The first part in a series of four – two secular and two sacred – this recording sets out to explore different facets of a cappella choral music from the 20th and 21st centuries. Volume 1 takes its name from one of the nine cycles of secular music presented here. In this panorama of works, the word, through poetry, is central to musical creation; it becomes the subject of play, with the composers appropriating it and translating it into music. Alongside famous cycles from the repertoire, Ens Aedes have chosen to record a work commissioned by them from Philippe Hersant, as well as several cycles by other composers who are still active.
These cycles set words by William Shakespeare, Joseph von Eichendorff and Paul Éluard; the listener will also discover (or rediscover) poems by Charles d’Orléans, Louise Labé and Henry Felix.
