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The Music Room => Composer Discussion => Topic started by: vandermolen on October 30, 2014, 01:48:56 AM

Title: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on October 30, 2014, 01:48:56 AM
Nothing here apparently on this fine composer, whose first symphony. 'Expiatoire ' (1944) is one of my favourite symphonies. He wrote it to expiate a sense of guilt at having not been able to alleviate the suffering of his countrymen during the Nazi occupation of France in World War Two. I find it to be a hauntingly beautiful work, although indifferently reviewed at the time of its original release. There is some suggestion that Antonio de Almeida's performance has less urgency than it should have but, as far as I can see there is no alternative. There is a poignant sadness and compassion about Sauget's Symphony which I have found very appealing. Although better known I think for ballet music (see wiki entry below) the 'Expiatoire' is tragic and moving. More recently I have been listening to the epic Symphony 2 'Allegorique - Les Saisons', which stretches over two CDs ( but at the moment can be picked up cheaply second-hand on Amazon UK). This may not be everyone's cup,of tea but I enjoy it increasingly. It has choral introductions to all the movement, which represent all the seasons. There is a characteristically soulful and compassionate motto theme which I find very endearing. Well worth exploring if you don't know it.

Here is the opening of Symphony 1:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p2JdBzxcBd4

[asin]B0000045YX[/asin]
[asin]B0000045YY[/asin]
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Sauguet
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: cilgwyn on October 31, 2014, 04:09:08 AM
Thank you for these posts,vandermolen. I have been wondering about these symphonies. Thec only problem is the lack of room here for more cds. Maybe a Heath Robinson contraption so I can sort of sleep in a sort of hammock above them?! :( ??? ;D
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: Ken B on October 31, 2014, 06:25:15 AM
Quote from: vandermolen on October 30, 2014, 01:48:56 AM
Nothing here apparently on this fine composer, whose first symphony. 'Expiatoire ' (1944) is one of my favourite symphonies. He wrote it to expiate a sense of guilt at having not been able to alleviate the suffering of his countrymen during the Nazi occupation of France in World War Two. I find it to be a hauntingly beautiful work, although indifferently reviewed at the time of its original release. There is some suggestion that Antonio de Almeida's performance has less urgency than it should have but, as far as I can see there is no alternative. There is a poignant sadness and compassion about Sauget's Symphony which I have found very appealing. Although better known I think for ballet music (see wiki entry below) the 'Expiatoire' is tragic and moving. More recently I have been listening to the epic Symphony 2 'Allegorique - Les Saisons', which stretches over two CDs ( but at the moment can be picked up cheaply second-hand on Amazon UK). This may not be everyone's cup,of tea but I enjoy it increasingly. It has choral introductions to all the movement, which represent all the seasons. There is a characteristically soulful and compassionate motto theme which I find very endearing. Well worth exploring if you don't know it.

Here is the opening of Symphony 1:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p2JdBzxcBd4

[asin]B0000045YX[/asin]
[asin]B0000045YY[/asin]
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Sauguet

Very nice. I need to hunt down more. If I'm going to have him in my sig line I should listen to him  8)
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: ZauberdrachenNr.7 on October 31, 2014, 06:46:19 AM
I first heard him through his solo piano work, which my wife and I both enjoy immensely.  It was about all we listened to one summer - warmly recommended.

Of the symphonies, I have and have heard only the second, also appreciated.

Interestingly, that is not his surname - it's his mom's; he used it because he didn't want to embarrass his father with his "modern music!"

Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: springrite on October 31, 2014, 06:57:32 AM
I love both symphonies immensely, maybe the first even more so than the more famous second.

I should hunt down the piano music, maybe.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: ZauberdrachenNr.7 on October 31, 2014, 09:19:16 AM
Quote from: springrite on October 31, 2014, 06:57:32 AM
I love both symphonies immensely, maybe the first even more so than the more famous second.

I should hunt down the piano music, maybe.

I hope it will not disappoint - the piano music was done in his early years and is by no means profound. Often wistful, no angst.  Refreshing, actually, very melodic, limpid and life-loving.  His most famous work is Les Forains, (carnies) a ballet, heard once through the ether.  I see the recording I heard is on Youtube.  It may surpise, it did me: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiL4BZLtIOo
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on October 31, 2014, 10:02:48 AM
Quote from: cilgwyn on October 31, 2014, 04:09:08 AM
Thank you for these posts,vandermolen. I have been wondering about these symphonies. Thec only problem is the lack of room here for more cds. Maybe a Heath Robinson contraption so I can sort of sleep in a sort of hammock above them?! :( ??? ;D

Well, thank you at least for replying. I thought that this would sink without trace.  :)

The 'Expiatoire' is well worth exploring in my view - surely there is room for one more CD.  8)
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on October 31, 2014, 10:03:24 AM
Quote from: Ken B on October 31, 2014, 06:25:15 AM
Very nice. I need to hunt down more. If I'm going to have him in my sig line I should listen to him  8)

Thank you!
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on October 31, 2014, 10:08:35 AM
Quote from: ZauberdrachenNr.7 on October 31, 2014, 06:46:19 AM
I first heard him through his solo piano work, which my wife and I both enjoy immensely.  It was about all we listened to one summer - warmly recommended.

Of the symphonies, I have and have heard only the second, also appreciated.

Interestingly, that is not his surname - it's his mom's; he used it because he didn't want to embarrass his father with his "modern music!"

