Conseil tenu par les rats (The Rats’ Council): Florent Schmitt’s humorous take on Jean de la Fontaine’s wry fable (1948-50).

In 1953, Florent Schmitt composed Fables sans morales, settings of four fables taken from Jean de la Fontaine’s writings which the composer scored for a cappella mixed chorus. Interestingly, several years earlier Schmitt had already produced another choral work based a Fontaine fable, titled Conseil tenu par les rats, Op. 123 (The Rats’ Council) – […]

Fables sans morales: Florent Schmitt’s pointed portrayal of Jean de la Fontaine fables for a cappella chorus (1953).

The French author and playwright Jean de la Fontaine is best-known for his fables, which are considered masterpieces of French literature. The fables of the ancient Greek author Aesop may be better known across the world, but La Fontaine deserves an equivalent place in the spotlight considering that he produced no fewer than 240 of […]