Trois Chorals"Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani ?" - Philippe Malhaire
For String Sextet
It is a profound work, with a tense and painful interiority. The polytonal language is here at the service of a rare emotional intensity. The writing does not seek at any moment to seduce or surprise, nor does it carry a message. The biblical opening "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" remains unanswered, the music suggesting no redemption, barely a few subdued glimmers in the third Chorale, which ends, however, evoking a funeral knell.
Anthony Girard
Duration: 10'
Score and parts