A Profane Cantata by Henri Tomasi

for narrator, men’s choir and orchestra

text by Albert Camus

 

 

(Extract of the finale)

 

The narrator:   

At Tipasa I rediscovered that we need to keep a sense of freshness, a source of joy intact within ourselves; to love a day that escapes injustice; and to go back to combat with this acquired light. Once again, I found there a young sky – that ancient beauty – and was well aware of my good fortune, finally understanding that during the worst years of our madness, the memory of that sky had never left me. It was this, finally, that kept me from despairing. I had always known that the ruins of Tipasa were younger than our constructions or our shambles. The world began anew there every day, in a light that was always newborn.

The choir:

O Light! O vibrant light!

The narrator:

O Light! Such is the cry of all characters of Greek drama when faced with their destinies. This ultimate recourse was ours as well, and at last I knew it to be so. In the midst of winter, I finally learned that within me dwells an invincible summer.    

The choir:

O Light! O vibrant light! Tipasa! Tipasa! Tipasa!