Lyric poem in 4 songs and a prologue for 5 voices and piano (and narrator ad lib.)

On a text by Huynh Quôc Tê, freely adapted from Kim Vân Kiêu by Nguyên Du

Editions Francois Dhalmann

This choice of solo, duo and quintet tunes are taken from my Lyric Poem Kim Vân Kiêu, a one and a half hour work. The purpose of this publication is to allow, in a professional and/or study context, to become familiar with the work and to make it known. The accompaniment written for a grand piano is almost that of the original score. Writing involves a bit of play in the instrument. When working on an upright piano, the pianist will have to look for sounds close to those desired.

A concert performer may include in a program the tunes of his choice. The durations of 1' to 5'30 allow teachers to easily make them work for students. They will find material to approach both the sung and spoken voice, as well as a mixture of the 2 by seeking expression without emphasis. These Airs of Kim Vân Kiêu are extracted from all the Songs (the 4 parts of the work). As part of a class project, it is possible to sing them all, in the order of the story, by inserting spoken interventions from the original text (for the libretto, contact the publisher).

The 5-volume edition corresponds to each of the voices with their associated duo and the common quintet.

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It is possible to open the program with the Suite for solo piano extracted from Canto I

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Synopsis

CANTO I

It's the Day of the Dead, each family bustles around the graves of their parents. On the side of a busy road, Kiều [soprano 1], a young girl, stopped with her brother Quan near an abandoned mound. A wandering soul appears at Kiều : it is Đạm Tiên [contralto], the guest of this grave overgrown with grass. Đạm Tiên tells her story : she was a famous courtesan. And she warns Kiều : “  Fate is thankless for women of talent and great beauty. ”

Kiều falls in love with a young student, Kim [tenor]. They swear eternal fidelity. But before they can get married, Kim is called back to his distant region by his father.

Kiều's father is wrongfully accused and imprisoned. To get him released, you have to find money. Kiều decides to sell himself to a wealthy passing merchant, Mã Giám Sinh [bass-baritone]. Before leaving his family, Kiều asks his younger sister Vân to take his place with Kim.

CANTO II

But Mã Giám Sinh is only a wretch, who, having played the comedy of marriage, delivers Kiều to a brothel run by Tú Bà, his wife [soprano 2]. Kiều wants to resist, even commit suicide, but, deceived by the tricks of the seducer Sở Khanh [tenor] despite the warnings of Ma Kiều the servant [contralto], she has to suffer the wickedness of Tú Bà. Đạm Tiên then appears and advises him to accept his fate.

Kiều becomes a coveted courtesan. Her beauty and her artistic talents won her the love of a young scholar, rich and idle, Thúc Sinh [tenor]. He redeems Kiều from Tú Bà and takes him to his home, where they live a year of happiness. But Thúc Sinh is married and Kiều no longer wants to hide. Thúc Sinh accepts and leaves to warn his wife, Hoạn Thu [contralto], of the arrival of the new concubine. The journey is long. Meanwhile, Hoạn Thu, having heard the news, decides to kidnap Kiều and make her the last of his servants. When Thúc Sinh finally arrives, he does not dare recognize Kiều in front of his wife. Kiều thinks back bitterly about Kim, his lost love.

Kiều flees from Thúc Sinh and Hoạn Thu. She finds refuge in the pagoda directed by Giác Duyên [soprano 2], who helps her by having her stay with a devotee, Bac Ba. But this one actually turns out to be a brothel owner. Once again deprived of freedom, Kiều curses his destiny.

CANTO III

This time, it is a rebel famous for his great feats of arms, Từ Hải [bass-baritone], who falls in love with Kiều. He redeems her and takes her to his military camp, where they spend a happy year. But Từ Hải goes back to war to conquer a kingdom. He returns triumphant and Kiều becomes his queen. Strong in her new position, Kiều seeks out all the people she has met since leaving her parents. She rewards Giác Duyên and those who rescued her and severely punishes those who humiliated her. She forgives Hoạn Thu because she acted, driven by understandable jealousy. Kiều now aspires to become an honest and respected woman. An envoy from the Emperor came to offer Từ Hải amnesty and an important post at Court. Kiều begs him to accept. But that's just a trap. Từ Hải falls into an ambush where he is killed. Feeling remorseful, Kiều commits suicide by throwing himself into the Tiền Đường river. Đạm Tiên comes to tell her that she has thus redeemed all the bad deeds of her past lives. Kiều is saved by the bonzess Giác Duyên.

CANTO IV

With the country at peace again, Kim and Kiều's parents set out to find him. After a long journey, they arrive at the mouth of the Tiền Đường river. Learning that Kiều had thrown herself into the river, and believing her dead, they set up an altar on the bank and ask the nun from a nearby village to say a prayer. The celebrant is none other than Giác Duyên who collected Kiều. She leads the whole family to her pagoda. The joy of reunion is indescribable. The separated lovers reunite, but after a night of partying, Kiều announces to Kim his decision entered into orders, but it is almost so ! And that alone is decent ”.