UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ Louis Durey’s Le Bestiaire: A Performance Study A Document submitted to the Division of Graduate Studies and Research of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS in the Performance Studies Division of the College-Conservatory of Music 2008 by Kathryn Stieler B.M., Western Michigan University, 1990 M.M., Bowling Green State University, 1995 Committee Chair: Professor Mary Henderson Stucky Abstract This document aims to enhance the understanding and appreciation of Louis Durey’s setting of Le Bestiaire for both listener and performer by providing an in-depth, practical performance study. It begins with an outline of the cultural and artistic climate of the early twentieth century in Paris, France, when the poems, woodcuts and music were conceived. Next, the study includes a brief biography of the poet, the visual artist, and the composer of the work, followed by an overview of their individual approaches to Le Bestiaire specifically. Finally, a song-by-song commentary will examine each poem and include a working translation and historical, biographical, and contextual references as appropriate; aspects of Dufy’s art work that illuminate the poems and/or music; musical qualities in both the piano and vocal line that signal particular moments of interest in the cycle; and specific suggestions for the singer and pianist to enhance their performance of the work. iii iv Acknowledgments I would like to thank a number of important people who encouraged and supported my long journey to completion of this paper and degree program. Thank you to Professor Mary Stucky, my advisor, for being a steadfast source of expertise, inspiration and patience. Thank you to Professors Bill McGraw and David Adams who served as meticulous readers of this document. Thank you to Professor Dan Royer who helped me to identify my fledgling passion for writing. Thank you to all my family and friends who politely kept me on track with their persistent questioning about when I would be finished. Most of all, thank you to my husband, David, who cheerfully and generously held down the fort so that I could invest my time and energy into this project, cheered me on when I felt discouraged, and believed in me from beginning to end. v Table of Contents I. List of Figures…………………………………………………………….. viii II. Introduction a. Purpose of Study………………………………………………… 1 b. The Cultural and Artistic Climate of the EarlyTwentieth Century in Paris, France………………… 4 III. Biographical Background a. Poet, Guillaume Apollinaire…………………………………….. 6 b. Visual Artist, Raoul Dufy………………………………………. 10 c. Composer, Louis Durey……………………………………….... 13 IV. Le Bestiaire Overview a. Poetry…………………………………………………………… 15 b. Woodcuts……………………………………………………….. 20 c. Music………………………………………………………….... 24 V. Le Bestiaire - Song by Song Commentary a. Orphée…………………………………………………………... 31 b. La tortue………………………………………………………… 34 c. Le cheval………………………………………………………… 36 d. La chèvre du Thibet……………………………………………... 39 e. Le serpent……………………………………………………….. 42 f. Le chat…………………………………………………………... 45 g. Le lion…………………………………………………………… 49 h. Le lièvre…………………………………………………………. 52 i. Le lapin………………………………………………………….. 55 j. Le dromadaire…………………………………………………… 58 k. La souris………………………………………………………… 61 l. L’éléphant………………………………………………………. 64 m. Orphée………………………………………………………….. 68 n. La chenille……………………………………………………… 69 o. La mouche……………………………………………………… 71 p. La puce…………………………………………………………. 73 q. La sauterelle…………………………………………………….. 76 r. Orphée………………………………………………………….. 79 s. Le dauphin……………………………………………………… 80 t. Le poulpe………………………………………………………. 83 u. La méduse………………………………………………………. 86 v. L’écrevisse……………………………………………………… 88 w. La carpe………………………………………………………… 90 x. Orphée………………………………………………………….. 93 y. Les sirens……………………………………………………….. 94 z. La colombe……………………………………………………… 97 aa. Le paon…………………………………………………………. 100 bb. Le hibou…………………………………………………………. 102 cc. Ibis………………………………………………………………. 105 dd. Le boeuf…………………………………………………………. 107 vi VI. Concluding Remarks………………………………………………………. 110 VII. Bibliography………………………………………………………………. 114 vii I. List of Figures Fig. 1 “La tortue,” mm. 8-10…………………………………………………… 34 Fig. 2 “Le cheval,” mm. 1-2……………………………………………………. 37 Fig. 3 “La chèvre du Thibet,” mm. 1-4………………………………………… 40 Fig. 4 “Le serpent,” mm. 1, 4………………………………………………….. 43 Fig. 5 “Le chat,” m. 1, 5……………………………………………………….. 46 Fig. 6 “Le lion,” mm. 2-3, 4-5…………………………………………………. 50 Fig. 7 “Le lièvre,” mm. 1-4…………………………………………………….. 52 Fig. 8 “Le lapin,” mm. 1-4……………………………………………………... 55 Fig. 9 “Le dromadaire,” mm. 1-2………………………………………………. 