An imaginary chamber opera in six scenes.Characters: the god Pan, the nymph Syrinx, lovers, shepherds, naiads...Outline: the mysterious story, over the years, of a (double?) flute...For almost half a century a short poem by Victor Hugo, Viens! une flûte invisible soupire, inspired many composers. The words are simple and a little sentimental: a young man declares his love while "a flute unseen sighs in the orchards". Camille Saint-Saëns set the poem to music on its publication in 1856 and again in 1885, the year of Hugo death. Others who set the poem included Benjamin Godard, Gabriel Pierné and André Caplet.During those same years artists - poets, painters, musicians - turned to antiquity and mythology for inspiration. Their works often celebrate the flute of the god Pan. An example is the Chansons de Bilitis (1895) by Pierre Louÿs, whose poems appealed immediately (and lastingly) to his friend Claude Debussy.Does the flute belong to shepherds or satyrs? Is it a light instrument or is it tragic, pastoral or Dionysian? At the dawning of the twentieth century, poets and musicians were undecided...It is their hesitation that we aim to put across through this recording, by choosing some of their works and comparing them within an imaginary drama.The story begins one evening and ends the following morning; it is divided into six "scenes", each beginning with a piece for solo piano from Debussy"s Epigraphes antiques and containing pieces by various composers, forming a conversation between a man (tenor) and a woman (soprano), with the flute sometimes joining in, sometimes performing alone.Recorded in the Auditorium at Alençon, 3-6 November 2004Recording and editing: Jean-Claude GaberelPiano adjusted and tuned by Joël JobéFlutes: one of boxwood (anonymous), one of red ebony, signed Louis Lot (late nineteenth century)Piano: Erard baby grand (1903)