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Henri Sauguet

April 06, 2024

Henri-Pierre Sauguet-Poupard (18 May 1901 – 22 June 1989) was a French composer.

Sauguet (fourth right), with Mstislav Rostropovich (fourth left), in the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, 1964

Born in Bordeaux, he adopted his mother's maiden name as part of his professional pseudonym. His output includes operas, ballets, four symphonies (1945, 1949, 1955, 1971), concertos, chamber and choral music and numerous songs, as well as film music. Although he experimented with musique concrète and expanded tonality, he remained opposed to particular systems and his music evolved little: he developed tonal or modal ideas in smooth curves, producing an art of clarity, simplicity and restraint.

Career edit

Sauguet started learning the piano at home when he was five years old. Later he was taught by the organist of the church of Sainte-Eulalie de Bordeaux. On the mobilization of his father in 1914, he was required to earn a living at a very young age. Eventually employed by the Prefecture of Montauban in 1919–1920, he formed a friendship with Joseph Canteloube, a former pupil of Vincent d'Indy. Together they collected and harmonized traditional songs under the title Chants d'Auvergne (Songs of Auvergne). During this period too he continued his musical education with local organists and himself served as organist at the small church of St-Vincent de Floirac just outside the city (1916–22). Sacred music, and especially organ arrangements, were to influence him for the rest of his life. One may instance the pieces he later wrote for organ and various combinations of instruments: Oraisons, with four saxophones (1976); Ne moriatur in aeternum, with trumpet (1979); Church Sonata, with string quintet (1985).[1]

 
Programme of 12 December 1920 in Paris

When Henri Collet dubbed a group of Paris-based composers Les Six, Sauguet started writing to one of its members, Darius Milhaud. He also began to refer to himself and two Bordeaux friends, Louis Emié and Jean-Marcel Lizotte (another composer and a poet-musician), as 'Les Trois'. Their first concert took place on 12 December 1920. This included performances of works by 'Les Six' (Georges Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, Germaine Tailleferre, Darius Milhaud and Francis Poulenc), together with "Erik Satie et la jeune musique française". Among compositions by all three local exponents of 'the young French music' were Sauguet's four-handed Danse nègre and his Pastorale pour piano.

Sauguet's correspondence with Milhaud led to the composer asking to see some of his works. He wrote a piano suite called Trois Françaises (Three Frenchwomen) which so impressed Milhaud that he encouraged the young man to move to Paris. Arriving in October 1921, he found work as a secretary at the Guimet Museum. For some six years he studied composition with Charles Koechlin, whom he credits with helping him understand music within its own context and find his own voice.[2]

In 1923, together with three other admirers of Satie's music (Henri Clicquot-Pleyell, Roger Désormière, Maxime Jacob), Sauguet formed the 'School of Arcueil', named after the location of Satie's home. With his support, they had their first concert on 25 October 1923 at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. In 1924 Erik Satie introduced Sauguet to Serge Diaghilev, the flamboyant impresario of the Ballets Russes, and he wrote his first ballet, Les Roses (Roses) that year. In 1927 Diaghilev's company produced the ballet La Chatte (The Cat) with music by Sauguet, which premiered in Monte Carlo on April 30. The story is about a young man who falls in love with a cat, which assumes a human form through the intervention of Aphrodite. As they make love, the cat-woman sees a mouse and cannot resist chasing it, whereupon she changes back into a cat. The work was choreographed by the young George Balanchine.[3]

Sauguet gained his greatest popularity with his ballets, of which he wrote over twenty. The best of these, and the work by which he is most known outside France, was Les Forains (1945) about a talented, slightly tattered, but ultimately hopeful travelling circus troupe.[4] He also wrote numerous works for radio, television, stage, and film, and a large quantity of chamber and other instrumental works, including solos for harmonica and musical saw, but his particular talent was vocal music. He worked ten years on La chartreuse de Parme (The Charterhouse of Parma, 1936) - based on Stendhal's novel - an opera that had a reputation in France as his most important work. Internationally, however, it was considered to be short on emotion and drama.[5] Other operatic works include La Contrebasse (1930), La Gageure Imprévue (1942), Les Caprices de Marianne (1954)[6] and Boule de Suif (1978).

