Le Cantique Des Cantiques
Daniel-Lesur's most well-known composition is the a cappella choral work, Le Cantique des Cantiques, a setting for 12 voices of parts of the Song of Songs, interspersed with Latin verses and New Testament texts. The seventh and final movement, titled "Épithalame," utilizes "the combination of richly harmonised upper voices singing the famous words from Chapter 8 of the Song of Songs in French (‘Pose-moi comme un sceau sur ton coeur, comme un sceau sur ton bras. Car l’amour est fort comme la Mort’) over an ostinato set to Latin words (‘Veni sponsa Christi’) has very great cumulative power, reaching a mighty twelve-part climax where all the voices sing a succession of Alleluias which initially emerge from the complex texture in a repeated motif coloured by the Lydian mode – an idea which seems to suggest the joyous pealing of bells." (From his obituary--see external links.) The "Cantique des Cantiques" has been recorded by Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, and is frequently performed in America and worldwide by such groups as Chanticleer and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale.
Read more about this topic: Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur
Famous quotes containing the word des:
“When I was growing up I used to think that the best thing about coming from Des Moines was that it meant you didn’t come from anywhere else in Iowa. By Iowa standards, Des Moines is a mecca of cosmopolitanism, a dynamic hub of wealth and education, where people wear three-piece suits and dark socks, often simultaneously.”
—Bill Bryson (b. 1951)