Six-time GRAMMY®-nominated Skylark presents Clear Voices in the Dark, pairing Poulenc’s wartime masterpiece Figure Humaine with Civil War–era songs in a powerful reflection on the human voice in times of conflict.
Clear Voices in the Dark
Francis Poulenc’s Figure Humaine is one of the most extraordinary works composed for unaccompanied choir. Written in 1943 in occupied France and set to resistance-inspired poems by Paul Éluard, it confronts the realities of war, culminating in Liberté—an embattled cry for freedom.Clear Voices in the Dark places this work alongside music from the American Civil War, bringing two periods of conflict into direct conversation. The recording of this program received two GRAMMY® nominations in 2024. The 2026 program also includes a new arrangement of America the Beautiful by Matthew Guard and Benedict Sheehan.
This performance will be filmed. Audience members may be visible in recorded material.
About Skylark
Six-time GRAMMY®-nominated Skylark creates moments that may live with you for the rest of your life.
Our programs draw connections between music, history, art, and place. Projects have included an exploration of hidden musical codes with Dan Brown; a meditation on human hope and resistance pairing Poulenc’s Figure Humaine with American Civil War songs; A Christmas Carol with Christine Baranski at the Morgan Library & Museum; an exploration of mathematics and music at MIT; Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles at the Hispanic Society of America; and candlelit performances of medieval to modern sacred works at the Met Cloisters.
Featured in The New York Times, Associated Press, BBC, and Gramophone. Fourteen albums. Six GRAMMY® nominations. Recent recordings distributed by LSO Live.
Founded in 2011 by artistic director Matthew Guard, Skylark maintains deep roots in Massachusetts and New York.
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