Prison

Paul Verlaine spent 555 days in prison because he had shot his fellow poet and companion Arthur Rimbaud with a revolver whilst in a drunken state. This spell in prison evidently fostered his artistic inspiration, so at least it did his literary career some good. The world of French literature even gave Verlaine the unofficial title “Prince des Poètes”. In the poem Prison the author was able to draw on his very own experiences: the monotony behind bars (expressed musically in Gabriel Fauré’s setting through the repeated target note of b), the inner rebelling against this monotonous stillness (surprising forte dynamic), and the reproachful self-questioning: “Was hast du getan?... Was hast du mit deiner Jugend getan?” [What have you done? ... What have you done with your youth?] (diminishing piano). Denis Rouger, founder and director of the figure humaine chamber choir, has arranged art songs for solo voice and piano for his ensemble, in the process carefully adapting these to the needs and expressive possibilities offered by a larger ensemble. Music edition for the successful CD “Kennst du das Land...” (Carus 83.495).