Florent Schmitt(1870-1958)

[SymphonicAddict]

This is one of those times I say: why did I wait so long to listen to this? The Psaume XLVII HAS to be one of the most shattering pieces ever penned for chorus and orchestra (in this case, plus soprano and organ), it packs a punch of TNT! It's simply something that appeals to my most gargantuan tastes. Utterly fascinating, dramatic and atmospheric like nothing else, goosebumps galore! I've read this is the best available recording of it, and I can claim with total clarity that it's more than probable. The middle section contains a more meditative part with the soprano, just the necessary dose of contrast, yet it's somewhat intense as well.

It goes straight to my all-time favorite choral works.

[vandermolen]

This is one of those times I say: why did I wait so long to listen to this? The Psaume XLVII HAS to be one of the most shattering pieces ever penned for chorus and orchestra (in this case, plus soprano and organ), it packs a punch of TNT! It's simply something that appeals to my most gargantuan tastes. Utterly fascinating, dramatic and atmospheric like nothing else, goosebumps galore! I've read this is the best available recording of it, and I can claim with total clarity that it's more than probable. The middle section contains a more meditative part with the soprano, just the necessary dose of contrast, yet it's somewhat intense as well.

It goes straight to my all-time favorite choral works.

I have this CD but have hardly listened to it so must give it another go. Thanks for the heads-up Cesar. I was probably put off by knowing that Schmitt, like d'Indy, was a rabid anti-Semite, shouting out 'Heil Hitler - enough of these German emigres' at a concert of Kurt Weill's music in Paris in 1933. Such things, I know, shouldn't really interfere with my appreciation of the music but they do.
He died at the same time as Vaughan Williams and there is a picture of the two of them together in 1958.

[pjme]

I think this article is quite interesting:

"So why are some composers accepted and not others? Do we spend too much time checking up which ideologies they supported and too little time assessing their actual music? Again, Berthold Goldschmidt's opinion needs to be taken into consideration: "Those of you [us!] who did not live through the terror cannot know the fear that was felt by every individual. What people said and did in order to keep their daily lives quiet cannot be taken as representing their true character. Fear distorts character. And it was not just the fear for oneself, but the fear for family and friends."

https://forbiddenmusic.org/2015/08/09/why-some-composers-and-not-others/

[vandermolen]

I think this article is quite interesting:

"So why are some composers accepted and not others? Do we spend too much time checking up which ideologies they supported and too little time assessing their actual music? Again, Berthold Goldschmidt's opinion needs to be taken into consideration: "Those of you [us!] who did not live through the terror cannot know the fear that was felt by every individual. What people said and did in order to keep their daily lives quiet cannot be taken as representing their true character. Fear distorts character. And it was not just the fear for oneself, but the fear for family and friends."

https://forbiddenmusic.org/2015/08/09/why-some-composers-and-not-others/

It's a very interesting article. Thanks for posting it.

[André]

This is one of those times I say: why did I wait so long to listen to this? The Psaume XLVII HAS to be one of the most shattering pieces ever penned for chorus and orchestra (in this case, plus soprano and organ), it packs a punch of TNT! It's simply something that appeals to my most gargantuan tastes. Utterly fascinating, dramatic and atmospheric like nothing else, goosebumps galore! I've read this is the best available recording of it, and I can claim with total clarity that it's more than probable. The middle section contains a more meditative part with the soprano, just the necessary dose of contrast, yet it's somewhat intense as well.

It goes straight to my all-time favorite choral works.

Stupendous work indeed. The Hyperion version is better recorded, but Tzipine carries the day. There are other recordings but I haven't heard them.

Yes, Schmitt was notoriously antisemite, but he was prepared to make exceptions ( ), defending jewish composers Schönberg, Dukas and Tansman, or the singer Madeline Grey for example. What especially irked him was not so much the question of race, but rather a perceived trend toward musical decadence, something the nazis famously branded as entartete musik. The use of jazz, blues, swing, popular melodies, "sleazy" orchestrations etc sharply divided the musical world. "Negro" music was put in the same basket of deplorables. See the association of the negro man with the star of David in this nazi propaganda poster:



Musical life in France during the nazi years was a patchwork of opinions, opportunistic moves, expressions of intolerance and even some acts of heroism. For those who are interested in the subject and who can read French, this article sheds some light on this very sensitive subject, still an open wound in french intellectual circles. As recently as 2005, the Lycée Florent Schmitt was renamed Lycée Alexandre Dumas folowing a long, protracted controversy. In this article you will spot the names of Honegger, Poulenc, Dutilleux, Jolivet, Sauguet. Not all were active collaborationists, but many found ways to "accommodate" their career aspirations with the political environment of the time.


https://www.nonfiction.fr/articleprint-2876-les_compositeurs_et_la_collaboration.htm

[vandermolen]

Stupendous work indeed. The Hyperion version is better recorded, but Tzipine carries the day. There are other recordings but I haven't heard them.

