The French Symphony at the Fin De Siècle Style, Culture, and The
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UMT The French Symphony at the Fin de Siecle Style, Culture, and the Symphonic Tradition Andrew Deruchie Schulich School of Music, McGill University, Montreal A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of PhD in Musicology August 2008 © Andrew Deruchie, 2008 Library and Archives Bibliothfeque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'6dition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-66276-2 Our file Notre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-66276-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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M Canada Table of contents Abstract iii Resume v Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 i.i Prospects 1 i.ii Social Background 6 i.iii Review of Literature 19 i.iv Perspectives 23 Chapter 1 - Camille Saint-Saens, Third Symphony 36 1.1 A "Masterwork" 36 1.2 Themes and Motives 45 1.3 Death and Rebirth 59 1.4 The Rebirth of the Symphony 72 Chapter 2 - Cesar Franck, Symphony in D Minor 86 2.1 Genesis 86 2.2 Reception and Criticism 88 2.3 "Magical Object" .99 2.4 Mysticism 117 Chapter 3 - Edouard Lalo, Symphony in G Minor 124 3.1 From (Symphony to) Opera to Symphony 124 3.2 Concision 139 3.3 Per aspera ad aspera 148 Chapter 4 - Ernest Chausson, Symphony in B-flat Major 157 4.1 Trumpet Calls 157 4.2 Tonality 163 4.3 "Theme" 174 4.4 Material and Plot 184 4.5 A Symbolist Symphony 192 Abstract This dissertation examines the symphony in late nineteenth- and early twentieth- century France by way of individual chapters on the period's seven most influential and frequently performed works: Camille Saint-Saens's Third Symphony (1885-86), Cesar Franck's Symphony in D minor (1887-88), Edouard Lalo's Symphony in G minor (1886), Vincent d'Indy's Symphonie sur un chant montagnardfranqais (1886) and Second Symphony (1902-03), Ernest Chausson's Symphony in B-flat (1890), and Paul Dukas's Symphony in C (1896). Beethoven established the primary paradigm for these works in his Third, Fifth, and Ninth Symphonies, and the principal historical issue I address is how French composers reconciled this paradigm with their own aesthetic priorities within the musical and cultural climate of fln-de-siecle France. Previous critics have viewed this repertoire primarily with limited structuralist methodologies. The results have often been unhappy: all of these symphonies are in some ways formally idiosyncratic and individual, and their non-conforming aspects have tended to puzzle or disappoint. My study draws on recent methods developed by Warren Darcy, Scott Burnham, and others that emphasize the dynamic and teleological qualities of musical form. This more supple approach allows a fuller appreciation of the subtle and sophisticated ways in which individual works unfold formally, and the spectrum of procedures French composers employed. My study demonstrates that the factors shaping the French symphony in this period included imperatives of progress as well as the popularity of the symphonic poem. Some of the earlier symphonists covered in this study also felt the need to confront Wagner's influential theoretical writings: mid -century he had famously proclaimed the death of the symphony. As many writers have argued, the archetypal heroic "plot" that Beethoven's symphonies express embodies the subject-laden values—notions of iii individual freedom and faith in the self—that prevailed in his time. Different inflections of this plot by French symphonists, I argue, reflect the variegated ways fin-de-siecle French culture had received these values. iv Chapter 5 - Vincent d'Indy, Symphonie sur un chant montagnardfrangais 198 5.1 Ideology 198 5.2 The Principe cyclique 205 5.3 La Terre et les morts 216 5.4 Enracinement 224 Chapter 6 - Vincent d'Indy, Second Symphony 239 6.1 Introduction 239 6.2 Edifice 245 6.3 Progress 254 6.4 Misreading Chausson 270 6.5 Reaction 275 Chapter 7 - Paul Dukas, Symphony in C 284 7.1 Introduction 284 7.2 Musique and Anti-Musique 288 7.3 Beethoven and Traduction 304 7.4 Dukas's Heroique 306 7.5 A Cyclic Symphony? 