Arthur Honegger (1892-1955)

[mjwal]

I am touched by this: "During the cremation at Père Lachaise, Cocteau said these words:
    Arthur, you managed to gain the respect of a disrespectful era. You combined the science of an architect of the Middle Ages with the simplicity of a humble cathedral stonemason. Your cinders are burning and will never cool down, even if our earth has stopped living. For music is not of this world, and its reign has no end." ( to be found at arthur-honegger.com ). Honegger wrote a very powerful, but pretty dissonant version of Antigone to Cocteau's text. I have this on LP, but haven't listened for a while. I love that cello concerto, too.

[Mirror Image]

Wow...I go to sleep and there's all this activity here while I'm gone. Great!

[Mirror Image]

I am touched by this: "During the cremation at Père Lachaise, Cocteau said these words:
    Arthur, you managed to gain the respect of a disrespectful era. You combined the science of an architect of the Middle Ages with the simplicity of a humble cathedral stonemason. Your cinders are burning and will never cool down, even if our earth has stopped living. For music is not of this world, and its reign has no end." ( to be found at arthur-honegger.com ).

I also thought that was wonderful what Cocteau said about Honegger. He gained a lot of respect from his contemporaries during his life. If you read that full biography, which I assume you did, I also thought it was interesting how he really became the most famous member of Les Six during his life. Poulenc and Milhaud never got the same kind of attention and admiration from concert goers.

[Mirror Image]

Yea, I wanna I wanna get that. The samples to Paris make it sound like a great piece.

It's a great recording. You'll enjoy it I think. Ibert was essentially a neoclassical composer and he wrote some good music, but there's nothing profound about it IMHO. It's just good, clean fun.

Hindemith wrote his 'Organ Concerto' in what, 1963? He was still pretty thorny. Malipiero, Bloch, HVL, they all continued to 'harden' their language, but never breaking with tonality. I think Honegger would have continued alike. Perhaps a 'Symphonie No.6' would have been another 'Pastoral' work, whereas a '7th' might have been a mighty combination of all things in a steely Beethovinian cast. I think he had Masterpieces left.

I thought Honegger had many masterpieces left him too. It seemed that traveling to the United States plagued him. I believe he had angina, which brought on his first heart attack and eventually led to his death. He eventually couldn't even compose anymore. The very last work he composed I believe was Une cantate de Noël which he completed in 1953. Truly a shame what happened to him in his later years as I thought there was so much more he could have given us.

[Mirror Image]

The biography by Harry Halbreich, Arthur Honegger, published by Amadeus Press in 1999. This is the first extensive study that is objective about the musician. Following a lively and detailed chronology of the life of Honegger, Harry Halbreich reviews the complete works before summarizing his vision of the artist and his music. This is the main work on the musician



The English translation may have a different cover.

Halbreich has gone to great lenghts to find all the details about every work, sketch and early work. Really quite amazing and a very interesting read.

PS: I wouldn't call Le dit des jeux du monde major Honegger. It is interesting and the parts for orchetra stand out. The percussion interludes sound dull compared to Milhaud ( l'Homme et son désir, Choéphores...) or Stravinsky ( Noces ).
The same goes, in my opinion, for Sémiramis, Amphion and l'Impératrice aux rochers. All works ( melodramas) were made for the theater ( Ida Rubinstein) and propably loose some of their impact as concertworks.
Honegger made orchestral suites from l'Impératrice" and Phèdre. Phédre is a lovely and dark score, which adds six female voices to the orchestra. There's an old recording on Olympia ( Rozhsdestvenky) that is very good. But a new one in better sound would be welcome.



P.

Thanks for this information. I'll definitely look into that biography at some point.

[Mirror Image]

I really like his film score for the animated film 'L'Idee' - very poetic, haunting and oddly moving. I think that it's on Naxos now.

Here it is:

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Yes, that's a great recording as is this one:

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Speaking of Naxos recordings, I'm about to buy some Honegger on Naxos. Time to shop around.

