Schumann Fauré Œuvres vocales pour chœur de femmes Cassin Ensemble Polimnia Fenoglio

The rose garden is the shared place, the multifaceted, multicoloured, thorny and delicate project that well embodies the evolutionary drive of the young performers of Polimnia. The enigmatic vastness of the sea provides the setting in the consolidated repertoire of many great composers. Its presence is manifest in Robert Schumann’s Romanzen für Frauenstimmen (Meerfey, Der Wassermann, In Meeres Mitten), and it recurs in the choices of numerous French composers (for example, in C. Debussy’s La Mer), a trait that clearly re-sonates in the fluid and elegant writing of Gabriel Fauré featured here. Across its surface, the sea incarnates the spontaneity, luminosity, and immediacy of Fauré’s invention, while in its depths resides the Schumannian style, introspective and severe, directing its gaze towards Reflection and the layering of Thought. With the Polimnia vocal ensemble, I chose to work on a challenging project, far removed from easy transcriptions or more straightforward choral adaptations. For all of us, it was like going out into the open sea, with no footholds or furrows of well-trodden routes. A treacherous journey, devoid of certainties yet full of opportunities for a totally shared research into the meanings and sounds expressed by the young performers already rich in their own time, ranging from 17 to 25 years of age.The fact that young is not an adjective to be equated with superficial is the conviction I have matured in my long experience as director of the children’s choir from which the Polimnia Ensemble almost entirely originates. The result we have achieved is the impetus that moves us towards new challenges, new future projects. (Claudio Fenoglio)