Spirite

In the short story by Théophile Gautier that inspires this work, a man falls in love with a vaporous spirit who gradually reveals herself to be a dead young woman. Her first appearance is through a Venetian mirror that has become misty. I therefore wanted to write a short poem about the immaterial. After a mysterious introduction, the spirit's theme develops into a light scherzo. In the central section, the spirit seems to take shape and becomes more lyrical with a second theme that combines with the first. After a brief, slow passage of naive purity, like a sketch of a portrait of the young woman, the spirit takes flight again and disappears with a sigh.

Guillaume Connesson

Commissioned by the Epinal International Piano Competition.