CASSIOPÉE II

Notice

Like Danaé and Andromède, this work, commissioned by Radio-France, is part of a cycle built around vocal polyphony and mythical female figures. The texts are adapted from the Chaldaic Oracles, and the sung Greek original coexists with the spoken translation. These are the last echoes of a great, obscure, esoteric tradition to which Byzantine authors alluded for over a thousand years, apparently to combat it, but also, perhaps, because they continued to feel its fascinating grandeur. As for the writing technique, it was inspired by Pasibutbut, a magical song sung by the Bunun, aborigines of Taiwan, to encourage the germination of millet.
The first version, premiered on March 20, 1989 at Radio-France, was considerably reworked under the title Cassiopée II: shorter duration, modified music and spoken texts entrusted to a narrator rather than a spoken chorus.