Thank you very much for alerting me to the piano music which I don't know at all. The Marco Polo notes go into quite some detail about Sauguet's troubled early life. Yes, the relationship with the father was evidently difficult as the father completely opposed his plans to be a musician. Furthermore Sauguet was bullied in the Army, humiliated by being forced to clean out the toilets, presumably as he was initially rejected from military service due to 'incurable weakness'. I suspect that much of this experience finds musical expression in the 'Expiatoire' Symphony. Looking at some of the photos of Sauguet on the front of CDs he evidently liked cats which is something else which endears him to me!
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on October 31, 2014, 10:09:59 AM
Quote from: springrite on October 31, 2014, 06:57:32 AM
I love both symphonies immensely, maybe the first even more so than the more famous second.

I should hunt down the piano music, maybe.

Yes, me too. I love the First Symphony ( your daughter is growing up!  :))
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: ritter on October 31, 2014, 12:33:28 PM
There's also Sauguet's opera Les Caprices de Marianne, from 1956, based on Alfred de Musset. A recording with a rather distinguished cast is available:

[asin]B00002625K[/asin]

It's an atmospheric work, tinged with nostalgia, and that's possibly its only redeeming feature. I'd say this piece was probably démodé even before it was first performed...Sauguet seems to be looking to revive some sort of interwar French esprit, but unfortunately without the talent of the composers that did the "real thing" when it was original...

I can't join in the enthusiasm for Sauguet's music  :-[...by any standard, a minor figure, derivative in the strictest sense of the word.

I'v always thought that Sauguet is to 20th century French music what Jean Dufy was to painting...

Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: North Star on October 31, 2014, 01:23:22 PM
Quote from: ritter on October 31, 2014, 12:33:28 PM
I'v always thought that Sauguet is to 20th century French music what Jean Dufy was to painting...
I agree, they both have one thing in common - they are completely unknown to me.  :P  :-X
There isn't even an English Wikipedia article on Dufy  ???
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on October 31, 2014, 01:26:26 PM
Quote from: ritter on October 31, 2014, 12:33:28 PM
There's also Sauguet's opera Les Caprices de Marianne, from 1956, based on Alfred de Musset. A recording with a rather distinguished cast is available:

[asin]B00002625K[/asin]

It's an atmospheric work, tinged with nostalgia, and that's possibly its only redeeming feature. I'd say this piece was probably démodé even before it was first performed...Sauguet seems to be looking to revive some sort of interwar French esprit, but unfortunately without the talent of the composers that did the "real thing" when it was original...

I can't join in the enthusiasm for Sauguet's music  :-[...by any standard, a minor figure, derivative in the strictest sense of the word.

I'v always thought that Sauguet is to 20th century French music what Jean Dufy was to painting...

Thanks, although I have to say that I did not find the Expiatoire Symphony to be derivative at all. I also feel that there is much more depth to Sauguet's music than to Dufy's painting. Sauguet ( in symphonies 1 and 2 at least) reminds me more of Georges Rouault in this respect. The Expiatoire, in my view, is shot through with the same kind of compassion for suffering humanity that can be found in Rouault's painting. Sure, Sauguet is not a major figure but I find that there is more depth to the music I have heard than is sometimes the case with more highly regarded composers.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: ritter on October 31, 2014, 01:36:57 PM
Quote from: North Star on October 31, 2014, 01:23:22 PM
I agree, they both have one thing in common - they are completely unknown to me.  :P  :-X
There isn't even an English Wikipedia article on Dufy  ???
Good evening, Karlo! Jean Dufy was Raoul's younger brother (the older brother being the dedicatee of Stravinsky's Double canon for string quartet).

Quote from: vandermolen on October 31, 2014, 01:26:26 PM
Thanks, although I have to say that I did not find the Expiatoire Symphony to be derivative at all. I also feel that there is much more depth to Sauguet's music than to Dufy's painting. Sauguet ( in symphonies 1 and 2 at least) reminds me more of Georges Rouault in this respect. The Expiatoire, in my view, is shot through with the same kind of compassion for suffering humanity that can be found in Rouault's painting. Sure, Sauguet is not a major figure but I find that there is more depth to the music I have heard than is sometimes the case with more highly regarded composers.
Good to know, vandermolen...perhaps he somehow mellowed form 1944 to 1956, so I should explore that First symphony.  I'll also relisten to his Diaghilev ballet La Chatte, that I have in this CD (but which didn't leave much of an impression when I first approached it):

(http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0003/490/MI0003490932.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)

Cheers,
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: North Star on October 31, 2014, 01:44:16 PM
Quote from: ritter on October 31, 2014, 01:36:57 PM
Good evening, Karlo! Jean Dufy was Raoul's younger brother (the older brother being the dedicatee of Stravinsky's Double canon for string quartet).

Cheers,
Good evening to you too, Rafael!
Shows how much I know about art history, Raoul is also a new name to me, as is Rouault, whom Jeffrey mentioned. There's another musical connection, as Rouault created the designs for Prodigal Son, the Balanchine/Prokofiev ballet..
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on October 31, 2014, 01:48:52 PM
Quote from: ritter on October 31, 2014, 01:36:57 PM
Good evening, Karlo! Jean Dufy was Raoul's younger brother (the older brother being the dedicatee of Stravinsky's Double canon for string quartet).
Good to know, vandermolen...perhaps he somehow mellowed form 1944 to 1956, so I should explore that First symphony.  I'll also relisten to his Diaghilev ballet La Chatte, that I have in this CD (but which didn't leave much of an impression when I first approached it):

(http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0003/490/MI0003490932.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)

Cheers,

Thanks again. It may be that the Expiatoire is not entirely characteristic and certainly other reviews of Sauguet's movement suggest a lighter-weight aspect to the music. I guess that the Expiatoire was born out of Sauguet's personal anguish and compassion for his countrymen during the wartime occupation. Apparently he used whatever influence he had to try to help his Jewish colleagues, one of whom died in a concentration camp.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on October 31, 2014, 01:51:01 PM
Quote from: North Star on October 31, 2014, 01:44:16 PM
Good evening to you too, Rafael!
Shows how much I know about art history, Raoul is also a new name to me, as is Rouault, whom Jeffrey mentioned. There's another musical connection, as Rouault created the designs for Prodigal Son, the Balanchine/Prokofiev ballet..

