Dans les bois

Dans les bois, on a poem by Gérard de Nerval, was written for the Cerddorion Emerging Composers Competition. A neomodal, often polyphonic choir is set against a string quartet that creates atmosphere through harmonics, bisbigliandi, glissandi, gettato bowing and the seagull effect. Material derived from Janequin’s Chant des oiseaux and a brief quotation from Mozart’s Dans un bois solitaire appear within the misty texture, reinforcing the poem’s symbolism and the image of a bird falling silent.