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Francais (French)
Ciel convertible / Gilbert Patenaude, music; Patrick Coppens, poetry / Self-produced, 2018
Nearly 15 years after its publication, the collection of the poet Patrick Coppens is dressed in new colors in this album with music signed by Gilbert Patenaude. The 49 texts are as many dreamlike microcosms shaped by words and rhythm, without time or place. Angels rub shoulders with toads; vampires are surprised to believe in God. The music is written for four voices: two human (Jacqueline Woodley, soprano, and Julien Patenaude, baritone) and two instrumental (Sheila Hannigan, cello, and Mariane Patenaude, piano). Piano and cello change roles according to the texts, serving as illustrations or developing a voice that speaks to words. Soprano and baritone personify the universe of Patrick Coppens. The composer strives to give each poem its authenticity without disrupting unity, using spoken voices, recitatives or sung melodies, solos or duets.
This musical exploration of Patrick Coppens’s poetic universe is a very interesting combination of music and words. By choosing low-level musical training and language, Gilbert Patenaude can explore the multiple interactions of these four voices while letting the text live and breathe. Two volumes of the collection of texts in the image of the work, triptych with the disc in the center, surround the object. The disc is something worth acquiring by lovers of poetry and free traveling spirits.
Translation by Vasyl Pawlowsky
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