OT Rouault is one of my favourite painters. The paintings look like stained glass windows and have great depth and compassion. He painted clowns, prostitutes and religious scenes.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: North Star on October 31, 2014, 02:05:40 PM
Quote from: vandermolen on October 31, 2014, 01:51:01 PM
OT Rouault is one of my favourite painters. The paintings look like stained glass windows and have great depth and compassion. He painted clowns, prostitutes and religious scenes.
Yes, looking at them now, agred with what you say. Lots of paint, showing the influence of religious art, stained glass in particular.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on October 31, 2014, 02:22:57 PM
Quote from: North Star on October 31, 2014, 02:05:40 PM
Yes, looking at them now, agred with what you say. Lots of paint, showing the influence of religious art, stained glass in particular.

Glad you like them too. I find his work very moving. His dates are similar to those of the composer Vaughan Williams.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: pjme on November 02, 2014, 12:12:33 PM
More Sauguet - albeit in often dated recordings - can be found on You Tube

The first pianoconcerto:

http://www.youtube.com/v/QBfIYP3L2zs
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: pjme on November 02, 2014, 12:15:07 PM
Tableaux de Paris - suite symphonique

http://www.youtube.com/v/4cCgiRk4Cew
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: pjme on November 02, 2014, 12:18:02 PM
http://www.youtube.com/v/NrSggBwBcVE


Régine Crespin singing Sauguet's Berceuse Créole
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: pjme on November 02, 2014, 12:27:47 PM
And -recorded in Siberia - Sauguet's celloconcerto "Mélodie concertante" - a Rostropovitch commission ( 1963).


http://www.youtube.com/v/kYA7RKya0A0
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on November 04, 2014, 08:38:58 AM
pjme - thank you so much for posting these. I don't know any of them. The opening of the Piano Concerto and Cello Concerto sound very promising.

Thanks again.  :)
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: pjme on November 04, 2014, 09:44:37 AM
 :)

I enjoy You Tube . there's a whole world of lesser known music and forgotten composers to be explored.

I posted only the first movement of the pianoconcerto. But both the slow mov. and the finale can easily be found.

Peter
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on November 05, 2014, 08:33:05 AM
Quote from: pjme on November 04, 2014, 09:44:37 AM
:)

I enjoy You Tube . there's a whole world of lesser known music and forgotten composers to be explored.

I posted only the first movement of the pianoconcerto. But both the slow mov. and the finale can easily be found.

Peter

Many thanks Peter - I have discovered many lesser-known works on You Tube, most recently Karl Birger Blomdahl's First Symphony.
Jeffrey
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on November 06, 2014, 01:12:23 PM
Hadn't realised how fine Symphony 3 was until I heard the recording from 1956 with Orchestre Nationale de la Radiodiffusion-Television Francaise conducted by Pierre Dervaux (Forgotten Records CD).
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: pjme on November 07, 2014, 12:13:00 AM
That symphony was premiered by the N.I.R. symphony in Venice / 1955, together with Milhaud's 7th symphony, Concerto for orchestra by Alexander Tansman and the Fantaisie concertante by Malipiero. Afaik, Franz André was the conductor.

N.I.R. stands for  Nationaal Instituut voor de Radio-Omroep ( I.N.R. for the french section) - the name of the Belgian National Broadcasting institution from 1930 till 1960.

Arthur Meulemans and Jean Kumps were the first conductors of a small "Radio orchestra " of ca 30-40 muscians. From 1935 André was able to organise a large, professional orchestra.
Still, the history of the radio orchestra is a chequered one and reflects the complex ( at times hilarious and/or agressive  ...) political situation of our bilingual country....

Peter
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on November 07, 2014, 04:50:06 AM
Quote from: pjme on November 07, 2014, 12:13:00 AM
That symphony was premiered by the N.I.R. symphony in Venice / 1955, together with Milhaud's 7th symphony, Concerto for orchestra by Alexander Tansman and the Fantaisie concertante by Malipiero. Afaik, Franz André was the conductor.

N.I.R. stands for  Nationaal Instituut voor de Radio-Omroep ( I.N.R. for the french section) - the name of the Belgian National Broadcasting institution from 1930 till 1960.

Arthur Meulemans and Jean Kumps were the first conductors of a small "Radio orchestra " of ca 30-40 muscians. From 1935 André was able to organise a large, professional orchestra.
Still, the history of the radio orchestra is a chequered one and reflects the complex ( at times hilarious and/or agressive  ...) political situation of our bilingual country....

Peter

Here is the musicweb review of the Symphony 3 CD.

I like Meulemans's 'Pliny's Fountain' very much and the Gothic Symphony by Godfried Devreese.

Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: Christo on August 26, 2015, 11:31:45 AM
Thank you all very much. I wouldn't ever have known enough about Sauguet without your help. Bought the four symphonies this Summer and am winding my way through them, thus far especially the Fist, Third and Fourth, that I all like very much. Have to find the courage yet to dive into the Second (only touched it with my toe).

For me, Sauguet is a category of his own. But if I have to compare him with some-one, it would be Honegger.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on August 26, 2015, 11:57:11 PM
Quote from: Christo on August 26, 2015, 11:31:45 AM
Thank you all very much. I wouldn't ever have known enough about Sauguet without your help. Bought the four symphonies this Summer and am winding my way through them, thus far especially the Fist, Third and Fourth, that I all like very much. Have to find the courage yet to dive into the Second (only touched it with my toe).

For me, Sauguet is a category of his own. But if I have to compare him with some-one, it would be Honegger.

Excellent news! Glad you are enjoying this Johan. I think that the Honegger connection is very true; both in terms of style and the underlying integrity of the music. The 'Expiatoire' in particular was one of my best discoveries on Marco Polo and I have been increasingly enjoying Symphony 3 having discovered a different recording which conveys a bit more urgency although the Marco Polo is fine. Symphony 2 has a touching motto theme connecting the different sections.  I find the bell-like opening of Symphony 1 and the conclusion to be very moving.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: André on October 25, 2017, 12:22:41 PM
I didn't know there was a Sauguet thread. Thanks Jeffrey for cooking it up !

My first Sauguet disc was this, a Chant du monde LP of Les forains under the composer's direction, and the first PC with Vasso Devetzi and Rozhdestvensky (a surprising match!):

(https://img.discogs.com/pbHMVnb-texLHQIYzUWyXvqHMR8=/fit-in/311x312/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-2535687-1289310828.jpeg.jpg)


And then came the set of the 4 symphonies, which I listened to many times, including just recently. I had all but forgotten how good - and totally different from the other three - is the Second. On that occasion I came to realize that the later symphonies (3 and 4) were the most solid and original.

There's also an excellent cello concerto, which has been recorded a few times, most notably by Rostropovich.

As Christo says, he's in a category of his own.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: snyprrr on October 25, 2017, 01:58:40 PM
my Posts didn't show up here??...


just discovered the Cello Concerto, and some other distinctive works...
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: snyprrr on October 25, 2017, 02:15:44 PM
String Quartet No.2 (1949)

Sounds like Debussy/Ravel to me, not a bad thing. No.3 (1979) is a little more dour.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on October 25, 2017, 11:45:55 PM
Quote from: snyprrr on October 25, 2017, 01:58:40 PM
my Posts didn't show up here??...


just discovered the Cello Concerto, and some other distinctive works...

You opened a separate thread - scroll down and you should see it.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on June 13, 2018, 08:12:36 AM
I seem to have forgotten to mention that a wonderful historic recording of Sauguet's movingly magnificent (IMHO at least) 'Symphonie No. 1 'Expiatoire' from 1945 has been released on Forgotten Records.

Musicweb much preferred it to the version available on Marco Polo, which is taken much slower. The reviewer even went so far as suggesting that those who have a copy of the Marco Polo should 'throw it away'  :o. As I explained I will do no such thing as I like both versions. Certainly the older recording has much greater urgency but I like the more reflective Marco Polo release as well which is, of course, a more recent recording.

Anyway the Forgotten Records release is with the ORTF conducted by Ernest Bour, recorded at a live broadcast I think on 23rd Feb 1948 and here is the link:

https://www.forgottenrecords.com/en/Marechal--Bour--Bloch-Sauguet--1061.html

It is coupled with a magnificent performance of Bloch's 'Schelomo' (1916) with the same forces and Maurice Marechal as the cellist - most moving version known to me.

Here's the review:

http://musicweb-international.com/classrev/2017/Jan/Sauguet_sy1_FR1229.htm

All credit to Forgotten Records for unearthing this. The charming boss of Forgotten Records, Alain Degueruel, always puts in a nice personal note with the CD.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: André on June 13, 2018, 10:01:37 AM
+1 for the Expiatoire. I listened to all 4 symphonies not too long ago after a prolonged hiatus and was struck by their extraordinary quality. Sauguet also composed a delicious piano concerto. I used to have it on LP, with Vasso Devetzi, but alas I've never found it on cd.

Will definitely check the Forgotten Records disc. Thanks!
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: Christo on June 13, 2018, 11:35:11 AM
Quote from: André on June 13, 2018, 10:01:37 AM
+1 for the Expiatoire. I listened to all 4 symphonies not too long ago after a prolonged hiatus and was struck by their extraordinary quality. Sauguet also composed a delicious piano concerto. I used to have it on LP, with Vasso Devetzi, but alas I've never found it on cd.
Quote from: pjme on November 02, 2014, 12:12:33 PM
More Sauguet - albeit in often dated recordings - can be found on You Tube. The first piano concerto:
http://www.youtube.com/v/QBfIYP3L2zs
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on June 13, 2018, 11:54:25 AM
Quote from: André on June 13, 2018, 10:01:37 AM
+1 for the Expiatoire. I listened to all 4 symphonies not too long ago after a prolonged hiatus and was struck by their extraordinary quality. Sauguet also composed a delicious piano concerto. I used to have it on LP, with Vasso Devetzi, but alas I've never found it on cd.

Will definitely check the Forgotten Records disc. Thanks!

