Troix beaux oiseaux du Paradis de Maurice Ravel

Programme notes

Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis (Three beautiful birds of Paradise) is the second piece in the Trois Chansons (Three Songs) for mixed a cappella choir composed by Maurice Ravel between 1914 and 1915, at the beginning of the First World War. The song was written while Ravel was awaiting mobilization. It is marked by the anguish and sorrow linked to the war. The three birds allegorically symbolize the French tricolor flag (Blue, White, Red). The song is a poignant dialogue between a young girl (soprano) and the three birds, who successively announce the fate of her friend who left for combat: the blue bird brings the memory of his eyes; the white bird gives her a kiss on the forehead; the red bird reveals the fatal news of the friend's mortal wound. Hearing this, the young girl, overwhelmed, asks the birds to take her heart as well. This work is an exquisite and sad ballad that evokes death in combat through lyricism and the symbolism of the flag's colors.

Completion of the transcreation 

13-X-2009