Joueurs de Flûte, flute and piano, Op. 27
Encyclopedia
Joueurs de Flûte, flute and piano, Op. 27 (Joueurs de flûte op. 27 pour flûte et piano (1924)) is a piece by the French composer Albert Roussel
.
It exists of the following four movements:
It isn't Roussel's only work for the flute, but definitely the one that is most played.
The four movements are all named after a flute player in literature (the title means 'flute-players'), and not just the Western; Roussel was interested in cultures from all over the world.
'Pan' is named after the half-goat, half-man god of nature in Greek mythology, who is often depicted playing the flute, and after whom the panflute is named. The piece employs the Dorian mode (with flattened thirds and sevenths) that was used in ancient Greece.
'Tityre' is named after the lucky shepherd in Virgil's 'Eclogues' (or 'Bucolics'). It is the shortest of the four pieces that together form a kind of sonatine, in which this piece plays to an extent the role of a scherzo.
'Krishna' is named after the Hindu god, probably particularly referring to the period in his youth as the divine herdsman, where Krishna played the flute, mesmerizing people and animals. Also in the music Roussel uses here a typical North-Indian musical scale ('Raga Shri', with flattened second and sixth, augmented fourth, perfect fifth, major third and seventh) from that region, that he visited in 1909.
'Monsieur de la Péjaudie' is named after the protagonist of a novel by Henri de Régnier
, 'La Pécheresse' (The Sinful Woman). M. de la Péjaudie is a fantastic flute-player but is more interested in playing women than the flute. Roussel earlier already had put some poems of Régnier, whom he highly regarded, on music.
The work is dedicated to four flute-players of Roussel's time:
'Pan' is dedicated to Marcel Moyse
(a flutist whom many musical works were dedicated to).
'Tityre' is dedicated to Gaston Blanquart (1877–1963), a flutist who taught at the Paris conservatory.
'Krishna' is dedicated to Louis Fleury
, whom also Debussy dedicated a flutework, 'Syrinx', to.
'Monsieur de la Péjaudie' is dedicated to Philippe Gaubert
, a flutist, conductor and composer who mainly wrote for the flute.
Albert Roussel
Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period...
.
It exists of the following four movements:
- 1. Pan
- 2. Tityre
- 3. Krishna
- 4. Monsieur de la Péjaudie
It isn't Roussel's only work for the flute, but definitely the one that is most played.
The four movements are all named after a flute player in literature (the title means 'flute-players'), and not just the Western; Roussel was interested in cultures from all over the world.
'Pan' is named after the half-goat, half-man god of nature in Greek mythology, who is often depicted playing the flute, and after whom the panflute is named. The piece employs the Dorian mode (with flattened thirds and sevenths) that was used in ancient Greece.
'Tityre' is named after the lucky shepherd in Virgil's 'Eclogues' (or 'Bucolics'). It is the shortest of the four pieces that together form a kind of sonatine, in which this piece plays to an extent the role of a scherzo.
'Krishna' is named after the Hindu god, probably particularly referring to the period in his youth as the divine herdsman, where Krishna played the flute, mesmerizing people and animals. Also in the music Roussel uses here a typical North-Indian musical scale ('Raga Shri', with flattened second and sixth, augmented fourth, perfect fifth, major third and seventh) from that region, that he visited in 1909.
'Monsieur de la Péjaudie' is named after the protagonist of a novel by Henri de Régnier
Henri de Régnier
Henri François Joseph de Régnier was a French symbolist poet, considered one of the most important of France during the early 20th century....
, 'La Pécheresse' (The Sinful Woman). M. de la Péjaudie is a fantastic flute-player but is more interested in playing women than the flute. Roussel earlier already had put some poems of Régnier, whom he highly regarded, on music.
The work is dedicated to four flute-players of Roussel's time:
'Pan' is dedicated to Marcel Moyse
Marcel Moyse
Marcel Moyse was a famous French flutist. Many works were composed for Moyse including the 1934 Flute Concerto by Jacques Ibert...
(a flutist whom many musical works were dedicated to).
'Tityre' is dedicated to Gaston Blanquart (1877–1963), a flutist who taught at the Paris conservatory.
'Krishna' is dedicated to Louis Fleury
Louis Fleury
Louis Fleury was a French flautist, pupil of Paul Taffanel at the Paris Conservatoire. Claude Debussy dedicated the piece for solo flute Syrinx to him, and Fleury performed the première. Fleury was a pioneer in the rediscovery of many forgotten Baroque flute compositions, and in commissioning new...
, whom also Debussy dedicated a flutework, 'Syrinx', to.
'Monsieur de la Péjaudie' is dedicated to Philippe Gaubert
Philippe Gaubert
Philippe Gaubert was a French musician who was a distinguished performer on the flute, a respected conductor, and a composer, primarily for the flute....
, a flutist, conductor and composer who mainly wrote for the flute.
External links and main sources
- ('what titles don't tell')
- (program notes)
- (flute legends)
- CD-booklet of Sharon BezalySharon BezalySharon Bezaly is a flutist.Bezaly was born in Israel, but lives presently in Sweden. Her virtuosity has drawn comparisons to David Oistrakh and Vladimir Horowitz. She has been an international star since 1997, when she began her solo flute career. She made her solo debut at 14 with Zubin Mehta...
's album 'French Delights' (BIS-SACD-1639), 2007.