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Je chante la chaleur désespérée [I Sing of the Warmth of Despair] does not have a Finnish title, since the title is a ‘quasi quotation’ of the French poet René Char. The original aphorism goes: Je chante la chaleur à visage de nouveau-né, la chaleur désespérée. The idea of the face of a newborn baby forms the basis of my piece. The moment of birth is certainly the most dramatic in a human being’s life, but as far as the parents are concerned, the moment is also filled with the most tender and warm feelings possible. This is why the piece almost merely consists of things with extreme feelings and also (extreme) tempi.© Jouni KaipainenI have given this piano piece of mine a French title, which is English would be something like ‘I sing of the Warmth of Despair’. The title is a quotation of the French poet René Char. This poet has for a long time been one of the main influencers in my compositional as well as artistic development: I have written a suite of orchestral songs (Op.12a) in his texts, and I have titled my opuses 12b, 16 and 17 after him.I have now and then been told that the fact that a composer resorts to poets when searching for a title is a prominent proof of spiritual laziness. But, personally, I do not find this any kind of a problem. Anyway, in my case, the composition itself is always the important part, upon which I concentrate my forces, and if it happens, after a strength-demanding period of composing, that I find finding a title unfairly difficult, I right away turn to the professionals of using words, i.e. poets. Besides, I personally feel that quite a many of Char’s ideas have some kind of correspondence in my scores.Je chante la chaleur désésperée is a piece of ‘absolute piano music’, lasting for about 10 minutes. Characteristic to the piece is the fact that, properly, it only includes sections of extreme tempi, viz. very slow or very fast. As a culmination of this polarity, we can feel the ending of the piece, where, after a rapid, breathless allegro, we hear an utmostly slow, immaterial coda.Strong human feelings tend to be manifold; they, as things in general, have numerous different sides. I think this is why Char writes about ‘the warmth of despair’ which, according to the poet, appears e.g. in the face of a newborn baby. Perhaps this image helps somebody to understand also my ideas.”© Jouni Kaipainen

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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

Je chante la chaleur désespérée Op. 16