The war period brought a change to Sauguet's work, which had previously been marked by his high spirits. He used his reputation during this time to help his Jewish friends but lost the oldest-established among them, Max Jacob, who died in the Drancy internment camp. At the war's end he completed his Symphony No. 1, known as Expiatoire (Expiatory), in tribute to the war's innocent victims. This was followed by his 2nd Symphony, known as The Allegorical or The Seasons, in 1949. His 3rd Symphony is known as I.N.R. and his 4th, a meditation on old age written as he approached the age of seventy, as Du Troisième Age (The Third Age).[7] In 1945 he contributed incidental music to the premiere of La Folle de Chaillot, by Jean Giraudoux.[8]

 
Sauguet's grave next to André Jolivet's

Sauguet worked as a music critic throughout the 1930s and 1940s. He founded the Composers Union, also devoting his time to Una Voce, an organization that works to preserve Latin and traditional chant in the Roman Catholic liturgy.

Final years edit

In 1956 Sauguet was made an Officer of the Legion of Honour and succeeded his friend Milhaud into the French Academy in 1976.

Sauguet's personal partnership with a set designer and decorator of French theatre, Jacques Dupont, endured until the latter's death in 1978.[9]

When Sauguet died in Paris in 1989, he was buried at the Montmartre Cemetery in the same grave as Dupont and next to that of André Jolivet in Section 27, near the grave of Hector Berlioz.

Sauguet's autobiography Musique, ma vie (Music, my life) was published posthumously in 1990.

Selected recordings edit

References edit

  1. ^ See the list of Sauguet's work on the Spanish Wikipedia.
  2. ^ Sauguet, Henri: La musique, ma vie, Paris, 1990, p. 170
  3. ^ Greskovic, Robert (July 1, 2005). Ballet 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving the Ballet. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879103255 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ The music for the whole ballet is available in two parts on YouTube, first part, and second
  5. ^ http://www.classicalarchives.com/composer/13758.html#tvf=tracks&tv=about
  6. ^ Excerpt on YouTube
  7. ^ See the programme notes to the Marco Polo recording of this work, Marco Polo 8.223472, 1997
  8. ^ Giraudoux, La Folle de Chaillot, Editions Bernard Grasset, Paris, 1946, p. 9
  9. ^ Pochna, M-F, (2008). Christian Dior : The Biography. Overlook Hardcover, New York. ISBN 978-1-58567-702-3.

