Cyrill Schürch Les Quatrains Valaisans

In his settings of five quatrains by Rilke, Cyrill Schürch explores the colorfulness of the literary model. His mainly homophonic, song-like style of setting corresponds to the compactness of the poetry. Schürch wanders freely, but always comprehensibly, through the keys and employs dissonances pointedly and economically. In this way, Schürch’s songs for choir are comparable to Hindemith’s sophisticated choral settings of Rilke, while speaking their very own tonal language. The short compositions with their poetically sanguine basic character will enrich every concert program focused on the topics of nature and landscape. They represent a rewarding project for any choir that finds pleasure in exploring tone colors and delicate emotional nuances.