Loreley. German Folk Songs for choir with one male voice SAM

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

Denis 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

Personal details