Caroline Charrière

Suissitude - 2. Meiteli

Suissitude (Swissness) What constitutes an identity? I composed four different works that reflect my ideas of Switzerland with its different regions and their own linguistic dynamics. It was a commission from the Basler Vokalsolisten for their project "Vierfältig - Schweizer Klänge damals und heute". The world premieres with the Basler Vokalsolisten (cond. Sebastian Goll) and the Camerata variabile (cond. Helena Winkelman) took place in Zurich and other Swiss cities in 2014. 1st Réminiscences (BIM V110-1 - S.A.T.B. + Zinc in Bb). This piece is reminiscent of the canton of Fribourg, where I am rooted. Two aspects dominate here: Peasant life (with alpine parade) and the Catholic religion. The "nou nou" quarter-note sounds of the introduction illustrate the slow steps of the herdsman and a hint of nostalgic music. One also hears a short reminiscence from the Ranz des Vaches [Rows of Cows] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0xAw2oXhJY) as well as a brief quotation from the Gruyère dialect song Nouthra Dona di Maortse [Notre-Dame des Marches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRaEN18hCqg], a small chapel near Gruyères. The piece is a kind of evocation, like a ship emerging from the past, approaching, reviving and disappearing into the distance. 2nd Meiteli (BIM V110-2 - S.A.T.B., clarinet, violin, violoncello, double bass and dulcimer). In it one sees an ideal image, the original Swiss side of the happy Swiss, cheerful but not exuberant, sensible, peaceful, a good guy who yodels. It comes from deep within his soul - at the beginning with the "Meiteli" call from mountain to mountain or with yodel fragments. You should feel this shudder from the beginning to the end of the piece. At the end, the same mood is repeated as in Réminiscences: the past returns for a moment, but disappears again into silence. 3rd Dorma (BIM V110-3 - S.(+2 solos),A.T.B., clarinet, violin, violoncello, double bass and dulcimer). This is the canton of Graubünden with its mysterious, powerful, ancient beauties. To interpret this lullaby, one should "dream" it, between waking and sleeping, with images of wild nature, mountains and animals. Between dream and reality, you can hear the parents whispering "dors, dors" [sleep, sleep] to the child again and again. 4th Girometta (BIM V110-4 - S.A.T.B., clarinet and violin) Ticino - Ticino, sunny Switzerland... lucky to find a cheerful, extroverted and dancing image in this country (Vivo). At the beginning you hear crickets, then from bar 15 onwards, as in the other songs, this thought of timeless reverie. The piece ends in exuberant cheerfulness. Caroline Charrière, Paris, October 2017 Performance notes 1. réminiscences: As an alternative to the cornett in Bb, a Renaissance alto trombone can be used. 2nd Meiteli and 3rd Dorma: A cymbalum can be used instead of a dulcimer, but then turn the volume down a notch. The four choral works in this cycle are to be performed separately, but as a complete work.