Le Chant d’Orphée

According to Greek mythology, the poet-musician Orpheus could master nature and animals through his singing. My piece is therefore presented as a grand, charming melody based on a motif of nine notes—the nine strings of Orpheus's lyre—accompanied by modal chords.

It is constructed in ternary form:

The first section presents the lyre's melody on the organ and the poet-musician's vocal line on the trumpet. The more agitated central section develops a discontinuous motif over the organ's breathless chords. A crescendo in successive waves leads to a climax on the trumpet's high C.

With the return of the lyre motif, a sense of cosmic calm sets in and, at the end of the piece, as if from the depths of time, a quotation from Monteverdi's Orfeo is heard on the muted Bol trumpet.

Guillaume Connesson

Commissioned by Radio France.

Premiere on June 8, 2021, by David Guerrier (trumpet) and Jean-Baptiste Robin (organ).