The few works which Henri Duparc composed and left to posterity display a deep preoccupation with grief and pain, coupled with a great fear of loneliness. His Chanson triste (Sad Song), composed in 1868 or 1869, was one such work. Duparc treasured it so much that he made an orchestral version of it in 1912. These art songs were originally composed not for chamber choir, but for solo voice and piano. Denis Rouger has carefully adapted them to suit the requirements and expressive possibilities offered by a larger ensemble, without losing the any of the qualities of the original in the process. Each part in the choir has a melodic line drawn from the harmonic and rhythmic framework. In the process, the variety and refinement of the choral language combines with an enormous flexibility in form and expression, as French melodies or German art song demand from a soloist and pianist. The songs have been recorded by the figure humaine chamber choir on the CD "Kennst du das Land ..." (Carus 83.495).
![Chanson triste op. 40/2 [piano]](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0499/1710/0196/products/ED0_1722-Tschaikowsky_5B648_5D.jpg?v=1615375331&width=480)
