Vladimir Genin

2 Pieces

Vladimir Genin's cycle Les Fleurs du Mal - Twelve Songs and Dances inspired by Charles-Pierre Baudelaire comprises twelve parts. The only two pieces without voice in a vocal cycle emerge as instrumental intermezzi, as "islands of silence" between the songs. Les danses sombres are built on the clash of incompatible dance forms: a sad, simple waltz; then a harsh, nomadic dance, raw, angular, without a center. Suddenly a tango breaks in, nervous, strange, not danceable. After a tragic intensification, the initial motif returns, distorted but recognizable. The piece becomes a dark meditation, a break in the center of the cycle. Adagio con sordino is an instrumental interlude, later also arranged for string quartet. A veiled melancholy gradually builds up to a dramatic climax, held as if in a single breath, to finally fade away in a breathy farewell. Within the cycle, it is a moment of concentrated silence, but at the same time, as an independent conclusion to a concert program, it is particularly suitable as an encore.