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The five-movement song cycle Château de l'âme is the first vocal work in which Saariaho has used an orchestra. The orchestral accompaniment is vivid and colourful but also consciously sparse, giving room to the expressive, expansive melodies of the soprano. The melodic element is more strongly emphasized than is usual in Saariaho's works. Château de l'âme was written for Dawn Upshaw, and during the composition process Saariaho worked with Upshaw in shaping the details of the voice part.© Risto Nieminen, 1996translated by © Jaakko MäntyjärviThe texts of Château de l'âme are drawn from ancient Hindu and Egyptian sources. The first three come from L’Atharva Veda — a Veda intended for royal priests. La liane (sections 1 and 3), with reversed word order originates in the section ‘Love’s Magic’, consisting of phrases concerning the awakening and development of love between a man and a woman. A la terre is a collage of texts by Kaija Saariaho, named after a prayer of the same titte.The last two sections of the work are based on Egyptian magic spells. Pour repousser l’esprit is a spell to push back a spirit and protect a child against illness. Les formules are extracts from spells used to heal children. The title Château de l'âme is taken from Saint Theresa of Avila (Château de l'âme or Le Livre des demeures).The relationship between words and music is uniquely complex. Certain musical structures are dictated by the structure of the poetry, such as the refrain ‘et ne t’écarte pas de moi!’, which in La liane is always sung to the same melody by the soprano soloist. Within the second part there are certain remarkable similarities during the repetitions of ‘ce qui respire et vibre’ and ‘ta vaste terre’.Different kinds of polyphonic words and phrasing develop between the solo soprano and the female voices. In the first section the female voices introduce the text by speaking certain sections of it at the opening. The opposite happens in the final section Les formules, where the female voices recall the beginning by shouting extracts of the first verse while the solo soprano sings and recites the second verse. With the exception of the third, central section, where the vocal ensemble is not involved, the relation between solo soprano and female chorus is at the heart of the score. The sounds of the words shape the work: phonemes sung by the soprano and female voices merge into the orchestral texture and are developed in the same way. Château de l’âme (1996) for soprano, eight female voices and orchestra is Saariaho’s first work for voice and orchestra [...].[writer unknown](ISCM Festival, for the British premiere, Manchester April 23, 1998)

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Abbreviation	Instrument
Woodwind
acl	alto clarinet
afl	alto flute
arec	alto recorder
asax	alto saxophone
barsax	baritone saxophone
barhn	baritone horn
bcl	bass clarinet
bfl	bass flute
bob	bass oboe
bsax	bass saxophone
bsn	bassoon
cbsn	contrabassoon
cl	clarinet
ehn	English horn
fl	flute
hn	French horn
ob	oboe
pic	piccolo
rec	recorder
sax	saxophone
srec	soprano recorder
ssax	soprano saxophone
trec	tenor recorder
tsax	tenor saxophone
Brass
ahn	alto horn
atrb	altotrombone
barhn	baritone horn
btrb	bass trombone
cornet	cornet
euph	euphonium
fhn	flugelhorn
hn	French horn
tba	tuuba
thn	tenor horn
trb	trombone
trp	trumpet
Percussion
dr	drums
glock	glockenspiel
mar	marimba
perc	percussion
timp	timpani
vibr	vibraphone
xyl	xylophone
Strings
db	double bass
gamba	viola da gamba
str	strings
vla	viola
vlc	cello
vln	violin
Other
acc	accordion
cel	celesta
cemb	harpsichord
chords	chords
elbas	electric bass
elg	electric guitar
elorg	electric organ
elpno	electric piano
guit	guitar
harm	harmonium
hca	harmonica
hp	harp
instr	instrument
kantele	kantele
keyb	keyboard
live electr	live electronics
mand	mandolin
mel	melody
org	organ
pno	piano
synth	synthesizer
tape	tape
Vocal
alto	alto
baryt	baritone
basso	bass voice
ch	choir
chc	childrens choir
chf	female choir
chm	male choir
chx	mixed choir
cten	countertenor
mezzo	mezzo-soprano
sopr	soprano
speaker	speaker
ten	tenor
voc	vocal

Symphony orchestra
2222 4331 11 1, str = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 French horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, one other percussionist, harp and strings
Wind band
2252 3 423 21212 3 = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 5 clarinets, 2 bassoons - 3 saxophones - 4 French horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones - 2 cornets, alto horn, 2 tenor horns, baritone horn, 2 tubas - 3 percussionists
Big band
221 4 4, pno, guit, db, dr = 2 alto saxophones, 2 tenor saxophones, baritone saxophone, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, piano, guitar, double bass, drums
Additional codes
+	fl+pic = flutist doubles on piccolo
/	pno/org = can be played on either piano or organ
lib	ad libitum
obl	obligato
str	str: 65432 = specified number of string players
str min	str min: 65432 = at least 65432
str max	str max: 65432 = not more than 65432
solo	vln solo = violin is the solo instrument in a work not obviously for solo violin