Rencontre – Begegnung
Arrangements of songs by Fauré – Gounod – Saint-Saëns – Hensel
Gabriel Fauré was a master of lyrical passion. He particularly loved intimate, chamber ensembles. For the Fauré anniversary year of 2024 – marking 100 years since his death – Denis Rouger has arranged numerous songs by the great French composer of the late Romantic and fin-de-siècle periods for his figure humaine chamber choir. The well-known art songs, originally composed for solo voice and piano, can now be enjoyed anew in this sensitive choral interpretation.
The first two CDs by this exceptional young choir, featuring arrangements of German and French songs of the Romantic era, were enthusiastically received by music critics. The program is complemented by choral arrangements of works by Charles Gounod, Camille Saint-Saens and Fanny Hensel.
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Choir
figure humaine kammerchor
figure humaine – the human face – is the inner guiding principle and name of the chamber choir of young musicians from Stuttgart which was founded in 2016. They are all united by the desire to perform choral music of a high chamber music standard. The musical focus of their work is on French and German music of the 19th to 21st centuries. A specialty of the choir and its leader and founder Denis Rouger are arrangements of French art songs, which in this way may make their way into the ears and hearts of European audiences. In addition to a reverence to the work of the poet Paul Èluard and the composer Francis Poulencs, the name of the choir also encompasses the power of each individual for the sound of the choir and for musical as well as humanistic interpretation. In addition to its Stuttgart season, the choir has been invited to several cities and festivals: the Festival for European Church Music Schwäbisch Gmünd, the festivals in Konstanz and Lorch as well as the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele. In France, figure humaine has performed, among others, at the festival Les rencontres musicales in Vézelay in Bourgogne. The ensemble also collaborates with the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra and with Carus-Verlag in the creation of choral anthologies with accompanying CDs. figure humaine is supported by the city of Stuttgart and the state of Baden-Württemberg. Personal details
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Conductor
Denis Rouger
| 1961Denis Rouger gained his initial musical experience as the son of a Parisian family of musicians and during his studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he received first prizes in harmony, fugue and counterpoint.
He was a lecturer and choirmaster at the University of Paris-Sorbonne for 20 years and choirmaster at Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral for 10 years. He is honorary conductor of the Parisian church La Madeleine. He also collaborates with numerous ensembles in Germany. He has been invited as a guest conductor by radio choirs, the Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, the Baden-Württemberg State Youth Choir and the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. Concerts have taken him to Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland (Lucerne Festival).
He gives master classes in Sweden, Bulgaria, France, Germany, as well as in Switzerland.
Denis Rouger has been Professor of Choral Conducting at the Stuttgart State University of Music and Performing Arts since 2011. The chamber choir he founded at the university in the fall of 2011 won first prize at the International Choir Competition in Mosbach (Germany) in 2014.
In addition to his work as a choirmaster, he composes and arranges French and German songs for choir. His arrangements on the CDs Kennst Du das Land ... and ... wo die Zitronen blühn (Carus) were well received by the press and radio. In collaboration with Carus-Verlag, he has edited the choir book Französische Chormusik, which received the German Music Edition Award “Best Edition” in 2019.
In 2016, Denis Rouger founded the figure humaine kammerchor (www.figurehumaine.de), with which he regularly gives concerts at renowned festivals.
Personal details
Reviews
Sehr charmant gesetzt, sehr charmant gesungen und somit ein klingendes Vergnügen!>
Gustav Danzinger, CHOR aktuell, 09/2025
Die Chorsätze, die Rouger durch dezente harmonische Ergänzungen … geschaffen hat, sind farbreich flirrende, künstlerisch überzeugende Repertoire-Erweiterungen. … Der Chor singt klangschön und mit sehr guter Balance der Stimmen…
Susanne Benda, Fono Forum, 06/2024
Das Kammerchor Figure humaine ist ein exzellentes Ensemble… Bei [Rouger] bleibt der Klavierpart unangetastet, und das vokale Spektrum wird durch harmonisch passende Töne ergänzt und weit gespreizt. … Gut gesungen beginnt diese Musik ganz neu zu leuchten.
Susanne Benda, SWR Kultur, 05/2024
Tatsächlich gelingt es dem Kammerchor, Rougers Arrangements ... auf hohem sängerischem Niveau in differenzierte Klangspektren aufzufächern und die Lieder so in einem neuen und gleichsam üppigeren Klanggewand zu präsentieren.
Chorzeit, 05/2024