Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher (Joan of Arc at the Stake) is an oratorio by Arthur Honegger, originally commissioned by Ida Rubinstein. It was set to a libretto by Paul Claudel, and the work runs about 70 minutes.
It premiered on 12 May 1938 in Basel, with Rubinstein as Jeanne, and Jean Périer in the speaking role of Brother Dominique, with the Basel Boys Choir singing the children's chorus part, and Paul Sacher conducting.[1]
The drama takes place during the heroine's last minutes on the stake, with flashbacks to her trial and her younger days. Honegger entitled his work a dramatic oratorio, adding speaking roles and actors. The work has an important part for the ondes Martenot, an early electronic instrument (played at the premiere by its inventor Maurice Martenot).[1]
Claudel's dramatic frame provided Honegger with a space – between heaven and earth, past and present – where he could mix styles from the popular to the sublime. A hybrid work: partly oratorio and partly opera, Honegger uses all his musical means, monody, harmony and counterpoint to build towards sculpted blocks of sound.[2]
At its première in Basel the piece was an immediate success, with critics almost unanimous in praising a perfect cohesion between words and music.[3] On 6 May 1939 after rehearsals at the Salle Pleyel in Paris, the work was semi-staged with designs by Alexandre Benois at the Théâtre Municipal in Orléans conducted by Louis Fourestier.[4]
The work was heard again in Basel on 12 May 1939 and then in Zurich on 14 May. On 13 June that year at the Palais de Chaillot, it was conducted by Charles Munch (who also gave the United States premiere in New York in 1948). After the outbreak of war the work was performed at the Salle Pleyel on 22 February 1940 and in Brussels on 29 February that year. Sacher and Rubinstein made abortive plans for further performances that year, including the Lucerne Festival.[5] On 26 February 1947 Rubinstein organised a concert performance at the Palais des Fêtes in Strasbourg, conducted by Fritz Münch (brother of Charles), which was repeated the following year on 13 June 1948 in the presence of the composer.[6] The work was first performed in Canada at the Montreal Festivals in 1953 under conductor Wilfrid Pelletier.[7]
In December 1953, Roberto Rossellini directed a staged version of the oratorio in Italian translation at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples with Ingrid Bergman in the title role. It was subsequently performed at La Scala. Both performances received excellent reviews. Rossellini then staged it at the Paris Opera in the original French, again to critical success. He also filmed the San Carlo production in both French and Italian versions. The film was released in Italy in 1954 under the Italian title Giovanna d'Arco al rogo. It proved to be a box-office failure and the French version was never released.[8][9]
Marion Cotillard has starred as Joan of Arc in live performances of the oratorio several times, first in 2005, in Orléans, France, with the Orléans Symphony Orchestra, directed by Jean-Pierre Loisil. In 2012 in Barcelona, Spain, with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, directed by Marc Soustrot. In June 2015, she performed the oratorio with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall.[10][11]
^Brunette, Peter (1996). Roberto Rossellini. pp. 177–180. University of California Press. ISBN0520200535
^Padgaonkar, Dileep (2008). Under Her Spell: Roberto Rossellini in India, p. 12. Penguin. ISBN067008154X
^. Blouin ArtInfo. 23 January 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
^"Marion Cotillard in Joan of Arc at the Stake". Nyphil.org. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
Sources
Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
Depaulis, Jacques (1994), Paul Claudel et Ida Rubinstein: Une collaboration difficile, Volume 517. Presses Univ. Franche-Comté.
