The album aims to create a dialogue between French melodies by Francis Poulenc and Olivier Messiaen and Negro spirituals, focusing on shared themes of the sacred, hope, and human hardships.
Performer Biography
Célia Oneto Bensaid, pianist, is a Yamaha artist and has won numerous international competitions, both as a soloist and in a duo with Marie-Laure Garnier.
Compositional Technique
The Negro spirituals on this album are presented in voice-piano arrangements by American composers Harry Burleigh, Hall Johnson, Moses Hogan, and Mark Hayes, rather than their original a cappella form.
Cultural Impact
Afro-American composers like Harry Burleigh and Moses Hogan played a significant role in introducing Negro spirituals to European composers and integrating them into choral repertoire.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Olivier Messiaen's 'Poèmes pour Mi' (Poems for Mi), written for his first wife Claire Delbos, draws poetic inspiration from Pierre Reverdy, Saint-Paul, the Gospel, Psalms, and the landscapes of the Alps and Dauphiné countryside.
Performer Biography
Marie-Laure Garnier, soprano, was named 'Lyrical Artist Revelation of the Year' at the Victoires de la musique classique in 2021 and won the first edition of the prestigious Voix des Outre-mers competition in 2019.
Historical Context
Negro spirituals originated from African men and women deported to the United States between the 17th and 18th centuries, sung in cotton fields and filled with spirituality, fraternity, and hope.
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