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Arthur Honegger

January 01, 1970

"Honegger" redirects here. For other uses, see Honegger (surname).

Arthur Honegger (French: [aʁtyʁ ɔnɛɡɛːʁ]; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris.[1] A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably Antigone, composed between 1924 and 1927 to the French libretto by Jean Cocteau based on the tragedy Antigone by Sophocles. It premiered on 28 December 1927 at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie with sets designed by Pablo Picasso and costumes by Coco Chanel. However, his most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which was inspired by the sound of a steam locomotive.[2]

Arthur Honegger in 1928

Biography edit

 
Plaque at the Honegger home in Le Havre

Born Oscar-Arthur Honegger (the first name was never used) to Swiss parents in Le Havre, France, he initially studied harmony with Robert-Charles Martin (to whom he dedicated his first published work[3]) and violin in Le Havre. After studying for two years at the Zurich Conservatory, he enrolled in the Paris Conservatoire from 1911 to 1918, studying with both Charles-Marie Widor and Vincent d'Indy. He made his Paris compositional debut in 1916 and in 1918 wrote the ballet Le dit des jeux du monde, generally considered to be his first characteristic work.

In 1926, he married Andrée Vaurabourg, a pianist and fellow student at the Paris Conservatoire, on the condition that they live in separate apartments because he required solitude for composing. Andrée lived with her mother, and Honegger visited them for lunch every day.[4] They lived apart for the duration of their marriage, with the exception of one year from 1935 to 1936 following Vaurabourg's injury in a car accident, and the last year of Honegger's life, when he was not well enough to live alone. They had one daughter, Pascale, born in 1932. Honegger also had a son, Jean-Claude (1926–2003), with the singer Claire Croiza.

In the early 1920s, Honegger shot to fame with his "dramatic psalm" Le Roi David (King David), which is still in the choral repertoire. Between World War I and World War II, Honegger was very prolific. He composed the music for Abel Gance's epic 1927 film, Napoléon, which was preceded by J'accuse (1919) and La Roue (The Wheel) (1923). He composed nine ballets and three vocal stage works, amongst other works. One of those stage works, Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher (1935), a "dramatic oratorio" (to words by Paul Claudel), is thought of[by whom?] as one of his finest works. In addition to his pieces written alone, he collaborated with Jacques Ibert on both an opera, L'Aiglon (1937), and an operetta. During this time period, he also wrote Danse de la chèvre (1921), which has become a staple in the flute repertoire. Dedicated to René Le Roy and written for solo flute, this piece is lively and charming but with the same directness of all Honegger's work.[citation needed]

 
Arthur Honegger, as portrayed by Serge Ivanoff, Paris, 1944

Honegger always remained in touch with Switzerland, his parents' country of origin, until the outbreak of the war and the invasion of the Nazis made it impossible for him to leave Paris. He joined the French Resistance and was generally unaffected by the Nazis themselves, who allowed him to continue his work without too much interference. He also taught composition at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, where his students included Yves Ramette. However, he was greatly depressed by the war. Between its outbreak and his death, he wrote his last four symphonies (numbers two to five), which are among the most powerful symphonic works of the 20th century. Of these, the second, for strings, featuring a solo trumpet that plays a chorale tune in the style of Bach in the final movement, and the third, subtitled Symphonie Liturgique with three movements that evoke the Requiem Mass (Dies irae, De profundis clamavi and Dona nobis pacem), is probably the best known. Written in 1946, just after the end of the war, it has parallels with Benjamin Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem of 1940. In contrast with this work is the lyrical, nostalgic Symphony No. 4, subtitled "Deliciae Basilienses" ("The Delights of Basel"), written as a tribute to days of relaxation spent in that Swiss city during the war.

Honegger was widely known as a train enthusiast and once notably said: "I have always loved locomotives passionately. For me they are living creatures and I love them as others love women or horses." His "mouvement symphonique" Pacific 231 (a depiction of a steam locomotive) gained him early notoriety in 1923.

Many of Honegger's works were championed by his longtime friend Georges Tzipine, who conducted the premiere recordings of some of them (Cris du Monde oratorio, Nicolas de Flüe).[5]

In 1953 he wrote his last composition, A Christmas Cantata. After a protracted illness, he died at home in Paris of a heart attack on 27 November 1955 and was interred in the Saint-Vincent Cemetery in the Montmartre Quarter. He was given a state funeral by the French government, although he remained a Swiss national and never took French citizenship.[6]

The principal elements of Honegger's style are Bachian counterpoint, driving rhythms, melodic amplitude, highly coloristic harmonies, an impressionistic use of orchestral sonorities, and a concern for formal architecture. His style is weightier and more solemn than that of his colleagues in Les Six. Far from reacting against German romanticism as the other members of Les Six did, Honegger's mature works show evidence of a distinct influence by it. Despite the differences in their styles, he and fellow Les Six member Darius Milhaud were close friends, having studied together at the Paris Conservatoire. Milhaud dedicated his fourth string quintet to Honegger's memory, while Francis Poulenc similarly dedicated his Clarinet Sonata.

