine Denize was one of my closest friends.
Both Nadine Denize and Berthe Kal sang this cycle.
These four melodies brought me the honour of being the 1967 laureate of the quadrennial Award of Composition offered by the "Confédération des Travailleurs Intellectuels de France".
Édith Lejet

Unpublished
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