External links edit

April 06, 2024
henri, sauguet, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools, available, as. This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Henri Pierre Sauguet Poupard 18 May 1901 22 June 1989 was a French composer Sauguet fourth right with Mstislav Rostropovich fourth left in the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory 1964Born in Bordeaux he adopted his mother s maiden name as part of his professional pseudonym His output includes operas ballets four symphonies 1945 1949 1955 1971 concertos chamber and choral music and numerous songs as well as film music Although he experimented with musique concrete and expanded tonality he remained opposed to particular systems and his music evolved little he developed tonal or modal ideas in smooth curves producing an art of clarity simplicity and restraint Contents 1 Career 2 Final years 3 Selected recordings 4 References 5 External linksCareer editSauguet started learning the piano at home when he was five years old Later he was taught by the organist of the church of Sainte Eulalie de Bordeaux On the mobilization of his father in 1914 he was required to earn a living at a very young age Eventually employed by the Prefecture of Montauban in 1919 1920 he formed a friendship with Joseph Canteloube a former pupil of Vincent d Indy Together they collected and harmonized traditional songs under the title Chants d Auvergne Songs of Auvergne During this period too he continued his musical education with local organists and himself served as organist at the small church of St Vincent de Floirac just outside the city 1916 22 Sacred music and especially organ arrangements were to influence him for the rest of his life One may instance the pieces he later wrote for organ and various combinations of instruments Oraisons with four saxophones 1976 Ne moriatur in aeternum with trumpet 1979 Church Sonata with string quintet 1985 1 nbsp Programme of 12 December 1920 in ParisWhen Henri Collet dubbed a group of Paris based composers Les Six Sauguet started writing to one of its members Darius Milhaud He also began to refer to himself and two Bordeaux friends Louis Emie and Jean Marcel Lizotte another composer and a poet musician as Les Trois Their first concert took place on 12 December 1920 This included performances of works by Les Six Georges Auric Louis Durey Arthur Honegger Germaine Tailleferre Darius Milhaud and Francis Poulenc together with Erik Satie et la jeune musique francaise Among compositions by all three local exponents of the young French music were Sauguet s four handed Danse negre and his Pastorale pour piano Sauguet s correspondence with Milhaud led to the composer asking to see some of his works He wrote a piano suite called Trois Francaises Three Frenchwomen which so impressed Milhaud that he encouraged the young man to move to Paris Arriving in October 1921 he found work as a secretary at the Guimet Museum For some six years he studied composition with Charles Koechlin whom he credits with helping him understand music within its own context and find his own voice 2 In 1923 together with three other admirers of Satie s music Henri Clicquot Pleyell Roger Desormiere Maxime Jacob Sauguet formed the School of Arcueil named after the location of Satie s home With his support they had their first concert on 25 October 1923 at Theatre des Champs Elysees In 1924 Erik Satie introduced Sauguet to Serge Diaghilev the flamboyant impresario of the Ballets Russes and he wrote his first ballet Les Roses Roses that year In 1927 Diaghilev s company produced the ballet La Chatte The Cat with music by Sauguet which premiered in Monte Carlo on April 30 The story is about a young man who falls in love with a cat which assumes a human form through the intervention of Aphrodite As they make love the cat woman sees a mouse and cannot resist chasing it whereupon she changes back into a cat The work was choreographed by the young George Balanchine 3 Sauguet gained his greatest popularity with his ballets of which he wrote over twenty The best of these and the work by which he is most known outside France was Les Forains 1945 about a talented slightly tattered but ultimately hopeful travelling circus troupe 4 He also wrote numerous works for radio television stage and film and a large quantity of chamber and other instrumental works including solos for harmonica and musical saw but his particular talent was vocal music He worked ten years on La chartreuse de Parme The Charterhouse of Parma 1936 based on Stendhal s novel an opera that had a reputation in France as his most important work Internationally however it was considered to be short on emotion and drama 5 Other operatic works include La Contrebasse 1930 La Gageure Imprevue 1942 Les Caprices de Marianne 1954 6 and Boule de Suif 1978 The war period brought a change to Sauguet s work which had previously been marked by his high spirits He used his reputation during this time to help his Jewish friends but lost the oldest established among them Max Jacob who died in the Drancy internment camp At the war s end he completed his Symphony No 1 known as Expiatoire Expiatory in tribute to the war s innocent victims This was followed by his 2nd Symphony known as The Allegorical or The Seasons in 1949 His 3rd Symphony is known as I N R and his 4th a meditation on old age written as he approached the age of seventy as Du Troisieme Age The Third Age 7 In 1945 he contributed incidental music to the premiere of La Folle de Chaillot by Jean Giraudoux 8 nbsp Sauguet s grave next to Andre Jolivet sSauguet worked as a music critic throughout the 1930s and 1940s He founded the Composers Union also devoting his time to Una Voce an organization that works to preserve Latin and traditional chant in the Roman Catholic liturgy Final years editIn 1956 Sauguet was made an Officer of the Legion of Honour and succeeded his friend Milhaud into the French Academy in 1976 Sauguet s personal partnership with a set designer and decorator of French theatre Jacques Dupont endured until the latter s death in 1978 9 When Sauguet died in Paris in 1989 he was buried at the Montmartre Cemetery in the same grave as Dupont and next to that of Andre Jolivet in Section 27 near the grave of Hector Berlioz Sauguet s autobiography Musique ma vie Music my life was published posthumously in 1990 Selected recordings editLes Forains and Tableaux de Paris Toulouse Capitole Orchestra Michel Plasson His Master s Voice C 069 16220 Symphonies complete Moscow Symphony Orchestra Antonio de Almeida Marco Polo Naxos recorded 1994 and 1995 Piano Concerto N 1 in A minor Vasso Devetzi piano USSR Radio Orchestra Gennady Rozhdestvensky amp Les Forains Lamoureux Orchestra composer conducting Le Chant Du Monde LDX 78300 Divertissement de Chambre soloists directed by the composer Lune inconstante Suzanne Lafaye soprano Paul Derenne tenor Sauguet piano Les Animaux et Leurs Hommes Suzanne Lafaye soprano Sauguet piano Neiges Paul Derenne tenor Sauguet piano Disques Andre Charlin CCPE 2 Les Caprices de Marianne Andree Esposito Camille Maurane Michel Senechal Orchestre Radio Lyrique Manuel Rosenthal Solstice SOCD 98 99References edit See the list of Sauguet s work on the Spanish Wikipedia Sauguet Henri La musique ma vie Paris 1990 p 170 Greskovic Robert July 1 2005 Ballet 101 A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving the Ballet Hal Leonard Corporation ISBN 9780879103255 via Google Books The music for the whole ballet is available in two parts on YouTube first part and second http www classicalarchives com composer 13758 html tvf tracks amp tv about Excerpt on YouTube See the programme notes to the Marco Polo recording of this work Marco Polo 8 223472 1997 Giraudoux La Folle de Chaillot Editions Bernard Grasset Paris 1946 p 9 Pochna M F 2008 Christian Dior The Biography Overlook Hardcover New York ISBN 978 1 58567 702 3 External links edit nbsp Media related to Henri Sauguet at Wikimedia Commons Free scores by Henri Sauguet at the International Music Score Library Project IMSLP Henri Sauguet at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Henri Sauguet amp oldid 1216850805, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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