Legacy edit

Honegger was pictured on the Swiss twenty franc banknote (eighth series), issued October 1996 and replaced in 2017.

Honegger's symphonic movement Rugby was recorded with him conducting the Paris Symphony Orchestra in a 1929 electrical recording.[7] Many of Honegger's recordings as conductor of his music have been reissued on CD by Pearl and Dutton.[8]

For Honegger's notable students, see List of music students by teacher: G to J § Arthur Honegger.

The ice hockey player Doug Honegger is his grandnephew.[9]

Notable compositions edit

 
Danse de la chèvre
Performed by Sarah Bassingthwaite
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Opus numbers originate from the complete catalogue by Harry Halbreich. For a longer list of compositions, see List of compositions by Arthur Honegger. For a list of select recordings, see Arthur Honegger discography.

  • Orchestral music :
Symphonies :
1930 : H 75 First Symphony
1941 : H 153 Second Symphony for strings and trumpet in D
1946 : H 186 Third Symphony (Symphonie Liturgique)
1946 : H 191 Fourth Symphony in A (Deliciae basilienses)
1950 : H 202 Fifth Symphony in D (Di tre re)
Symphonic movements :
1923 : H 53 Pacific 231 (Symphonic Movement No. 1)
1928 : H 67 Rugby (Symphonic Movement No. 2)
1933 : H 83 Symphonic Movement No. 3
Concerti :
1924 : H 55 Concertino for piano and orchestra in E major
1929 : H 72 Concerto for cello and orchestra in C major
1948 : H 196 Concerto da camera, for flute, English horn and strings
Others :
1917 : H 16 Le chant de Nigamon
1920 : H 31 Pastorale d'été
1923 : H 47 Chant de joie (Song of Joy)
1951 : H 204 Monopartita
1921 : H 37 Le roi David (King David) libretto by René Morax, version for orchestra in 1923
1935 : H 99 Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher, libretto by Paul Claudel, version with prologue in 1941
1938 : H 131 La danse des morts, (The Dance of the Dead) libretto by Paul Claudel
1953 : H 212 Une cantate de Noël (A Christmas Cantata)
  • Operas :
1903 : Philippa, not orchestrated, performed, or published
1904 : Sigismond, lost
1907 : La Esmeralda, after Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, unfinished and unpublished
1918 : La mort de sainte Alméenne, libretto by M. Jacob, unpublished and only Interlude orchestrated
1925 : Judith, libretto by René Morax, premiered at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo on 13 February 1925
1927 : H 65 Antigone, libretto by Jean Cocteau based on Sophocles, premiered at La Monnaie on 28 December 1927
1925 : H 108 L'Aiglon, co-written with Jacques Ibert; libretto for acts 2–4 by H. Cain, after E. Rostand, libretto for acts 1 and 5 by Ibert, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, 10 March 1937
1930 : Les aventures du roi Pausole, libretto by A. Willemetz, after P. Louÿs, premiered 12 December 1930, Paris, Bouffes-Parisiens
1931 : La belle de Moudon, libretto by René Morax, Mézières, Jorat, Switzerland, 30 May 1931, unpublished
1937 : Les petites cardinal, libretto by Willemetz and P. Brach, after L. Halévy, Paris, Bouffes-Parisiens, 13 February 1938
  • Ballets :
1918 : H 19 Le dit des jeux du monde
1921 : H 38 Horace victorieux, symphonie mimée
1917 : H 15 String Quartet No. 1 in C minor
1929 : H 28 Sonata for Viola and Piano
1935 : H 103 String Quartet No. 2 in D
1937 : H 114 String Quartet No. 3 in E
1945 : H 181 Paduana for cello solo
1947 : H 193 Intrada for C trumpet and piano
  • Piano solo works 1910 : Three Pieces (Scherzo, Humoresque, Adagio)
1916 : Toccata and Variation
1915–9 : Three Pieces (Prelude, Homage to Ravel, Danse)
1919–20 : Seven Short Pieces
1920 : Sarabande (for Album de Six)
1923–4 : Le Cahier Romand
1928–9 Hommage to Albert Roussel
1932 : Prelude, Arioso and Fughetta on the name BACH
1941 : Petits Airs sue une basse celebre
1943–4 : Two Sketches