59 Fig. 10 “Le dromadaire,” mm. 25-26……………………………………………. 59 Fig. 11 “La souris,” mm. 1-4…………………………………………………….. 62 Fig. 12 “L’éléphant,” m.4……………………………………………………….. 65 Fig. 13 “L’éléphant,” m. 6, 18…………………………………………………… 66 Fig. 14 “La chenille,” mm. 1-3………………………………………………….. 69 Fig. 15 “La mouche,” mm. 1-3………………………………………………….. 71 Fig. 16 “La puce,” mm. 1-2……………………………………………………… 74 Fig. 17 “La puce,” mm. 12-13…………………………………………………… 74 Fig. 18 “La sauterelle,” mm. 1-4………………………………………………… 77 Fig. 19 “La sauterelle,” mm. 8-11……………………………………………….. 77 Fig. 20 “Le dauphin,” mm. 1-2………………………………………………….. 81 Fig. 21 “Le poulpe,” m. 1……………………………………………………….. 83 Fig. 22 “Le poulpe,” m. 4……………………………………………………….. 84 Fig. 23 “La méduse,” mm. 1-3………………………………………………….. 86 Fig. 24 “L’écrevisse,” mm. 1-2…………………………………………………. 89 Fig. 25 “La carpe,” m. 4………………………………………………………… 91 Fig. 26 “Les sirènes,” mm. 6-8…………………………………………………. 95 Fig. 27 “Les sirènes,” m. 9……………………………………………………… 95 Fig. 28 “La colombe,” mm. 1-2………………………………………………… 98 Fig. 29 “Le paon,” mm. 12-15………………………………………………….. 101 Fig. 30 “Le hibou,” mm. 1-3……………………………………………………. 103 Fig. 31 “Ibis,” mm. 1-4…………………………………………………………. 105 Fig. 32 “Le boeuf,” mm. 7-10…………………………………………………… 109 viii II. Introduction a. Purpose of Study Le Bestiaire (The Bestiary), ou Cortège d’Orphée (The Parade of Orpheus), is a collection of thirty poems by French literary figure, Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918), that portrays a procession of animals following Orpheus with his lyre. The published poems are printed one to a page with an accompanying woodcut designed by French artist, Raoul Dufy (1877-1953), on the opposing page. Louis Durey (1888-1979), a young French composer associated with the well-known group in Paris labeled “Les Six,” set twenty-six of the poems in 1918-19. Durey and his friend and colleague, Francis Poulenc, set the Le Bestiaire poems at the same time unbeknownst to each other. Jean Cocteau, a well-known artistic promoter in Paris in the early twentieth century, wrote a very favorable review of Durey’s settings of Le Bestiaire, pointing out that “where Poulenc leaps with the paws of a young dog, Durey delicately poses his doe’s feet. Both are natural, which is why we contemplate them with the same pleasure.”1 Regardless of Cocteau’s equally favorable review of both works, Poulenc’s setting, a staple of the French art song repertoire, virtually eclipses Louis Durey’s setting which is scarcely known by listeners and performers today. Though the composers of “Les Six” were considered key players in the movement to reshape the direction of French music in the twentieth century and have been the topic of much research, there is little extensive information available specifically about Louis Durey. Among his colleagues, Durey was often referred to as “the quiet one,” living in the shadow of figures like Poulenc and Milhaud, with only one major biographical work published about his life. Louis Durey, L’aîné des Six (1968) was written by Frederic 1 Benjamin Ivry, Francis Poulenc (London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1996), 34. 1 Robert, a friend and fellow member of the Fédération Musicale Populaire. It offers a mostly subjective historic perspective and provides very little specific information about Durey’s works. In 2004, Jocelyn Beth Dueck Dyrud authored a doctoral project entitled “The Life and Song Cycles of Louis Durey 1888-1979.” This work helps to fill in many of the personal aspects of this private man’s life by including a 2003 interview with the composer’s daughter, Arlette Durey. In addition, Dyrud gives an overview of Durey’s artistic output. Of particular interest because of their obscurity among performers are his early works which include Le Bestiaire, and some settings that were never published such as Trois poèmes de Verlaine and L’offrande lyrique. While Dyrud’s study is an interesting and illuminating overview of Durey’s life and work, it provides only general musical and interpretive commentary on the works. There is only one professional recording available of Durey’s Le Bestiaire, and it is performed by French baritone, François Le Roux, and pianist, Graham Johnson, on a compact disc released in 2002 entitled “Songs of Louis Durey.” The compact disc features much of Durey’s early art song settings. The liner notes, authored by Graham Johnson, a highly regarded art song scholar, offer a somewhat detailed look at Durey and the poets whose work he chose to set. Inherent in Johnson’s writing is a well-deserved respect for this little known composer.