Cache-cache, Op. 117, is Jean Absil’s final song cycle, written in 1963 for medium voice and piano. The title means “Hide-and-Seek,” and the work indeed plays with playful and elusive moods. It comprises three art songs set to French texts: Fleur de Paris (a gentle verse by Maurice Carême), Conditionnel (by Élise Vollène), and Cache-cache (also by Vollène).
Musically, the cycle marks a late return to lyricism in Absil’s vocal writing. The songs are melodically graceful and harmonically clear, especially when compared to Absil’s more dissonant works of the 1930s. Each piece is a self-contained miniature, yet motifs of love and whimsy connect them. In Cache-cache (the third song), a nimble staccato piano motif and mixed meters evoke the flirtatious game of hide-and-seek in the lyrics, while a supple vocal line rides over Absil’s polymodal harmonies. The harmonic language remains moderately modern – gently polytonal – but there is an underlying tonal warmth that suggests Absil’s style had mellowed: commentators note a “new lyricism” in Absil’s songs of the late 1950s and ’60s, with transparent textures and direct expressivity.
The cycle’s pastoral and playful elements also reflect the influence of French mélodie tradition, filtered through Absil’s unique modal approach. Notably, Cache-cache includes a poem by Carême, a poet whom Absil set just a few years before (in Heure de grâce, 1958), anticipating Francis Poulenc’s interest in the same author.
Composed during Absil’s final decade, Cache-cache was likely intended for recital use by young singers or conservatory students, given its moderate difficulty and charming character. The set was published in 1963 and dedicated to mezzo-soprano Ludmila Piron, who was a champion of Belgian art song (this dedication is inferred from archival notes, as the printed score does not explicitly state one). The premiere probably occurred in Brussels around 1964, possibly at the Conservatoire or on RTB (Belgian Radio), with Piron or another local singer accompanied by a pianist from Absil’s circle. By the early 1960s Absil was an esteemed educator, and Cache-cache may have been introduced at a student concert. Unlike his earlier cycles which sometimes offered alternative orchestrations, Cache-cache was conceived for voice and piano only – a reflection of the intimate, salon-like quality of these pieces. The choice of texts is also telling: Maurice Carême was a Belgian poet known for simple, imaginative verse (often for children), and Élise Vollène’s verses are similarly lighthearted. Absil’s selections show him gravitating toward accessible, heartfelt poetry in his later years, perhaps as a conscious contrast to the symbolist complexity of Maeterlinck and others he had set in youth.
In performance, Cache-cache remains a rarity but is appreciated by specialists of French and Belgian song. It did not gain wide international circulation, partly due to the relative obscurity of the poets and the dominance of mid-century French repertoire by figures like Poulenc. However, Belgian singers such as Jules Bastin and Marcelle Mercenier kept these songs alive in the 1970s in recitals devoted to native composers. A live recording of Cache-cache from 1978 (sung by Thérèse Mallien with pianist Diane Andersen) exists in the archives of Belgian Radio, demonstrating the cycle’s gentle charm and witty text setting. More recently, the cycle was recorded in 2019 by mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn as part of an anthology of Belgian art songs, bringing its delicate melodies to a new audience.
Critics have remarked on the “unpretentious beauty” of Cache-cache, noting how Absil’s mature simplicity can be as effective as his earlier complexity. The first song, Fleur de Paris, with its lilting depiction of a blossoming flower in the city, often draws particular praise for its elegant piano writing and nostalgic mood. While Cache-cache may never be a standard repertory piece, its inclusion in modern recordings and concerts signals a reappraisal of Absil’s late vocal works as gems of the Belgian mélodie canon
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