References edit

  1. ^ "Arthur Honegger". Oxford Reference.
  2. ^ "Honegger, Arthur". encyclopedia.com.[failed verification]
  3. ^ Meylan, Pierre (1970). Arthur Honegger. L'age D'homme. ISBN 978-2-8251-3235-7.
  4. ^ Stephenson, Lesley (2002). Don Weed (ed.). Symphony of Dreams: The Conductor and Patron Paul Sacher. Scarecrow Press. p. 208. ISBN 978-3-907625-10-1.
  5. ^ Michel Tibbaut (15 July 2005). . www.resmusica.com (in French). Archived from the original on 11 February 2009.
  6. ^ Stephenson 2002, p. 211.
  7. ^ Arthur Honegger, Rugby (Mouvement symphonique No 2) recorded 1929 on YouTube
  8. ^ "Honegger conducts: CDs & Vinyl". Amazon. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  9. ^ Reto Kirchhofer (19 December 2010). "Das Debüt der Doppelbürger". Berner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 10 December 2018.

Further reading edit

  • Honegger's biographer was Marcel Landowski, the French composer and arts administrator, who was greatly influenced by Honegger. His biography appeared in 1978 (ISBN 2-02-000227-2) although it has yet to be translated into English.
  • Harry Halbreich. Arthur Honegger, translated into English by Roger Nichols. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press, 1992. Considers both Honegger's life and works. With the cooperation of Honegger's daughter Pascale; Halbreich has fully documented Honegger's life since childhood. All works are treated, more significant ones analyzed in detail. ISBN 1-57467-041-7 (1999).
  • Geoffrey Spratt. The Music of Arthur Honegger. Cork University Press, 1987. Spratt also wrote the entry in Grove Music Online (2001).
  • Willy Tappet. Arthur Honegger. Zurich: Atlantis Verlag, 1954.

External links edit

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Arthur Honegger.
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arthur Honegger.