[Mirror Image]

No, no, not at all. But I do like other composers from that same era (particularly Bloch), and dammit, I have a fascination with trains that can be construed as an attraction too.   

I had no idea you were that old, and I thought Daniel was a mere teenager!   

Excellent, Gurn. I hope you enjoy the music as much as I have. Honegger is a favorite of mine. When I said Daniel and I share his birthday, I just meant the month and day, not the year.

[Gurn Blanston]

Excellent, Gurn. I hope you enjoy the music as much as I have. Honegger is a favorite of mine. When I said Daniel and I share his birthday, I just meant the month and day, not the year.

I fully expect to enjoy it. People have a misconception of my tastes, probably my own fault..

Oh, different years...   

[CaughtintheGaze]

I fully expect to enjoy it. People have a misconception of my tastes, probably my own fault...

Oh?! There's no misconception. 

[Mirror Image]

I fully expect to enjoy it. People have a misconception of my tastes, probably my own fault..

Oh, different years...   

Yeah, I certainly never labeled you as a 20th Century listener. That's for sure. I always got the impression that you're a Classical Era guy and that was about it. Good to hear that this is certainly not the case and a misjudgment on my part.

[Mirror Image]

For me, I really didn't get Honegger until I heard these pieces. The famous Symphonies 2-4 are definitely NOT my favorite Honegger, and if this is all you know of Honegger, the pieces I mentioned are much more convivial.

Obviously just your opinion and one that I disagree with. To hear Symphonies 2 & 3, is to witness a man in complete turmoil and someone who is full of angst and bitterness over a war that costs the lives of a lot of innocent people. These two works do contain many lyrical moments and reveal a depth to Honegger's music that isn't all motor rhythms and blowing off steam (no pun intended ). The Adagio of Symphony No. 3 "Liturgique" is one of the most moving moments I know in music. To not be affected by the beauty of this particular movement is to not understand what really lies at the heart of Honegger's music: a sombre, haunted heart. I still love works like Pacific 231 and Rugby. It doesn't matter how many times I hear them, they're awesome regardless of their popularity.

[vandermolen]

I am touched by this: "During the cremation at Père Lachaise, Cocteau said these words:
    Arthur, you managed to gain the respect of a disrespectful era. You combined the science of an architect of the Middle Ages with the simplicity of a humble cathedral stonemason. Your cinders are burning and will never cool down, even if our earth has stopped living. For music is not of this world, and its reign has no end." ( to be found at arthur-honegger.com ). Honegger wrote a very powerful, but pretty dissonant version of Antigone to Cocteau's text. I have this on LP, but haven't listened for a while. I love that cello concerto, too.

Wonderful quote - thanks for posting.

[CriticalI]

For Honegger novices, I'd recommend, in order (sort of):

Symphony No.4
Concerto da Camera
Cello Concerto
Piano Concertino
the 'Summer' piece
Symphony No.5
Symphony No.1

For me, I really didn't get Honegger until I heard these pieces. The famous Symphonies 2-4 are definitely NOT my favorite Honegger, and if this is all you know of Honegger, the pieces I mentioned are much more convivial.

This is interesting, but I assume you mean symphonies 2-3 aren't your favourites? I find Karajan's heaviosity offputting in these, and prefer Dutoit's swifter, more classical approach. I guess I must also seek out the concertos now.

What is this "summer piece" you speak of?

[Mirror Image]

This is interesting, but I assume you mean symphonies 2-3 aren't your favourites? I find Karajan's heaviosity offputting in these, and prefer Dutoit's swifter, more classical approach. I guess I must also seek out the concertos now.

There are other performances of Symphonies 2 & 3 besides Karajan's and Dutoit's. You shouldn't let Herr Karajan ruin your overall impressions of these symphonies. I'm starting to not enjoy Karajan's recording either and it has started to leave a bad taste in my mouth. I listened to it last night and even though I gave it superlative marks at that time, I listened to Baudo's performances of these symphonies earlier and I believe I'm starting to favor Baudo's much more. Jarvi, on Chandos, has an excellent recording of Symphony No. 3 "Liturgique" that should try to check out at some point. I haven't listened to Dutoit's set of Honegger in quite some time, but I remember when I listened to them several years ago I recall them being soft-edged, but my impression of them may very well be different now. Anyway, these are two of Honegger's greatest works and I would urge to seek out other performances besides Dutoit's and Karajan's.

