A requiem is a prayer for the souls of the dead, addressed to God.
When we think of it, we immediately think of the masterpiece that, according to the legend immortalized by Milos Forman's cult film, Mozart dictated to Salieri a few hours before leaving this world.
Inspired by the genius of Salzburg, the composer Laurent Couson, during the first confinement, rethought these fundamental questions: loneliness in the face of death and renewal and self-study.
From this reflection was born Requiem XIX, a musical reinterpretation of the legend of Babel, which can be found in the book of Genesis.
Today, a few days before Christmas, on December 15 exactly, he has decided to perform this new composition in the Saint-Médard church, located at 141 rue Mouffetard in the 5th arrondissement of Paris.
Read also"The Requiem XIX, a committed work in response to the troubles of our time"
Sung in Latin, Hebrew and Arabic, Requiem XIX celebrates the rebirth of life, the rapprochement of cultures and peace.
The latest creation by Laurent Couson, composer and conductor, is a work for solo soprano, mixed choir and instrumental ensemble.
A Requiem composed therefore for these times of uncertainty during confinement, in the spring of 2020, which was therefore directly inspired by the myth of the Tower of Babel.
Laurent Couson, explained the journey and the questions that led him to give a new interpretation of this sacred music among all things:
“Has the man been punished by God?
This is the theme of the legend of Babel, found in the book of Genesis, and which is present in the three great monotheistic religions.
I have chosen to open the Requiem with an adaptation of this text, in my mother tongue, so that everyone can hear its meaning and the message: that of uncontrolled ambition, lost speech and the need to listen to hear each other again.
The dispersion of the languages of the legend of the land of Shinar prompted me to write the rest of the Requiem in three languages
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And it was his friend, the Moroccan poet and philosopher Mohammed Ennaji, who, expressly for this work, gave him an original libretto in literary Arabic, Qoboûr, which can be compared to the Latin Ingemisco.
Humanist composer, whose works range from film music for Claude Lelouch to strong conceptual performances like Romeos and Juliets, a hip-hop setting of Shakespearian tragedy, Laurent Couson now wants to believe that his Requiem XIX "
will bring down the barriers between people, and between musical genres, because that's something I'm very sensitive to.
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*Information and reservations: www.requiemXIX.fr
Presentation of
Requiem XIX
by Laurent Couson
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