Caroline Charrière

Suissitude - 2. Meiteli

Suissitude (Swissness)
What makes an identity?
I have created 4 various musical descriptions expressing my concepts of Switzerland, and what seems to me is the essence of each section of the country and its particular linguistic energy.
This work was commissioned by the Basler Vokalsolisten for their project 'Diversity – Swiss sounds back then and now'. The first performances were given in 2014 in Zurich and several other Swiss cities with the Basler Vokalsolisten, conducted by Sebastien Goll and the Camerata variabile, conducted by Helena Winkelman.
1. Réminiscences (BIM V110-1 — S.A.T.B. and cornetto in B flat)
This piece reminds the canton of Fribourg, my home area. Two aspects are present here: The farmer’s life (with livestock climbing to the mountain pastures), and the catholic religion. In the beginning, with the 'nou nou nou nou'  [onomatopoeia] of quarter notes, I hear the slow walking steps of the 'armailli' [cow boy] and a little nostalgic music.
One can also hear two short quotes from traditional local songs: the 'Ranz des vaches' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0xAw2oXhJY), and the Prayer song performed in local dialect, Nouthra Dona di Maortse (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRaEN18hCqg), in which the title is the name of a small chapel in the district of Gruyère.
I see this piece as an evocation, like a ship coming from the past, approaching, reliving for a moment, and retreating to a distant place.
2. Meiteli (BIM V110-2 – S.A.T.B., clarinet, violin, violoncello, contrabass, and Hackbrett).
[Meiteli means Little Girl in swiss german dialect]
In this piece, one can see an idealistic image, the ancestral side of historical Swissness. The Swiss citizen happy to be alive, joyful but not gushing, reasonable, peaceful, as a good chap who Yodels; it comes from his deep soul - either, as in the beginning of the piece with the 'Meiteli' call from one mountain to the other, or with Yodeling fragments. One should feel that shudder all along the piece. In the final, a reiteration of the same idea as in Réminiscences: the past appears briefly before returning into its silence.
3. Dorma (BIM V110-3 — S.(+2 solos),A.T.B., clarinet, violin, violoncello, contrabass, and Hackbrett
Here is the canton of Grisons, with its strong antique and mysterious beauty.
To perform this lullaby, one should 'dream' the piece between staying up and sleeping, with images of wild nature, mountains, animals, half dream, half reality, and one hears the parents whispering patiently 'dors, dors...' [sleep, sleep...] to the child.
4. Girometta (BIM V110-4 — S.A.T.B., clarinet and violin)
The Italian speaking canton, Ticino, represents the sunny side of Switzerland… a chance to find there an image of extraverted joy, of dances (Vivo).
At the beginning one hears crickets, then from measure 15, again the idea of time lag, of dream reappears, being out of time. The piece ends with a mood of joy and exuberance.
Caroline Charrière,
Paris, October 2017
 
Performance notices
1. Réminiscences:
In case the cornetto is not available, the alto sackbut is the possible alternative.
2. Meiteli, and 3. Dorma:
If a hackbrett [typical music instrument of the old traditional swiss folklore] can’t be found, the cymbalum is an acceptable alternative, but the dynamics should be lowered by one step.

The four choirs of this cycle are published separately but should be performed as a complete suite.