Anyway, love Honegger. Life is good.

[CriticalI]

I haven't listened to Dutoit's set of Honegger in quite some time, but I remember when I listened to them several years ago I recall them being soft-edged, but my impression of them may very well be different now.

Yes, my initial impression of Dutoit was unfavourable, but I quite like him now.

[Mirror Image]

Yes, my initial impression of Dutoit was unfavourable, but I quite like him now.

Is there a performance in the Dutoit you favor the most? I'd like to start digging back into at some point. Symphony No. 1 is a fascinating work which I'm sure Dutoit would do well in. It's 2nd and 3rd symphonies where Dutoit has a lot of solid competition. The 4th symphony has become better known, but the 5th is still pretty obscure compared to the more popular ones. Have you heard Serge Baudo's set? This is one to get.



Plus you have the Czech Philharmonic playing this music will all the edge one could want, but they do know how to play softer and more delicately when the music calls for it. Baudo keeps a taut line on them, but he really lets them rip on several occasions.

[CriticalI]

Is there a performance in the Dutoit you favor the most? I'd like to start digging back into at some point. Symphony No. 1 is a fascinating work which I'm sure Dutoit would do well in. It's 2nd and 3rd symphonies where Dutoit has a lot of solid competition. The 4th symphony has become better known, but the 5th is still pretty obscure compared to the more popular ones. Have you heard Serge Baudo's set? This is one to get.

None of the performances really blows me away - that's not how Dutoit operates. He's more classical, as I said earlier, and I think his set has a fairly consistent quality. I should get hold of the Baudo set, but it's not a priority just at the moment.

Did you ever hear Dutoit's Roussel set? I'm wondering if it's a valid alternative.

[Mirror Image]

None of the performances really blows me away - that's not how Dutoit operates. He's more classical, as I said earlier, and I think his set has a fairly consistent quality. I should get hold of the Baudo set, but it's not a priority just at the moment.

Did you ever hear Dutoit's Roussel set? I'm wondering if it's a valid alternative.

I like Dutoit's performance of Roussel's 1st symphony. That's about it. Deneve and Janowski are my preferred choices in Roussel. If you can find Bernstein's performance of Roussel's 3rd then don't hesitate to get it. Really fantastic performance IMHO. Speaking of Roussel, I bought a recent reissue of Ansermet conducting the 3rd and 4th symphonies plus the ballet The Spider's Feast, so we'll see how ol' Ansermet stacks up against the competition.

[CriticalI]

I like Dutoit's performance of Roussel's 1st symphony. That's about it. Deneve and Janowski are my preferred choices in Roussel.

Deneve impressed me at first, but now I find there's something harsh and ungratifying there, not sure if it's the sound or the musical approach. Janowski I should look out for. Munch has also been mentioned favourably, but those recordings are strewn pretty widely.


Re: the 'summer piece', I now realise that's better known as the Pastorale d'été. I should hear it again.

Man, at the moment, what I really need is less coffee and more music  0:)

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Deneve impressed me at first, but now I find there's something harsh and ungratifying there, not sure if it's the sound or the musical approach. Janowski I should look out for. Munch has also been mentioned favourably, but those recordings are strewn pretty widely.


Re: the 'summer piece', I now realise that's better known as the Pastorale d'été. I should hear it again.

Man, at the moment, what I really need is less coffee and more music  0:)

I like Deneve's Roussel recordings a lot, especially of the 2nd symphony and for the ballets. Bernstein's still has the best 3rd on record.

Anyway, getting back to Honegger, have you heard Honegger's Monopartita? It's his last orchestral work and a lovely one at that.