Philippe Hersant's Draw-Bridge

Started by Spineur, August 19, 2017, 10:28:21 AM

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Spineur



Philippe Hersant is a french composer born in 1948 in Rome.  Today, he is most performed french contemporary composer

Philippe Hersant, a pianist by training and master in literature,  completed his musical studies at the Conservatoire de Paris (student of Alain Weber and André Jolivet).
At the Casa de Velázquez (1970-72), he has been a teacher and a producer of radio programs since 1973. After a long maturation (1970-78) and a passage at Villa Medici, Philippe Hersant renounces his first works and finds his style. He is one of the first to find himself once again in the tonal and modal space, claiming through personal music a certain mannerism and a subjective use of memory.Subtle orchestrations, poetic climates and introspective reveries reveal themselves in his works, nourished by the most diverse literary and cinematographic sources.

Here are a few of his most notable composition

(1983, chamber opera created at the Avignon Festival),
Missa brevis (1986),
Stances (1992, creation at the Présences festival),
the opera Le château des Carpathes (1993),
Painted Words (1995, poem by Paul Eluard),
Im Fremden Land (2002),
the opera The Black Monk (2005),
Clair obscur (2008)
Instants limites (2012)
Vepres de la vierge Marie (2015)

In addition, Philippe Hersant composed a number of film scores.  The film music of Nicolas Philibert award winning Etre et Avoir  (To be, To have) film was composed by Philippe Hersant.




A more complete biography and list of works and recorded music (some 25 CDs) can be found on his web site

http://www.philippehersant.com/

Spineur

#1
I have the following CDs of his music, in chronological order

Le chateau des Carpathes, opera, based on Jules Verne novel.


A work which may be compared to Bartok Bluebeard castle

Clair obscur, a serie of vocal and instrumental (viol) works performed by the ensemble Sequenza 9.3.



My favorite CD is this one:
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It was composed to illustrate the text written by some of Clarvaux prison inmates in a writing class.  There is also a piece for solo bassoon "Niggun".  Niggun are Hasidic traditionnal songs without text, which are meant to tell an experience that cannot be expressed in words.

Finally his vêpres de la Vierge Marie

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that were commission by Notre Dame de Paris for the 850 jubilee celebration.

The day I came across Philippe Hersant music, I knew I had reached home.

On youtube, there is also a number of instrumental piece (duos most of the time) he composed for young teenager students.  They are all wonderful.







snyprrr

All I have is his 1st (I think) SQ on one of those Adda CDs, with Dutilleux as the main course. I recall Hersant's being a very thoughtful piece with lots of nice touches. I'll find it....


btw- about your Thread Title ???... 1) you must know how I feel about lower case letters in a Title, and, 2) shouldn't there be an apostrophe after "Hersant"? Hersant's Draw-Bridge?

Hersant's Harem
Hersant's Haberdashery

Spineur

#3
In french, Hersant = the person operating the "Herse".  A "Herse" is a defence device usually combined with a draw bridge (also an ancient agricultural tool used for ploughing). Musically, it is an allusion to some of his renaissance & medieval inspiration.

snyprrr

Quote from: Spineur on August 21, 2017, 01:32:53 AM
In french, Hersant = the person operating the "Herse".  A "Herse" is a defence device usually combined with a draw bridge (also an ancient agricultural tool used for ploughing). Musically, it is an allusion to some of his renaissance & medieval inspiration.

Well, OK, you get a SuperBonusPoint for really goin' deep! ;) I applaud your scholarly brain!! :-*

Spineur

This is "Chants du sud" for solo violin.  Six short pieces inspired by mediterannean traditional music.  They are played by two 16 yo teenagers with an impressive self assurance.  Their parents and teachers should be pround of them.  At the beginning there is a brief introduction.by Philippe Hersant.

https://www.youtube.com/v/TqGiOtbBiVs

Spineur

There are several excerpts of "Instants limites" on soundclound availiable

"Nostalgia"

https://soundcloud.com/outhere-music/philippe-hersant-nostalgia

performed by the Aedes vocal ensemble, Mathieu Romano, cond., Pascal Gallois, bassoon, Régis Pasquier, violin, Jean-Luc Menet, flute

"Wanderung"

https://soundcloud.com/pascal-gallois/philippe-hersant-wanderung

Pascal Gallois on the basson and the Mikrokosmos vocal ensemble (On the CD it is the Aedes vocal ensemble)

and "Niggun" for solo basson

ttps://soundcloud.com/erika-leigh-10/hersant-niggun

performed by Erika Leigh.  The performance by Pascal Gallois on the CD is smoother, I would say.

Spineur

Many of you know "La Sonnerie de Ste Genevieve du Mont de Paris"  composed by Marin Marais in 1723.  It is quite famous and can be heard in the film Tout les matins du monde

https://soundcloud.com/peterkramermusic/marin-marais-sonnerie-de-ste

Well, Philippe Hersant wrote variations on this theme.  Actually, I find it sound quite different, but this illustrates very well where Philippe Hersant gets his inspiration

https://soundcloud.com/thibaud-epp/philippe-hersant-variations


Spineur

Just got myself another CD of Philippe Hersant music:



His 2nd cello concerto is a 38 minutes long piece in a single movement.  There is a parenthood with Dutilleux Tout un monde lointain with the use of chords on the cello, a very lush orchestation and an interesting use of the piano.  Very pleased with this first listen.  Exactly my type of contemporary music.  Played here by Cyrille Tricoire (cello) and the Orchestre National de Montpellier.

HeathCliff is the music Philippe Hersant wrote for the Ballet "Wuthering Heights".  It was created in 2006 in Montpellier.  It takes the form of an orchestral suite with the top line moving from the cello the the wind instruments. It produces an Eerie atmosphere, a little vaporous.  Maybe a distant parenthood with Daphnis and Cloe.

Turner

#9
I´ve got this one with Hersant choral works (Psaume, Der Wanderer, Poemes Chinois ...) & I remember it as quite attractive music.

Spineur

Quote from: Turner on September 09, 2017, 09:40:36 AM
I´ve got this one with Hersant choral works (Psaume, Der Wanderer, Poemes Chinois ...) & I remember it as quite attractive music.
This is one of the few I dont have (yet !)

Spineur

I believe Le chemin de Jerusalem for viola da gamba is part of this set

https://www.youtube.com/v/17pvGLx78RU

I am a tonal composer willing to turn music's entire heritage -- from Monteverdi to Janacek to Stokhausen -- to my advantage.

This is a perfect example of how he is able to blend music of the past with the present.