321 Conclusion 333 Bibliography 339 ii Resume La presente these examine la symphonie frangaise a la fin du dix-neuvieme et au commencement du vingtieme siecle, en sept chapitres portant sur les oeuvres les plus influentes et interpretees de l'epoque: la troisieme symphonie de Camille Saint-Saens (1885), la symphonie en re mineur de Cesar Franck (1888), la symphonie en sol mineur d'Edouard Lalo (1885), la Symphonie sur un chant montagnardfrangais ainsi que la deuxieme symphonie de Vincent d'Indy (1886 et 1902-1903), la symphonie en si bemol majeur d'Ernest Chausson (1890) et la symphonie en do de Paul Dukas (1896). Beethoven a etabli le paradigme principal pour ces oeuvres avec ses troisieme, cinquieme et neuvieme symphonies, et cette these portera principalement sur les manieres dont les compositeurs frangais reconcilierent ce paradigme avec leurs propres priorites esthetiques au sein du climat musical et culturel de la France de la fin du siecle. La majorite des chercheurs ont evalue ce repertoire au moyen de methodologies structuralistes limitees, et les resultats ont souvent ete peu convaincants : ces symphonies presentent toutes une conception formelle hautement idiosyncratique et individuelle, et leurs aspects non conformistes ont souvent suscite confusion ou deception. Ma these s'inspire de methodes recentes developpees entre autres par Warren Darcy et Scott Burnham, qui mettent en lumiere les qualites dynamiques et teleologiques de la forme musicale. Cette approche plus souple permet de mieux apprecier la subtilite et la sophistication du deploiement formel de ces oeuvres, ainsi que le riche eventail de procedures employees par les compositeurs frangais. Ma these demontre que les facteurs ayant modele la symphonie franchise au tournant du siecle incluent les imperatifs du progres de meme que la popularity du poeme symphonique. Certains des symphonistes mentionnes ici ressentirent aussi le besoin de reagir aux ecrits theoriques influents de Wagner, qui avait proclame, au milieu du siecle, v la mort de la symphonie. Comme plusieurs chercheurs ont soutenu, «l'iritrigue » heroi'que archetypale des symphonies de Beethoven exprime les valeurs subjectives de liberie individuelle et de foi en sa propre personne qui prevalaient a l'epoque. Les differentes declinaisons de cette intrigue par les compositeurs francpais refletent les manieres variees dont ces valeurs furent refues dans la culture frangaise a la fin du siecle. vi Acknowledgments An orchestra-sized group of people provided the assistance I needed to complete this study, and it is my unmitigated pleasure to thank some of the principals here. Professor Steven Huebner supervised this project, and it benefited immeasurably from his uncommon combination of expertise in fin-de-siecle French music and culture, command of the symphonic repertoire, and, perhaps most important, musical sensitivity. His own scholarship, moreover, served as a challenging model of excellence. My thanks are also due to him for generously offering funds from his research stipend that enabled me to travel to Europe to attend conferences and conduct research in the summers of 2006 and 2007. Professor William Caplin read a draft of this entire dissertation and offered much astute and helpful feedback. My skills as an analyst also benefited from his seminar on musical form in which I participated early in my degree. This project was completed with the support of a McGill University Principal's Dissertation Fellowship, and I would like to express my appreciation to the donors who endowed that award. Special thanks are also in order to Erin Helyard and Meghan Goodchild, who prepared the musical examples, and to Dana Gorzelany-Mostak, who offered keen and timely editorial assistance. Many friends patiently listened to ideas and offered advice, insight, and intellectual stimulation; I am particularly grateful to Alexis Luko, Christopher Moore, Erin Helyard, Liz Blackwood and Nathan Martin. I also benefited from the friendship of Colette Simonot, Michael Ethen, and Sarah Gutsche- Miller, among other colleagues in Montreal, and I enjoyed evenings with Markus Gonitzke on the Pont-des-arts in Paris.