Thirteen French folk songs including Bailèro, Lou Coucut, La Pastrouletta è Lou Chibaliè Hé! Beyla-z-y Dau Fé N'ai pas Iéu de Mio, Lo Calhé, Uno Jionto Postouro, Malurous Qu'o Uno Fenno, Brezairola, Chut, Chut, Lou Diziou Bé, Pour l'Enfant, L'Aio dè Rotso, Ound'onorèn Gorda?, Obal Din Lou Limouzi, adapted and orchestrated by Marie-Joseph Canteloube

Peter Martins

February 6, 1986, New York City Ballet, New York State Theater

Heather Watts, Jock Soto, Soprano Frederica von Stade

38 min.

This large work for principal couple, ensemble of 12 dancers, 10 children and soprano evokes the color and atmosphere of the Auvergne region's unique and contradictory landscape of mountains, gorges, extinct volcanoes, verdant pastures and ruined castles. Marie-Joseph Canteloube (1879-1957) was raised in the Auvergne and began collecting and notating the traditional folk music of the region as a student. Between 1923 and 1955, Canteloube published five series of Auvergnat songs whose lyrics are written in the langue d'oc, the unusual dialect of the Auvergne area in southern France that is thought to combine features of an early Celtic language with Latin introduced by Roman invaders. Although Canteloube composed a number of conventional concert works, none ever achieved the critical acclaim or popular appeal of the Chants d'Auvergne.