Clear voices entwining; full percussive vibrations; melodic inventions and elegant arrangements: one doesn't need to master the Occitan language to feel a frisson of pleasure when listening to La Mal Coiffée. Since 2002, the Minervois women's polyphonic choir, working with the composer and musical director Laurent Cavalié (from the Du Bartas group), has brought a cheerful poetic freshness to traditional French music. Having taken stable form in recent years around Laëtitia Dutech, Myriam Boisserie, Marie Coumes and Karine Berny, the group has managed to continue to evolve without repetition or deviation. Unlike their prior composite offerings, this latest repertoire is based on a single text: a poetic novel by the Belgian writer
Henry Bauchau, Diotime et les lions, re-written in Occitan, in the form of songs by Cavalié. The story tells of a young girl descended from lions. This coming-of-age fable about the transition from childhood to adult life - a transition both moral and natural - poses questions about the importance of giving proper attention to humans' wild side. Listeners can follow the story through the bilingual liner notes, or rely on instinct. © BM