Bestiaire fantasque

This song cycle was commissioned by the French Institute of Choral Art (2011), as part of its drive to pep up the repertory for children’s choirs.
It was perfectly fitting to suggest the world of poetry conjured up by Claude Roy (1915-1997) to the composer; indeed for this dreamwriter, the poet who authored Enfantasques, “The sheer delight in writing for or with children, is above all about keeping in touch with your own inner child, provided you haven’t killed it right off. It’s like drawing strength from deep waters”. For children “approach both straightforward and complex poetry with the same facility, because mystery and obscurity are far less disconcerting to them than what the so-called Grown-ups might think, they who think the universe is effortlessly legible, for whom all is crystal-clear, who think that anything you don’t understand immediately is to be rejected”.