“Everything speaks in my work, even the fish.”
~Jean de la Fontaine
La Fontaine, ou les animaux pestiférés
In 2009, The Atlantic Harp Duo performed with actors Katherine Gabelle, Alain de Bock, and Damien Luce in a show based on the fables by Jean de la Fontaine. The ensuing recording in which the two harps use original music by Damien Luce, as well as a multitude of sound effects to accompany the recited fables, is now available in-store and online through the Espace Camac of Paris. (Texts recited in French)
For his cast of animals, Jean de la Fontaine chose such noble animals as the lion, the cat, and the elephant. But he also includes those animals normally rejected by humans: the rat, the wolf, the spider, the snake, and others. These animals, symbolically evil and ugly in human imagination, are often spared in La Fontaine’s fables, and are more cunning than the others. This collection gives preference to three of these: the wolf, the snake, and the rat. We also encounter Man himself. Isn’t he, in a sense, the creature the most rejected by his peers?
Track |
Listen |
Title |
Composer |
Timing |
| 1. | Introduction | Damien Luce | 7:00 | |
| 2. | La Grenouille et le Rat (The Frog and the Rat) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 2:16 | |
| 3. | Le Loup et la Cigogne (The Wolf and the Swan) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 0:47 | |
| 4. | La Ligue des Rats (The Rat’s League) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 2:24 | |
| 5. | Musique du Serpent (The Snake’s Theme) |
Damien Luce | 2:27 | |
| 6. | Le Villageois et le Serpent (The Villager and the Snake) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 2:09 | |
| 7. | Le Loup devenu Berger (The Wolf become Shepherd) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 1:42 | |
| 8. | Conseil tenu par les Rats (Counsel of the Rats) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 1:55 | |
| 9. | Le Loup, la Chèvre et le Chevreau (The Wolf, the Goat, and the Kid) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 1:23 | |
| 10. | L’Homme et la Couleuvre (The Man and the Grass Snake) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 4:45 | |
| 11. | Musique du Loup (The Wolf’s Theme) |
Damien Luce | 2:11 | |
| 12. | Le Loup et les Bergers (The Wolf and the Shepherds) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 2:06 | |
| 13. | Le Rat qui s’est retiré du monde (The Rat Who Withdrew from the World) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 1:45 | |
| 14. | Le Serpent et la Lime (The Snake and the File) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 1:18 | |
| 15. | Le Renard, le Loup et le Cheval (The Fox, the Wolf, and the Horse) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 1:46 | |
| 16. | Musique du Rat (The Rat’s Theme) |
Damien Luce | 1:52 | |
| 17. | Le Rat et l’Elephant (The Rat and the Elephant) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 1:32 | |
| 18. | La Tête et la Queue du serpent (The Head and the Tail of the Snake) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 1:25 | |
| 19. | Le Loup et le Chasseur (The Wolf and the Hunter) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 3:02 | |
| 20. | Le Chat et un Vieux Rat (The Cat and an Old Rat) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 2:58 | |
| 21. | Le Loup et le Chien (The Wolf and the Dog) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 1:56 | |
| 22. | Musique de L’Homme (Man’s Theme) |
Damien Luce | 1:59 | |
| 23. | Les Femmes et le Secret (The Women and the Secret) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 1:32 | |
| 24. | L’Ivrogne et sa Femme (The Drunkard and his Wife) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 1:27 | |
| 25. | La Jeune Veuve (The Young Widow) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 2:02 | |
| 26. | Parole de Socrate (The Words of Socrates) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 0:53 | |
| 27. | L’Homme entre deux âges et ses deux maîtresses (The Man and his Two Mistresses) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 1:16 | |
| 28. | Le Savetier et le Financier (The Cobbler and the Financier) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 2:23 | |
| 29. | L’Amour et la Folie (Love and Folly) |
Jean de la Fontaine | 2:34 |