Yes, Schmitt was notoriously antisemite, but he was prepared to make exceptions ( ), defending jewish composers Schönberg, Dukas and Tansman, or the singer Madeline Grey for example. What especially irked him was not so much the question of race, but rather a perceived trend toward musical decadence, something the nazis famously branded as entartete musik. The use of jazz, blues, swing, popular melodies, "sleazy" orchestrations etc sharply divided the musical world. "Negro" music was put in the same basket of deplorables. See the association of the negro man with the star of David in this nazi propaganda poster:



Musical life in France during the nazi years was a patchwork of opinions, opportunistic moves, expressions of intolerance and even some acts of heroism. For those who are interested in the subject and who can read French, this article sheds some light on this very sensitive subject, still an open wound in french intellectual circles. As recently as 2005, the Lycée Florent Schmitt was renamed Lycée Alexandre Dumas folowing a long, protracted controversy. In this article you will spot the names of Honegger, Poulenc, Dutilleux, Jolivet, Sauguet. Not all were active collaborationists, but many found ways to "accommodate" their career aspirations with the political environment of the time.


https://www.nonfiction.fr/articleprint-2876-les_compositeurs_et_la_collaboration.htm

Very interesting Andre - thanks. I can't read French properly (I failed the 'O' Level exam three times at school) but it's clear that these situations are often more nuanced than I imagine.

[pjme]

Fête de la lumière op. 88, for soprano, alto, chorus and orchestra.

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

The recording sounds really good for its age. It is a very opulent score full of Schmitt's harmonic and rythmical characteristics.
Read more about this extravaganza at:
https://florentschmitt.com/2016/12/17/fete-de-la-lumiere-florent-schmitts-extravagant-showpiece-at-the-paris-exposition-1937/

[Symphonic Addict]

Rich in suggestive and sensual harmonies and with a sophisticated musical architecture, the impressive String Trio, Op. 105 on the stupendous recording below is a major work in the form. I consider it a rewarding composition, and one that invites to listen to it several times to grasp it better.

Now what we need is a proper recording of his also substantial String Quartet, Op. 112. There's a recording on YouTube, but it's not adequate enough to do the work justice.

[amw]

The String Trio is great yes (as is the Quartet, but I'm not holding my breath for a new recording of it). I'm surprised there wasn't more interest in the under-recorded Schmitt chamber/solo music back in the 2000s/2010s when it still seemed possible to release obscure repertoire on CD, but who knows what may be forthcoming. The three recordings of the Piano Quintet that are still streamable/downloadable are hopefully doing some work to turn musicians on to the rest of his music.

[ritter]

Rich in suggestive and sensual harmonies and with a sophisticated musical architecture, the impressive String Trio, Op. 105 on the stupendous recording below is a major work in the form. I consider it a rewarding composition, and one that invites to listen to it several times to grasp it better.

Now what we need is a proper recording of his also substantial String Quartet, Op. 112. There's a recording on YouTube, but it's not adequate enough to do the work justice.

Oh yes, Schmitt's Trio, op. 105 is a stunning work. I was bowled over when I discovered it in 2021 (when that recording you posted was released). Those dense textures, and Schmitt's trademark elusive yet strangely coherent thematic development (your phrase "sophisticated musical architecture" is a great description). Superb!

[Symphonic Addict]

Good to know this composer is receiving some love on this thread. Now listening to the Suite en Rocaille for flute, harp, and string trio, Op. 84 (which happens to be one of my favorite combination of instruments) from the recording below. A much more straightforward piece than the aforementioned String Trio, but very pleasant and with a bucolic/rustic feel to it.

[Luke]

I have been playing and loving Schmitt's piano music for years - there's a lot of it, it's wonderful stuff and it's gorgeous under the fingers. Intricate, sensuous stuff. He is not like Debussy or Ravel, but the connections are there to be drawn, and perhaps his single greatest movement for piano comes from the Tombeau that was published after Debussy died - which also introduced the world to first forms of Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments, Ravel's Duo Sonata and other pieces by major composers including Bartok and Satie (more information). Schmitt's piece has the wonderful name 'Et Pan, au fond des blés lunaires, s'accouda' (And Pan, deep amid the moonlit wheat, cupped his chin in his hands) which is a very Debussian image; another masterpiece in the same Tombeau is Dukas' La plainte, au loin, du faune' (The lament, from afar, of the faun) with its icy quotation of L'apres-midi. They make a great pairing, and both are very moving reimaginings of the Debussian spirit. I wrote a study of both, plus more about Schmitt's piano writing, last year.