Tailleferre's Foundry

[snyprrr]

Any of her works jump out at you? I still haven't heard the String Quartet (not that I'm expecting more than Francaix).

Germaine Tailleferre:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germaine_Tailleferre

[snyprrr]

Oh, just PRETEND you want to Post.

[Cato]

Oh, just PRETEND you want to Post.

Dude!  This topic's title fits better for Felix Mendelssohn's sister!   0:)

Many many moons and suns ago, I heard a string quartet by Tailleferre and was not all that impressed.  But that was back when I was rarely thrilled by chamber works, so I should give her works a better chance.

[pjme]

So far the best work by Tailleferre I know remains her harpconcertino. Nicanor Zabaleta and Jean Martinon made a refined recording for DGG - which is still available, I think. It is a lovely work full of good tunes.

I bought several other works on cd - but the performance quality is poor: the Concerto grosso ( on the Elan lable) , the first pianoconcerto, some chamberworks ...
Concerto grosso (= 1934 : Concerto pour deux pianos, chœur, saxophones et orchestre)
there's a second pianoconcerto and a violinconcerto, plenty of musiv for two pianos etc.

Her life wasn't always easy, het final years in paris actually quite miserable.: http://www.classicalmusicnow.com/tailleferre.htm



Still, some of her later work have titels that make me curious...:

1956 : Concerto des vaines paroles, pour baryton, piano et orchestre (d'après un texte de Jean Tardieu) ;
1964 ? : Concerto pour deux guitares et orchestre ;
1974-1975 : Symphonietta pour trompette, tympani et cordes ;
1981 : Concerto de la fidélité, pour soprano et orchestre ( performed by Arleen Auger!, no less)

P.

[snyprrr]

So far the best work by Tailleferre I know remains her harpconcertino. Nicanor Zabaleta and Jean Martinon made a refined recording for DGG - which is still available, I think. It is a lovely work full of good tunes.

I bought several other works on cd - but the performance quality is poor: the Concerto grosso ( on the Elan lable) , the first pianoconcerto, some chamberworks ...
Concerto grosso (= 1934 : Concerto pour deux pianos, chœur, saxophones et orchestre)
there's a second pianoconcerto and a violinconcerto, plenty of musiv for two pianos etc.

Her life was always easy, het final years in paris actually quite miserable.: http://www.classicalmusicnow.com/tailleferre.htm



Still, some of her later work have titels that make me curious...:

1956 : Concerto des vaines paroles, pour baryton, piano et orchestre (d'après un texte de Jean Tardieu) ;
1964 ? : Concerto pour deux guitares et orchestre ;
1974-1975 : Symphonietta pour trompette, tympani et cordes ;
1981 : Concerto de la fidélité, pour soprano et orchestre ( performed by Arleen Auger!, no less)

P.

Dude!  This topic's title fits better for Felix Mendelssohn's sister!   0:)

Many many moons and suns ago, I heard a string quartet by Tailleferre and was not all that impressed.  But that was back when I was rarely thrilled by chamber works, so I should give her works a better chance.

I sampled Francaix's String Quartet yesterday, and it certainly isn't as scintillating as the Piano Concertino. So, I imagine the Tailleferre could actually be the better of the 'Battle of the Lightest French 20th Century SQs'. But, perhaps it's just like Francaix's? You can hear some samples on Amazon.

Just to wrap this Topic up, the Parisii SQ recorded for Accord (or Adda) the SQs of Ibert, Francaix, and Tailleferre, a very desirable issue and hopelessly OOP. I can pretty well say that the Ibert's is quite a strong mid-century French SQ, very pleasant, and much more substantial (at 22mins.) than either of the other two. It's not angsty, weaving a positive Gallic feel... during Wartime! For those who have the BrillantClassics Box of Ibert's Complete Chamber Music (Olympia re-issue?) know that the SQ is his most substantial Chamber Work by far. Perhaps not as rigorously structured as the Roussel, but I'd say it rather should be paired with Roussel rather than F&T.

One STILL wonders what a Poulenc String Quartet would have sounded like: short and playful like Francaix, or longer and playful like Ibert? Personally, and rather provocatively, I hypothesize that Poulenc would have rather written a four movement (rather than the French three) rather shortish work that might've read like the Francaix Piano Concertino: the brisk outer movements bookend a one-minute-scherzo and a breathtakingly haunting Nocturne,... all at around 10mins.

[San Antone]

Germaine Tailleferre : only female composer of "Les Six"

[Scion7]

I find this topic's title very sexist!  I protest!

[Karl Henning]

So you prefer Tailleferre's Ta-Ta's?  Maybe you're right, at that.

