|
«
Le Journal d’Anne Frank »
« The Ann Frank’s Diary »
Duration
: 27 minutes
was commissioned
by Radio-France, and composed between spring 1968 and december 1969, to
be song by the young female choir of Radio-France, with accompaniment
of eight musicians playing :
flute, harp, harpsichord, electric guitar, viola, double-bass and percussion
(2 stands)
The piece was carefully recorded, episode by episode, in the Radio-France
recording studios in 1970.
In march 2001 it was performed in live at a public concert given in Douai.
Then children (boys and girls) from elementary schools and colleges were
mixed in the choir, with participation of some female voices (adults)
from the Regional Choir ; the instrumental group, conducted by Pierre
Vigneron, was made up of teachers from the Regional Conservatory.
While the piece was being composed, the « Ann Frank’s Diary
» was read again and again ; and a visit to Ann Frank’s house
in Amsterdam was an inevitable emotional blow.
The work, a kind of oratorio, is divided into ten episodes. The texts
were extracted from the french translation of the « Ann Frank’s
Diary » by Tylia Caren (Le Livre de Poche, Calmann-Lévy Publisher).
The choice and ordering of these extracts needed special care, in order
not to betray the evolution of the drama, which ends with a touch of hope
: « I am sure that everything will become good again ».
During these 27 minutes of music, Ann Frank will be followed stage by
stage in the accomplishment of her destiny : at first a carefree little
girl, she will evolve as she is going through the terrible ordeal and
become precociously mature, which will allow her to meet her tragical
end of life with exemplary courage and intelligence.
Why this
choice ?
At the same time the text asserts itself with powerful dramatic sense,
and the subject is just adapted to a female choir of teenagers.
Publisher
: Billaudot
Back
|