Cheres Fleurs

Chansons des Bois d'Amaranthe is Massenet's first cycle for vocal quartet. It was composed in 1900 and published in 1901. In the last decade of his life, Massenet often performed this work, sometimes as conductor, at other times as pianist. The third movement, "Cheres fleurs," the first movement for all four voices, finds the poet speaking to the spring flowers. He warns them about thewind, "which speaks too much of faithful love," and reminds them that "faithful love speaks less." The musical style of this movement is in stark contrast to the preceding movements. After a piano introduction, the voices, unaccompanied, sing music that evokes the spirit of the Renaissance madrigal.