[Symphonic Addict]

Among the members of Les Six, most of people (including me) are less familiar with Tailleferre, Durey and Auric's output, so I wanted to investigate further about the former's works, and I'm rather delighted to have discovered these three concertos: The Piano Concerto No. 1, the Harp Concertino and the quite curious Concerto for two pianos, chorus, saxophone quartet and orchestra.

The Piano Concerto No. 1 exudes witty and light-hearted Neoclassicism and it's a complete delight. Whereas the outer movements are decidedly lively, the middle movement happens to be intensely lyrical and moving, something I wasn't properly expecting given the nature of the outer movements. A winner of a piece.

The Harp Concertino is in a similar vein, albeit I felt the orchestration to be a little more sophisticated and alluring. The slow movement features some magical and ethereal music. This has to be one of the most interesting harp concertos/concertinos I know.

Finally, the concerto with the unusual orchestration also proved to be captivating and certainly original, but I didn't hear the saxophones to be particularly prominent. Good as it was I think it was slightly less interesting than the other works, but it's an imaginative composition that didn't leave me indifferent.

All in all, three pieces worth listening by a talented woman who had something attractive to say.

[Roy Bland]

She is very underrated

[Roy Bland]

[kyjo]

Among the members of Les Six, most of people (including me) are less familiar with Tailleferre, Durey and Auric's output, so I wanted to investigate further about the former's works, and I'm rather delighted to have discovered these three concertos: The Piano Concerto No. 1, the Harp Concertino and the quite curious Concerto for two pianos, chorus, saxophone quartet and orchestra.

The Piano Concerto No. 1 exudes witty and light-hearted Neoclassicism and it's a complete delight. Whereas the outer movements are decidedly lively, the middle movement happens to be intensely lyrical and moving, something I wasn't properly expecting given the nature of the outer movements. A winner of a piece.

The Harp Concertino is in a similar vein, albeit I felt the orchestration to be a little more sophisticated and alluring. The slow movement features some magical and ethereal music. This has to be one of the most interesting harp concertos/concertinos I know.

Finally, the concerto with the unusual orchestration also proved to be captivating and certainly original, but I didn't hear the saxophones to be particularly prominent. Good as it was I think it was slightly less interesting than the other works, but it's an imaginative composition that didn't leave me indifferent.

All in all, three pieces worth listening by a talented woman who had something attractive to say.

Definitely agree, Cesar. The Harp Concertino is particularly lovely. Tailleferre's output deserves a more systematic, comprehensive treatment by the record companies.

[Roy Bland]

[Roy Bland]

[pjme]

[Maestro267]

Thank you so much for changing the title of the thread.

[Karl Henning]

Thank you so much for changing the title of the thread.

I helped (just with the prompt, the "Foundry" is totally inspired on the part of @ritter 

[pjme]

From France musique:

29 October 2019
Mikko Franck and the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France perform the "Petite Suite pour orchestre" by Germaine Tailleferre. Excerpt from the concert given on 12 October at the auditorium of the Maison de la Radio.

In 1957, Germaine Tailleferre was called to sit on the program committee of the French Radio-Television, and composed for the RTF a Petite Suite pour orchestre (not to be confused with her Suite pour orchestre of 1949), which ends with the traditional song "Les Filles de La Rochelle" ("The girls of La Rochelle, have armed a building , to go racing, in the seas of the Levant").
This is perhaps a page of consolation, knowing that this year was that of a major missed meeting, as Georges Hacquard explains in his book on Tailleferre:
"In 1957, the first film of the young Louis Malle was shot, on a script by and dialogues adapted by Roger [Nimier]. He planned to ask Germaine for the music and she had, in advance, given her agreement. Unfortunately - will the history of cinema confirm this term? - someone came to confuse the situation: Miles Davis had entered the studio by chance, in the company of Boris Vian; Louis Malle showed them his film barely edited; the magician of the trumpet had watched and had spent the night improvising... Malle had recorded... "One way or another, Nimier would write to Germaine, I hope that everything will work out. Louis Malle, a little panicked at the end of his film, no longer knows very well where he is. But the producer is completely committed to our music. "And the result of the mix will turn out to be so exceptional, so captivating, that it is Miles Davis' music that will accompany Ascenseur pour l'échafaud around the world, undoubtedly contributing to its immense success."

This is the "soft" version of the (18th -19th century ? sailors song...) . Colette Renard sings the very, very raunchy original version (YT)....

[Roy Bland]

IMHO her music would deserve a series like Gipps unfortunately it seems unlikely

https://www.presencecompositrices.com/compositrice/tailleferre-germaine/

[Roy Bland]