January 01, 1970
arthur, honegger, honegger, redirects, here, other, uses, honegger, surname, french, aʁtyʁ, ɔnɛɡɛːʁ, march, 1892, november, 1955, swiss, composer, born, france, lived, large, part, life, paris, member, best, known, work, probably, antigone, composed, between, . Honegger redirects here For other uses see Honegger surname Arthur Honegger French aʁtyʁ ɔnɛɡɛːʁ 10 March 1892 27 November 1955 was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris 1 A member of Les Six his best known work is probably Antigone composed between 1924 and 1927 to the French libretto by Jean Cocteau based on the tragedy Antigone by Sophocles It premiered on 28 December 1927 at the Theatre Royal de la Monnaie with sets designed by Pablo Picasso and costumes by Coco Chanel However his most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231 which was inspired by the sound of a steam locomotive 2 Arthur Honegger in 1928 Contents 1 Biography 2 Legacy 3 Notable compositions 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksBiography editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Arthur Honegger news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message nbsp Plaque at the Honegger home in Le Havre Born Oscar Arthur Honegger the first name was never used to Swiss parents in Le Havre France he initially studied harmony with Robert Charles Martin to whom he dedicated his first published work 3 and violin in Le Havre After studying for two years at the Zurich Conservatory he enrolled in the Paris Conservatoire from 1911 to 1918 studying with both Charles Marie Widor and Vincent d Indy He made his Paris compositional debut in 1916 and in 1918 wrote the ballet Le dit des jeux du monde generally considered to be his first characteristic work In 1926 he married Andree Vaurabourg a pianist and fellow student at the Paris Conservatoire on the condition that they live in separate apartments because he required solitude for composing Andree lived with her mother and Honegger visited them for lunch every day 4 They lived apart for the duration of their marriage with the exception of one year from 1935 to 1936 following Vaurabourg s injury in a car accident and the last year of Honegger s life when he was not well enough to live alone They had one daughter Pascale born in 1932 Honegger also had a son Jean Claude 1926 2003 with the singer Claire Croiza In the early 1920s Honegger shot to fame with his dramatic psalm Le Roi David King David which is still in the choral repertoire Between World War I and World War II Honegger was very prolific He composed the music for Abel Gance s epic 1927 film Napoleon which was preceded by J accuse 1919 and La Roue The Wheel 1923 He composed nine ballets and three vocal stage works amongst other works One of those stage works Jeanne d Arc au bucher 1935 a dramatic oratorio to words by Paul Claudel is thought of by whom as one of his finest works In addition to his pieces written alone he collaborated with Jacques Ibert on both an opera L Aiglon 1937 and an operetta During this time period he also wrote Danse de la chevre 1921 which has become a staple in the flute repertoire Dedicated to Rene Le Roy and written for solo flute this piece is lively and charming but with the same directness of all Honegger s work citation needed nbsp Arthur Honegger as portrayed by Serge Ivanoff Paris 1944 Honegger always remained in touch with Switzerland his parents country of origin until the outbreak of the war and the invasion of the Nazis made it impossible for him to leave Paris He joined the French Resistance and was generally unaffected by the Nazis themselves who allowed him to continue his work without too much interference He also taught composition at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris where his students included Yves Ramette However he was greatly depressed by the war Between its outbreak and his death he wrote his last four symphonies numbers two to five which are among the most powerful symphonic works of the 20th century Of these the second for strings featuring a solo trumpet that plays a chorale tune in the style of Bach in the final movement and the third subtitled Symphonie Liturgique with three movements that evoke the Requiem Mass Dies irae De profundis clamavi and Dona nobis pacem is probably the best known Written in 1946 just after the end of the war it has parallels with Benjamin Britten s Sinfonia da Requiem of 1940 In contrast with this work is the lyrical nostalgic Symphony No 4 subtitled Deliciae Basilienses The Delights of Basel written as a tribute to days of relaxation spent in that Swiss city during the war Honegger was widely known as a train enthusiast and once notably said I have always loved locomotives passionately For me they are living creatures and I love them as others love women or horses His mouvement symphonique Pacific 231 a depiction of a steam locomotive gained him early notoriety in 1923 Many of Honegger s works were championed by his longtime friend Georges Tzipine who conducted the premiere recordings of some of them Cris du Monde oratorio Nicolas de Flue 5 In 1953 he wrote his last composition A Christmas Cantata After a protracted illness he died at home in Paris of a heart attack on 27 November 1955 and was interred in the Saint Vincent Cemetery in the Montmartre Quarter He was given a state funeral by the French government although he remained a Swiss national and never took French citizenship 6 The principal elements of Honegger s style are Bachian counterpoint driving rhythms melodic amplitude highly coloristic harmonies an impressionistic use of orchestral sonorities and a concern for formal architecture His style is weightier and more solemn than that of his colleagues in Les Six Far from reacting against German romanticism as the other members of Les Six did Honegger s mature works show evidence of a distinct influence by it Despite the differences in their styles he and fellow Les Six member Darius Milhaud were close friends having studied together at the Paris Conservatoire Milhaud dedicated his fourth string quintet to Honegger s memory while Francis Poulenc similarly dedicated his Clarinet