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For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC CHARLES KOECHLIN’S SILHOUETTES DE COMÉDIE FOR BASSOON AND ORCHESTRA: AN IN DEPTH STUDY By AMELIA FANNIN A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2009 The members of the committee approve the treatise of Amelia Fannin defended on April 29, 2009. __________________________ Jeffrey Keesecker Professor Directing Treatise __________________________ Richard Clary Outside Committee Member __________________________ Eric Ohlsson Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members. ii I would like to thank my husband, family, and teachers for their patience and support. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................ v 1. BIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................ 1 2. EARLY COMPOSITIONS FOR BASSOON ................................................ 15 3. THE SILHOUETTES DE COMÉDIE ............................................................ 19 4. ANALYSIS OF EACH MOVEMENT IN CULTURAL CONTEXT..................... 23 I. Prologue ................................................................................................ 24 II. Duetto ................................................................................................ 26 III. “L’Éternal Clitandre” ........................................................................ 28 IV. Isabelle ................................................................................................ 30 V. Le Matamore .................................................................................... 31 VI. Arnophe et Agnès ........................................................................ 32 VII. Le beau Léandre ........................................................................ 34 VIII. Les deux orphelines ........................................................................ 35 IX. Colombine, danseuse ........................................................................ 36 X. Chanson Martiale .................................................................................... 39 XI. Arlequin ................................................................................................ 40 XII. Monsieur Prud’homme ........................................................................ 42 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 44 APPENDICES ................................................................................................ 46 A. EXCERPTS FROM THE POETRY OF VERLAINE .................................... 46 B. EXCERPTS FROM THE KNAVERY OF SCAPIN BY MOLIÈRE ............ 49 C. EXCERPTS FROM THE SCHOOL FOR WIVES BY MOLIÈRE ............ 51 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................ 52 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ........................................................................ 56 iv ABSTRACT Charles Koechlin composed the Silhouettes de Comédie for bassoon and orchestra in 1943. It is a monumental work for bassoon due to its length, scope, orchestration, and magnitude of difficulty. Because of these elements, the Silhouettes de Comédie has languished in obscurity. The purpose of this treatise will be to discuss in depth all aspects of the Silhouettes in order to bring this major work by a renowned composer back to the public awareness and add it to the bassoonist’s repertoire. In addition to providing biographical information concerning Koechlin’s life and career, this treatise includes an in-depth study of each of the movements of the Silhouettes de Comédie. The character of each movement is indicated by a descriptive title. Some of the movements are dedicated to single characters from the Commedia dell’Arte tradition, but others are more likely to have been inspired by a combination of Commedia-influenced art, drama, poetry, film, and literature from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. v CHAPTER ONE: BIOGRAPHY Charles Koechlin was born in Paris in 1867, to a large, wealthy Alsatian family. Though he was raised in Paris, Koechlin always claimed his Alsatian heritage as a defining characteristic that set him apart from his Parisian peers. His paternal and maternal extended families, the Koechlins and Dollfuses, were leaders in the textile and manufacturing industries. Both families based their businesses in the industrial city of Mulhouse, located in the region of Alsace near the border of Switzerland.1 When Koechlin was four years old, the strategically located, iron-rich regions of Alsace and Lorraine were annexed by Germany as a result of the Treaty of Frankfurt. Alsatians spoke a regional dialect, a combination of French and German. Upper-class children also learned proper forms of each language in addition to the local patois in preparation for careers beyond the region.2 As Germany tightened control on the region, the public use of the French language was banned and its use was a punishable offense.3 Many of the French-speaking Alsatians immigrated to cities in France for better economic prospects and to avoid service in the German military. Koechlin’s father’s work as a textile designer allowed him to keep his family in Paris,4 though much of Koechlin’s extended family stayed in Alsace.5 Koechlin’s early musical efforts did not clearly indicate the passion with which he would later pursue his career. Throughout his youth Koechlin was frustrated by the distance between his musical goals and his skills, both in composition and piano. He began studying the piano at the age of six and was an unmotivated student. He was bored by children’s pieces but lacked the skills needed to successfully perform more interesting works. The musical studies of his older 1 Robert Orledge, Charles Koechlin, His Life and Works (London: Harwood, 1989), 3. 2 C. C. Eckhardt, “The Alsace-Lorraine Question,” The Scientific Monthly 6, no. 5 (May 1918) : 431-443. 3 Laird Boswell, “From Liberation to Purge Trials in the Mythic Provinces: Recasting French Identities in Alsace and Lorraine, 1918-1920,” French Historical Studies 23, no. 1 (2000) : 129-162. 4 Orledge, Charles Koechlin, His Life and Works, 3. 5 David Allen Harvey, “Lost Children or Enemy Aliens? Classifying the Population of Alsace after the First World War,” Journal of Contemporary History 34, no. 4 (October 1999) : 542. 1 sisters exposed Koechlin to the works of composers such as Jules Massenet (1842-1912) and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).6 Counterpoint inspired by the works of Bach would become a key element of Koechlin’s distinctive compositional style. This sparked a new interest in music and by age thirteen, Koechlin had also discovered the compositions and writings of Hector Berlioz (1803-1869). Berlioz’s orchestration treatise served as starting point for Koechlin’s development into a master orchestrator.7 Koechlin’s piano skills improved as time passed and he eventually performed some of his own works, though he never sought to reach the level of skill required of a concert artist. Koechlin enjoyed music, but did not at first consider it a possible career. After failing the science exam required for acceptance to the French Naval Academy, Koechlin enrolled at the Ecole Polytechnique in preparation for what his family still hoped would be a military career. Koechlin became very involved in extracurricular musical activities and transcribed a number of works for the student orchestra. Chronic poor health caused by typhoid and tuberculosis forced Koechlin to abandon his studies for months at a time. During his convalescences in southern France and Algeria, Koechlin began to study composition and also dabbled in photography. The lost time due to illness put Koechlin far behind his class and he decided to change his career ambitions. Though Koechlin’s mother supported his choice to become a composer, much of his extended family objected on the grounds that “officers make such fine marriages.” Koechlin later came to recognize that the life threatening illnesses of his college years allowed him to pursue his passion for music.8 Upon his return to Paris in 1890, Koechlin enrolled at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique,9 where he began intense musical training. In addition to piano lessons, Koechlin explored other orchestral instruments. He learned to play the oboe and French horn, achieving a high level of competence on the latter. Both of these instruments have a special 6 Ibid., 3-4. 7 Karen Lynn Harrison, “Charles Koechlin and his Solo and Chamber Flute Works,” (DM treatise, Florida State University, 1986), 3. 8 Orledge, Charles Koechlin, His Life and Works, 4-5. 9 The Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique is commonly referred to in English as the “Paris Conservatory.” The English name will be used henceforth. 2 place in Koechlin’s repertoire of compositions, including several challenging solo works and important roles in his orchestral compositions. Koechlin also dabbled in conducting, often helping to rehearse