Reynaldo Hahn

A Chloris

This title is taken from the compilation French Songs And Choruses For Mixed-Voice Choir (NOV165198)

This song declares itself immediately as a variation on the Renaissance and Baroque tradition of the pastoral song, with its use of the title, 'To Chloris, ' (Chloris and Phyllis were the generic names for pastoral shepherdesses and nymphs in Renaissance and Baroque literature), and the ornamentation in the accompaniment, the repeated trills and turns, also evoke the realm of the Baroque song. However, the work is not a mere imitation; it is a modern song, one that pays homage to, rather than imitates, the older models.