Sonata Legacy editHonegger was pictured on the Swiss twenty franc banknote eighth series issued October 1996 and replaced in 2017 Honegger s symphonic movement Rugby was recorded with him conducting the Paris Symphony Orchestra in a 1929 electrical recording 7 Many of Honegger s recordings as conductor of his music have been reissued on CD by Pearl and Dutton 8 For Honegger s notable students see List of music students by teacher G to J Arthur Honegger The ice hockey player Doug Honegger is his grandnephew 9 Notable compositions edit nbsp Danse de la chevre source source Performed by Sarah Bassingthwaite Problems playing this file See media help Opus numbers originate from the complete catalogue by Harry Halbreich For a longer list of compositions see List of compositions by Arthur Honegger For a list of select recordings see Arthur Honegger discography Orchestral music Symphonies 1930 H 75 First Symphony 1941 H 153 Second Symphony for strings and trumpet in D 1946 H 186 Third Symphony Symphonie Liturgique 1946 H 191 Fourth Symphony in A Deliciae basilienses 1950 H 202 Fifth Symphony in D Di tre re dd Symphonic movements 1923 H 53 Pacific 231 Symphonic Movement No 1 1928 H 67 Rugby Symphonic Movement No 2 1933 H 83 Symphonic Movement No 3 dd Concerti 1924 H 55 Concertino for piano and orchestra in E major 1929 H 72 Concerto for cello and orchestra in C major 1948 H 196 Concerto da camera for flute English horn and strings dd Others 1917 H 16 Le chant de Nigamon 1920 H 31 Pastorale d ete 1923 H 47 Chant de joie Song of Joy 1951 H 204 Monopartita dd Oratorios 1921 H 37 Le roi David King David libretto by Rene Morax version for orchestra in 1923 1935 H 99 Jeanne d Arc au bucher libretto by Paul Claudel version with prologue in 1941 1938 H 131 La danse des morts The Dance of the Dead libretto by Paul Claudel 1953 H 212 Une cantate de Noel A Christmas Cantata Operas 1903 Philippa not orchestrated performed or published 1904 Sigismond lost 1907 La Esmeralda after Victor Hugo s The Hunchback of Notre Dame unfinished and unpublished 1918 La mort de sainte Almeenne libretto by M Jacob unpublished and only Interlude orchestrated 1925 Judith libretto by Rene Morax premiered at the Opera de Monte Carlo on 13 February 1925 1927 H 65 Antigone libretto by Jean Cocteau based on Sophocles premiered at La Monnaie on 28 December 1927 Operettas 1925 H 108 L Aiglon co written with Jacques Ibert libretto for acts 2 4 by H Cain after E Rostand libretto for acts 1 and 5 by Ibert Opera de Monte Carlo 10 March 1937 1930 Les aventures du roi Pausole libretto by A Willemetz after P Louys premiered 12 December 1930 Paris Bouffes Parisiens 1931 La belle de Moudon libretto by Rene Morax Mezieres Jorat Switzerland 30 May 1931 unpublished 1937 Les petites cardinal libretto by Willemetz and P Brach after L Halevy Paris Bouffes Parisiens 13 February 1938 Ballets 1918 H 19 Le dit des jeux du monde 1921 H 38 Horace victorieux symphonie mimee Chamber music 1917 H 15 String Quartet No 1 in C minor 1929 H 28 Sonata for Viola and Piano 1935 H 103 String Quartet No 2 in D 1937 H 114 String Quartet No 3 in E 1945 H 181 Paduana for cello solo 1947 H 193 Intrada for C trumpet and piano Piano solo works 1910 Three Pieces Scherzo Humoresque Adagio 1916 Toccata and Variation 1915 9 Three Pieces Prelude Homage to Ravel Danse 1919 20 Seven Short Pieces 1920 Sarabande for Album de Six 1923 4 Le Cahier Romand 1928 9 Hommage to Albert Roussel 1932 Prelude Arioso and Fughetta on the name BACH 1941 Petits Airs sue une basse celebre 1943 4 Two SketchesReferences edit Arthur Honegger Oxford Reference Honegger Arthur encyclopedia com failed verification Meylan Pierre 1970 Arthur Honegger L age D homme ISBN 978 2 8251 3235 7 Stephenson Lesley 2002 Don Weed ed Symphony of Dreams The Conductor and Patron Paul Sacher Scarecrow Press p 208 ISBN 978 3 907625 10 1 Michel Tibbaut 15 July 2005 Georges Tzipine interprete Honegger www resmusica com in French Archived from the original on 11 February 2009 Stephenson 2002 p 211 Arthur Honegger Rugby Mouvement symphonique No 2 recorded 1929 on YouTube Honegger conducts CDs amp Vinyl Amazon Retrieved 10 July 2023 Reto Kirchhofer 19 December 2010 Das Debut der Doppelburger Berner Zeitung in German Retrieved 10 December 2018 Further reading editHonegger s biographer was Marcel Landowski the French composer and arts administrator who was greatly influenced by Honegger His biography appeared in 1978 ISBN 2 02 000227 2 although it has yet to be translated into English Harry Halbreich Arthur Honegger translated into English by Roger Nichols Portland Oregon Amadeus Press 1992 Considers both Honegger s life and works With the cooperation of Honegger s daughter Pascale Halbreich has fully documented Honegger s life since childhood All works are treated more significant ones analyzed in detail ISBN 1 57467 041 7 1999 Geoffrey Spratt The Music of Arthur Honegger Cork University Press 1987 Spratt also wrote the entry in Grove Music Online 2001 Willy Tappet Arthur Honegger Zurich Atlantis Verlag 1954 External links edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Arthur Honegger nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arthur Honegger Publications by and about Arthur Honegger in the catalogue Helveticat of the Swiss National Library Free scores by Arthur Honegger at the International Music Score Library Project IMSLP Site Arthur Honegger The official site on the composer bilingual French and English Unlocking the Mystery of Honegger Holocaust Music discusses the controversy of Honegger s role in the Resistance Cello Concerto Review Drama lirico Biblico Judith audio online y descarga Arthur Honegger Archived 20 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine biography of the composer Frantisek Slama Archive Archived 14 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine More on the history of the Czech Philharmonic between the 1940s and the 1980s Conductors Portals nbsp Biography nbsp Classical music Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Arthur Honegger amp oldid 1218346161, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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