This week on “The Lost Chord,” what’s old is new again, as we enjoy a program of 20th century music by French composers who look back to their illustrious forebears.
In the 1870s, following France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian war, there was a rise in musical nostalgia, with composers doing their part to mend the wounded national dignity by looking back to the galant style of the Ancien Régime – an idealized Golden Age which stood outside of Gallic history, full of shepherds and shepherdesses, panpipes and periwigs. The movement gave rise to such works as Camille Saint-Saëns’ Septet and the “Suite dans le style ancien” by Vincent d’Indy.
50 years later, a renewed fascination with music of the 18th century took root in the 1920s, in no small part because of Stravinsky’s sudden shift to neo-classicism. This was concurrent with the rise of Les Six, a loose collective of composers who had begun to flourish in Paris. We’ll hear three of their works that sprang from a shared affection for music of the Baroque.
One of the group’s more prominent members, Darius Milhaud, composed his “Suite d’après Corrette,” a piece for winds after 18th century composer Michel Corrette (with tell-tale “cuckoo” finale), in 1937. Eleven years later, he followed it with “L’Apothéose de Molière,” the title evocative of the spirit of Jean-Baptiste Lully. However, in this instance, the source material was culled from works by the lesser-known Baroque violinist and composer Baptiste Anet, a pupil Corelli and an elite musician in the service of Louis XIV. We’ll hear both Milhaud pieces, presented back-to-back.
Then we’ll have a work by one of his colleagues, the only female member of Les Six, Germaine Tailleferre. In 1964, Tailleferre paid tribute to the Baroque keyboard master Jean-Philippe Rameau, on the occasion of the bicentennial of his death. “Hommage à Rameau” falls into three movements and is scored for two pianos and percussion.
Finally, we’ll turn to Jean Françaix, who was NOT a member of Les Six, although his musical aesthetic would have fit right in. Had he been born twenty years earlier, we might be talking about Les Sept! Françaix’s “Duo Baroque,” composed in 1980, is scored for the unusual combination of double bass and harp. It pays tribute to no specific composer – in fact, for the most part, it doesn’t even sound particularly Baroque – though it does share a certain charm, wit, and elegance characteristic of music of the 18th century.
I hope you’ll join me for “Everything Old Is New Again,” on “The Lost Chord,” now in syndication on KWAX Classical Oregon!
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Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:
PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST
SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – Saturday at 11:00 AM EST/8:00 AM PST
THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST
Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!
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