Thanks Andre - I'm sure that you'd like the disc and the Bloch coupling is very powerful and moving. Sauguet is a composer I greatly admire.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on June 13, 2018, 11:56:14 AM
Quote from: Christo on June 13, 2018, 11:35:11 AM


Thanks Johan and Peter too - the PC sounds very good.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: André on June 13, 2018, 12:42:41 PM
Quote from: vandermolen on June 13, 2018, 11:56:14 AM
Thanks Johan and Peter too - the PC sounds very good.

Yes, thanks guys, I didn't know this existed ! Precisely that version, conducted by Rozhdestvensky. My old Chant du Monde LP had Les forains as a coupling - that work is easier to find.

Edit: I just noticed I had written in this thread as recently as last year  ::). I had totally forgotten  :laugh:
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: Scion7 on September 18, 2020, 07:26:47 AM
Papy Oil's discourse in another thread made me go exploring (I really had never heard this chap's work before, unless it was on WCPE in the background and it never registered.)  After hearing a piano concerto, I'm on board!  :)

" He studied the piano from an early age, and in 1916 became organist and choirmaster at Floirac near Bordeaux ... In 1920, formed the Groupe des Trois with Émié and the composer Jean-Marcel Lizotte ... In 1927 came his first major success with the ballet La chatte ... From 1926 to 1936 (with interruptions for, among other works, a second opéra-bouffe, La contrebasse, and a fine ballet La nuit), he worked on a large-scale opera, La chartreuse de Parme ... musical influences suggest contemporary Russian symphonists, notably Prokofiev and Shostakovich ... Except for a brief period of military service, Sauguet spent WW II composing, helping his many Jewish friends as best he could ... The later decades were marked by several large-scale works, including the delightful opera Les caprices de Marianne (1954) ... Sauguet was active as a critic in the earlier part of his career, writing for L'Europe nouvelle (from 1929), Le jour (until 1939) and La bataille (1945– c1948). "

Quite a list of works (incomplete):

CHAMBER MUSIC
=========================
3 françaises, piano, 1923 
Sonatine, flviolin, piano, 1923 
3 nouvelles françaises, piano, 1925 
Viñes aux mains de fée, pf duet, 1925, collab. Jacob 
Sonata, D, piano, 1926 
Romance en ut, piano, 1929 
Feuillets d'album, piano, 1929 
Près du bal, clarinet, bassoon, piano, 1929 
Chant nuptial, org, 1930 
Divertissement de chambre, flute, clarinet, bassoon, va, piano, 1931 
Les jeux de l'amour et du hasard, 2 piano, 1932 
Pièces poétiques pour enfants, 2 sets, piano, 1933–4 
Suite, clarinet, piano, 1935 
Barcarolle bn/cello, hp/piano, 1936 
Nuit coloniale sur les bords de la Seine, piano, 1937 
Virgo selutaris, violin, org, 1940 
Pastorale de septembre, piano, 1940 
Str Qt no.1, 1941
5 images pour St Louis, flute, oboe, hpd, 1941 
6 interludes, org, guitar, tambourine, 1942 
Trio, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 1946 
Str Qt no.2, 1948 
Bocages, 10 insts, 1949 
Plainte, musical saw, piano, 1949 
Valse brève, 2 piano, 1949 
Espièglerie, piano, 1950 
Sonata, cello, 1956 
Le manègeà, piano, 1956 
vapour Lente valse d'amour inquiet, piano, 1951 
Le chant de l'oiseau qui n'existe pas, flute, 1957 
Soliloque, guitar, 1958  Ballade, cello, piano, 1960 
Harmonies du soir, piano, 1960  Suite royale, hpd, 1962 
Prière nuptiale, org/hmn, 1962 
Golden Suite, brass qnt, 1963 
Cantilène, oboe, 1964 
Hommage à Grevin, 8 insts, 1964 
Oraison nuptiale, str, 1964 
Sonatine bucolique, a sax, piano, 1964 
La chanson du soir, piano, 1964 
A Jean Voilier, piano, 1965 
Le bestiaire du petit Noë, 10 Easy Pieces, piano, 1965–6
Max Jacob de lenimper, oboe, eng hn, clarinet, bassoon, 1966
6 fanfares, 2 trumpet, 4 tr bassoon, 1969
3 préludes, guitar, 1970
Sonatine aux bois, oboe, piano, 1971
Un soir à Saint-Emilion, bassoon, piano, 1971
Sonatine en 2 chants, clarinet, piano, 1972
3 pièces, viola, 1972
Choral varié, accordion, 1973
Petite valse du grand échiquier, pf/ens, 1973
Musique pour Claudel I, II, guitar, 1973
Bonjour Hèlène, Bonsoir Héléne, piano, 1973
Berceuse-valse, piano, 1974
Élègie pour Alain, piano, 1974
Hommageà Dmitri Chostakovich, piano, 1974
Une valse pour Jeanne, piano, 1974
Pour regarder Watteau, hpd, 1975
6 pièces faciles, flute, guitar, 1975
Sonatine en deux chants et un intermède, clarinet, piano, 1975
Alentours saxophoniques, a sax, wind, piano, 1976
Le jardin de Mamy, piano, 1976
Oraisons, 4 sax, org, 1976
Str Qt no. 3, 1979
Concert à trois pour Fronsac, flute, sax, hp, 1979
Nec morietur in aeternam, trumpet, org, 1979
Sonate crépusculaire, violin, piano, 1981
Quelques trilles pour les treilles, flute, 1982
Portrait-Souvenir de Virgil Thomson, piano, 1982
Le souvenir de Déodat, piano, 1983
Méditation, string quartet, 1983
Une fleur, sax, piano, 1984
Un duo, flute, piano, 1984
Cadence, guitar, 1985
Révérence à J.S. Bach, guitar, cello, 1985
Valse anachronique, piano, 1985
Introductions aux Méditations religieuses de Max Jacoboe, piano, 1985
Ombres sur Venise, piano, 1986
90 notes, flute, 1986


ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
====================================
Danse de matelots, 1923
Pf Conc. no.1, 1934
Symphonie de la montagne (Premier de cordée), 1944
Symphonie expiatoire, 1945
Stèle symphonique, 1948
Pf Conc. no.2 (Rêverie concertante), 1948 [from film score Les amoureux sont seuls au monde]
Sym. no.2 'Allégorique' (Les saisons), S, chorus, children's chorus, orch, 1949
Tableaux de Paris, sym. suite, 1950
Variation sur un thème de Campra, 1952
Conc. d'Orphée, vn, orch, 1953
Les 3 lys, 1954
Sym. no.3 'I N R', 1955
Variation en forme de berceuse, 1956
La solitude, 1958
Pf Conc. no.3 (Concert des mondes souterrains), 1961–3
Mélodie concertante, vc, orch, 1963
2 mouvements, str, 1964
Symphonie des marches, 1966
Garden's Conc., harmonica, chbr orch, 1970
Sym. no.4 'Du troisième âge', 1971 Reflets sur feuilles, 1979 [after Debussy: Feuilles mortes]
Sonate d'église, org, str, 1984
Septembre, 1986


Musique concrete
==================================
Spectacle Jean Tardieu (1955)
Le temps du verbe (1956)
1er aspect sentimental (1957)
Le rêve d'Isa, composition métaphonique, 1962 [for the film Les Amants de Teruel]


BALLET, etc.
======================================
  Les roses (after O. Métra: La valse), 1924 [lost]
  La chatte (B.A. Kochno), 1927
  David (Doderet), 1928
  Près du bal, 1929
  La nuit (Kochno), 1929
  Fastes (A. Derain), 1933
  Cartes postales, 1941
  La cigale et la fourmi (J. Chernais after J. de LanFotaine), 1941
  Les mirages (Cassandre, S. Lifar), 1943
  Image à Paul et Virginie, 1944
  Les forains (Kochno), 1945
  La rencontre (Kochno), 1948
  Pas de deux classique, 1951, lost
  Les saisons, 1951
  Cordelia (Sauguet), 1952
  Trésor et magie, 1952 [lost]
  Le cardinal aux chats (Sauguet), 1952
  Le caméléopard (A. Vigot, after E.A. Poe), 1956
  Les 5 étages (R. Liechtenhan, W. Orlikowsky P.J. de Béranger), 1957
  La dame aux camélias (T. Gsovsky, after A. Dumas), 1957, [rev. 1960]
  La solitude (Sauguet, R. Cluzel), 1958
  L'as de coeur (C. Aveline), 1960
  Plus loin que la nuit et le jour (cant-ballet, L. Emié), T, chorus, 1960
  Pâris (Kochno), 1964
  Le prince et le mendiant (ballet-mimodrame, Kochno), 1965
  Much incid music for the theatre, cinema, radio and television


OPERA
==========================
Le plumet du colonel (ob, 1, Sauguet), 1924, Paris, Champs-Elysées, 27 Feb 1924
La contrebasse (ob, 2, H. Troyat, after A.P. Chekhov: Romance with a Double Bass), 1930, Paris, Madeleine, 1930
La chartreuse de Parme (4, A. Lunel, after Stendhal), 1927–36, Paris, Opéra, 6 March 1939; rev. 1968
La gageure imprévue (oc, 1, P Bertin, after M.J. Sedaine), 1942, Paris, OC (Favart), 4 July 1944
Les caprices de Marianne (2, J.-P. Grédy, after A. de Musset), 1954, Aix-en-Provence, 1954
Le pain d'autrui (2, E. Kinds, after I.S. Turgenev), 1967–74
Boule de suif (comédie musicale, A. Husson and J. Meyer, after G. de Maupassant), 1978, Lyons, Célestins, Dec 1978
Tistou, les-pouces-verts (children's op, 1, J.-L. Tardieu, after M. Druon), 1980, Paris, Jardin d'Acclimatation, 1981


CHORAL & SONGS
================================================== 
  Petite messe pastorale, female or children's chorus, org, 1934
  Enigme (H. Heine), S, orch, 1932
  La voyante (Sauguet), cant, female v, 10 insts, 1932
  Les ombres du jardin (J. Weterings), cant, S, T, Bar, B, male chorus 4vv, wind 1938
  Cantique à St Vincent, chorus 3vv, org, 1940
  Madrigal (J. Aubry), S, fl, str trio, harp, 1942
  Beauté, retirez-vous (G. Couturier), S, fl, va, vc, hp/hpd, 1943
  Ma belle forêt (G. Pajot), chorus, 1943
  Je vous salue, Marie, S, org, 1943
  Les 4 saisons, children's chorus, 1949 [from Sym. no.2]
  La cornette (R.M. Rilke), B/Bar, orch, 1951
  Mouton-blanc (Princess Bibesco), chorus, 1952
  Requiem aeternam, chorus, org, 1954
  Tombeau d'un berger (L. Jacques), 2 Bar, 2B, 1956 [lost]
  Pie Jesu Domine, chorus, org, 1957
  Requiem aeternam, libera me, Pie Jesu, Allelulia, chorus 4vv, 1959 [from film score Tu es Petrus]
  Plus loin que la nuit et le jour (L. Emié), cant, T, chorus, 1960
  L'oiseau a vu tout cela (J. Cayrol), cant, Bar, str, 1960
  5 chansons (Emié), 4vv, 1965
  Toast, male v, 1965
  Ecce homo, chorus, 1965
  Chant pour une vieille meurtrie (M.A. Monfet), orat, 6 solo vv, chorus, orch, 1967
  3 chants de contemplation (Lao-Tseu), v, pf 1971 [also version for rec/brass/wind qt]
  Elisabeth de Belgique, la reine aux cheveux d'or (M. Carême), S, 6 insts, 1976
  Par-delà les étoiles (J.L. Wallas), S, T, chorus, org, hp, ondes mar, cel, glock, 1982
  Messe jubilatoire, B, T, str qt, 1983