Halbreich H. (1999), Arthur Honegger.(Trans: Roger Nichols). Portland, OR: Amadeus Press
Roy, Jean (1994), Le Groupe des Six. Paris: Seuil
January 28, 2023
jeanne, bûcher, joan, stake, oratorio, arthur, honegger, originally, commissioned, rubinstein, libretto, paul, claudel, work, runs, about, minutes, oratorio, arthur, honeggerthe, composer, 1928textby, paul, claudellanguagefrenchperformed12, 1938, 1938, baselsc. Jeanne d Arc au bucher Joan of Arc at the Stake is an oratorio by Arthur Honegger originally commissioned by Ida Rubinstein It was set to a libretto by Paul Claudel and the work runs about 70 minutes Jeanne d Arc au bucherOratorio by Arthur HoneggerThe composer in 1928Textby Paul ClaudelLanguageFrenchPerformed12 May 1938 1938 05 12 BaselScoringspeakerssoloistsSATB choirchildren s choirorchestraIt premiered on 12 May 1938 in Basel with Rubinstein as Jeanne and Jean Perier in the speaking role of Brother Dominique with the Basel Boys Choir singing the children s chorus part and Paul Sacher conducting 1 The drama takes place during the heroine s last minutes on the stake with flashbacks to her trial and her younger days Honegger entitled his work a dramatic oratorio adding speaking roles and actors The work has an important part for the ondes Martenot an early electronic instrument played at the premiere by its inventor Maurice Martenot 1 Claudel s dramatic frame provided Honegger with a space between heaven and earth past and present where he could mix styles from the popular to the sublime A hybrid work partly oratorio and partly opera Honegger uses all his musical means monody harmony and counterpoint to build towards sculpted blocks of sound 2 Contents 1 Performance history 2 Roles 3 See also 4 ReferencesPerformance history EditAt its premiere in Basel the piece was an immediate success with critics almost unanimous in praising a perfect cohesion between words and music 3 On 6 May 1939 after rehearsals at the Salle Pleyel in Paris the work was semi staged with designs by Alexandre Benois at the Theatre Municipal in Orleans conducted by Louis Fourestier 4 The work was heard again in Basel on 12 May 1939 and then in Zurich on 14 May On 13 June that year at the Palais de Chaillot it was conducted by Charles Munch who also gave the United States premiere in New York in 1948 After the outbreak of war the work was performed at the Salle Pleyel on 22 February 1940 and in Brussels on 29 February that year Sacher and Rubinstein made abortive plans for further performances that year including the Lucerne Festival 5 On 26 February 1947 Rubinstein organised a concert performance at the Palais des Fetes in Strasbourg conducted by Fritz Munch brother of Charles which was repeated the following year on 13 June 1948 in the presence of the composer 6 The work was first performed in Canada at the Montreal Festivals in 1953 under conductor Wilfrid Pelletier 7 In December 1953 Roberto Rossellini directed a staged version of the oratorio in Italian translation at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples with Ingrid Bergman in the title role It was subsequently performed at La Scala Both performances received excellent reviews Rossellini then staged it at the Paris Opera in the original French again to critical success He also filmed the San Carlo production in both French and Italian versions The film was released in Italy in 1954 under the Italian title Giovanna d Arco al rogo It proved to be a box office failure and the French version was never released 8 9 Marion Cotillard has starred as Joan of Arc in live performances of the oratorio several times first in 2005 in Orleans France with the Orleans Symphony Orchestra directed by Jean Pierre Loisil In 2012 in Barcelona Spain with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra directed by Marc Soustrot In June 2015 she performed the oratorio with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall 10 11 Roles EditJeanne d Arc spoken dancer Ida Rubinstein Virgin Mary soprano Berthe de Vigier St Marguerite First voice soprano Rosa van Herck St Catherine contralto Ginevra Vivante Brother Dominique spoken Jean Perier Porcus tenor Ernst Bauer Heurtebise Clerk tenor Charles Vaucher Second voice First herald Serge Chandoz Second herald Third voice bass Narrator spoken Master of ceremonies spoken Third herald spoken Duke of Bedford spoken Jean de Luxembourg spoken Regnault De Chartres spoken Guillaume De Flavy spoken PerrotSee also EditGiovanna d Arco al rogoReferences EditNotes a b Halbreich 1999 pp 422 423 Roy 1994 p 108 Depaulis 1994 pp 72 73 Depaulis 1994 pp 78 79 Depaulis 1994 pp 80 81 Depaulis 1994 p 98 Denise Menard Marc Samson Wilfrid Pelletier Encyclopedia of Music in Canada Retrieved August 21 2019 Brunette Peter 1996 Roberto Rossellini pp 177 180 University of California Press ISBN 0520200535 Padgaonkar Dileep 2008 Under Her Spell Roberto Rossellini in India p 12 Penguin ISBN 067008154X New York Philharmonic To Stage Joan of Arc with Marion Cotillard Blouin ArtInfo 23 January 2014 Archived from the original on 26 February 2014 Retrieved 1 March 2014 Marion Cotillard in Joan of Arc at the Stake Nyphil org 22 January 2014 Retrieved 10 March 2014 Sources Casaglia Gherardo 2005 Jeanne d Arc au bucher L Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia in Italian Depaulis Jacques 1994 Paul Claudel et Ida Rubinstein Une collaboration difficile Volume 517 Presses Univ Franche Comte Halbreich H 1999 Arthur Honegger Trans Roger Nichols Portland OR Amadeus Press Roy Jean 1994 Le Groupe des Six Paris Seuil Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jeanne d 27Arc au bucher amp oldid 1050490092, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
