Mexican tile, 17th century.
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Podcast Program No. 57
The Sopranos
Works for flute, harp, voice, violin and piano performed by flutist Paula Robison, harpist Mariko Anraku, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, violinist Viviane Hagner, and pianist Pei-Yao Wang and Avner Arad.
•Saint-Saens: Romance for flute and harp
•Debussy: Chansons de Bilitis
•Saint-Saens: Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 75
Today we will be listening to three pieces written for soprano instruments in the late 19th century by two French composers – Camille Saint-Saens and Claude Debussy. Saint-Saens’ Romance for the flute, with its elegant and soaring melodic lines, is the perfect showcase for this quintessential soprano woodwind. “Chansons de Bilitis,” written for high voice and piano, is a set of three poems that tell a mythic tale of lust, betrayal and abandonment. The last piece, Saint-Saens’ Violin Sonata in D minor, is written for the highest member of the string family. In this fiery sonata, the atmosphere is dark and brooding, interspersed with moments of beauty and playfulness. These three pieces demonstrate that soprano instruments not only embody refinement and beauty, but they can manifest a passion and ferocity that reflect the richness of human emotions.
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