  Cirque, 5 songs for voice and piano
  La Voyante (The Fortune-Teller), for voice and piano
  Le Chemin des Forains, for voice and piano
  Les Animaux et leurs Hommes, song cycle for voice and piano  
  Le Chat, for voice and piano
  6 Mélodies sur des poèmes symbolistes, for voice and piano  
  Îles, for voice and piano
  L'espace du dedans, for voice and piano
  Force et Faiblesse, song cycle for voice and piano  
  Comme à la Lumière de la Lune, for voice and piano  
  Visions Infernales, song cycle
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on September 18, 2020, 07:48:43 AM
Quote from: Scion7 on September 18, 2020, 07:26:47 AM
Papy Oil's discourse in another thread made me go exploring (I really had never heard this chap's work before, unless it was on WCPE in the background and it never registered.)  After hearing a piano concerto, I'm on board!  :)

" He studied the piano from an early age, and in 1916 became organist and choirmaster at Floirac near Bordeaux ... In 1920, formed the Groupe des Trois with Émié and the composer Jean-Marcel Lizotte ... In 1927 came his first major success with the ballet La chatte ... From 1926 to 1936 (with interruptions for, among other works, a second opéra-bouffe, La contrebasse, and a fine ballet La nuit), he worked on a large-scale opera, La chartreuse de Parme ... musical influences suggest contemporary Russian symphonists, notably Prokofiev and Shostakovich ... Except for a brief period of military service, Sauguet spent WW II composing, helping his many Jewish friends as best he could ... The later decades were marked by several large-scale works, including the delightful opera Les caprices de Marianne (1954) ... Sauguet was active as a critic in the earlier part of his career, writing for L'Europe nouvelle (from 1929), Le jour (until 1939) and La bataille (1945– c1948). "

Quite a list of works (incomplete):

CHAMBER MUSIC
=========================
3 françaises, piano, 1923 
Sonatine, flviolin, piano, 1923 
3 nouvelles françaises, piano, 1925 
Viñes aux mains de fée, pf duet, 1925, collab. Jacob 
Sonata, D, piano, 1926 
Romance en ut, piano, 1929 
Feuillets d'album, piano, 1929 
Près du bal, clarinet, bassoon, piano, 1929 
Chant nuptial, org, 1930 
Divertissement de chambre, flute, clarinet, bassoon, va, piano, 1931 
Les jeux de l'amour et du hasard, 2 piano, 1932 
Pièces poétiques pour enfants, 2 sets, piano, 1933–4 
Suite, clarinet, piano, 1935 
Barcarolle bn/cello, hp/piano, 1936 
Nuit coloniale sur les bords de la Seine, piano, 1937 
Virgo selutaris, violin, org, 1940 
Pastorale de septembre, piano, 1940 
Str Qt no.1, 1941
5 images pour St Louis, flute, oboe, hpd, 1941 
6 interludes, org, guitar, tambourine, 1942 
Trio, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 1946 
Str Qt no.2, 1948 
Bocages, 10 insts, 1949 
Plainte, musical saw, piano, 1949 
Valse brève, 2 piano, 1949 
Espièglerie, piano, 1950 
Sonata, cello, 1956 
Le manègeà, piano, 1956 
vapour Lente valse d'amour inquiet, piano, 1951 
Le chant de l'oiseau qui n'existe pas, flute, 1957 
Soliloque, guitar, 1958  Ballade, cello, piano, 1960 
Harmonies du soir, piano, 1960  Suite royale, hpd, 1962 
Prière nuptiale, org/hmn, 1962 
Golden Suite, brass qnt, 1963 
Cantilène, oboe, 1964 
Hommage à Grevin, 8 insts, 1964 
Oraison nuptiale, str, 1964 
Sonatine bucolique, a sax, piano, 1964 
La chanson du soir, piano, 1964 
A Jean Voilier, piano, 1965 
Le bestiaire du petit Noë, 10 Easy Pieces, piano, 1965–6
Max Jacob de lenimper, oboe, eng hn, clarinet, bassoon, 1966
6 fanfares, 2 trumpet, 4 tr bassoon, 1969
3 préludes, guitar, 1970
Sonatine aux bois, oboe, piano, 1971
Un soir à Saint-Emilion, bassoon, piano, 1971
Sonatine en 2 chants, clarinet, piano, 1972
3 pièces, viola, 1972
Choral varié, accordion, 1973
Petite valse du grand échiquier, pf/ens, 1973
Musique pour Claudel I, II, guitar, 1973
Bonjour Hèlène, Bonsoir Héléne, piano, 1973
Berceuse-valse, piano, 1974
Élègie pour Alain, piano, 1974
Hommageà Dmitri Chostakovich, piano, 1974
Une valse pour Jeanne, piano, 1974
Pour regarder Watteau, hpd, 1975
6 pièces faciles, flute, guitar, 1975
Sonatine en deux chants et un intermède, clarinet, piano, 1975
Alentours saxophoniques, a sax, wind, piano, 1976
Le jardin de Mamy, piano, 1976
Oraisons, 4 sax, org, 1976
Str Qt no. 3, 1979
Concert à trois pour Fronsac, flute, sax, hp, 1979
Nec morietur in aeternam, trumpet, org, 1979
Sonate crépusculaire, violin, piano, 1981
Quelques trilles pour les treilles, flute, 1982
Portrait-Souvenir de Virgil Thomson, piano, 1982
Le souvenir de Déodat, piano, 1983
Méditation, string quartet, 1983
Une fleur, sax, piano, 1984
Un duo, flute, piano, 1984
Cadence, guitar, 1985
Révérence à J.S. Bach, guitar, cello, 1985
Valse anachronique, piano, 1985
Introductions aux Méditations religieuses de Max Jacoboe, piano, 1985
Ombres sur Venise, piano, 1986
90 notes, flute, 1986


ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
====================================
Danse de matelots, 1923
Pf Conc. no.1, 1934
Symphonie de la montagne (Premier de cordée), 1944
Symphonie expiatoire, 1945
Stèle symphonique, 1948
Pf Conc. no.2 (Rêverie concertante), 1948 [from film score Les amoureux sont seuls au monde]
Sym. no.2 'Allégorique' (Les saisons), S, chorus, children's chorus, orch, 1949
Tableaux de Paris, sym. suite, 1950
Variation sur un thème de Campra, 1952
Conc. d'Orphée, vn, orch, 1953
Les 3 lys, 1954
Sym. no.3 'I N R', 1955
Variation en forme de berceuse, 1956
La solitude, 1958
Pf Conc. no.3 (Concert des mondes souterrains), 1961–3
Mélodie concertante, vc, orch, 1963
2 mouvements, str, 1964
Symphonie des marches, 1966
Garden's Conc., harmonica, chbr orch, 1970
Sym. no.4 'Du troisième âge', 1971 Reflets sur feuilles, 1979 [after Debussy: Feuilles mortes]
Sonate d'église, org, str, 1984
Septembre, 1986


Musique concrete
==================================
Spectacle Jean Tardieu (1955)
Le temps du verbe (1956)
1er aspect sentimental (1957)
Le rêve d'Isa, composition métaphonique, 1962 [for the film Les Amants de Teruel]


BALLET, etc.
======================================
  Les roses (after O. Métra: La valse), 1924 [lost]
  La chatte (B.A. Kochno), 1927
  David (Doderet), 1928
  Près du bal, 1929
  La nuit (Kochno), 1929
  Fastes (A. Derain), 1933
  Cartes postales, 1941
  La cigale et la fourmi (J. Chernais after J. de LanFotaine), 1941
  Les mirages (Cassandre, S. Lifar), 1943
  Image à Paul et Virginie, 1944
  Les forains (Kochno), 1945
  La rencontre (Kochno), 1948
  Pas de deux classique, 1951, lost
  Les saisons, 1951
  Cordelia (Sauguet), 1952
  Trésor et magie, 1952 [lost]
  Le cardinal aux chats (Sauguet), 1952
  Le caméléopard (A. Vigot, after E.A. Poe), 1956
  Les 5 étages (R. Liechtenhan, W. Orlikowsky P.J. de Béranger), 1957
  La dame aux camélias (T. Gsovsky, after A. Dumas), 1957, [rev. 1960]
  La solitude (Sauguet, R. Cluzel), 1958
  L'as de coeur (C. Aveline), 1960
  Plus loin que la nuit et le jour (cant-ballet, L. Emié), T, chorus, 1960
  Pâris (Kochno), 1964
  Le prince et le mendiant (ballet-mimodrame, Kochno), 1965
  Much incid music for the theatre, cinema, radio and television


OPERA
==========================
Le plumet du colonel (ob, 1, Sauguet), 1924, Paris, Champs-Elysées, 27 Feb 1924
La contrebasse (ob, 2, H. Troyat, after A.P. Chekhov: Romance with a Double Bass), 1930, Paris, Madeleine, 1930
La chartreuse de Parme (4, A. Lunel, after Stendhal), 1927–36, Paris, Opéra, 6 March 1939; rev. 1968
La gageure imprévue (oc, 1, P Bertin, after M.J. Sedaine), 1942, Paris, OC (Favart), 4 July 1944
Les caprices de Marianne (2, J.-P. Grédy, after A. de Musset), 1954, Aix-en-Provence, 1954
Le pain d'autrui (2, E. Kinds, after I.S. Turgenev), 1967–74
Boule de suif (comédie musicale, A. Husson and J. Meyer, after G. de Maupassant), 1978, Lyons, Célestins, Dec 1978
Tistou, les-pouces-verts (children's op, 1, J.-L. Tardieu, after M. Druon), 1980, Paris, Jardin d'Acclimatation, 1981


CHORAL & SONGS
==================================================
  Petite messe pastorale, female or children's chorus, org, 1934
  Enigme (H. Heine), S, orch, 1932
  La voyante (Sauguet), cant, female v, 10 insts, 1932
  Les ombres du jardin (J. Weterings), cant, S, T, Bar, B, male chorus 4vv, wind 1938
  Cantique à St Vincent, chorus 3vv, org, 1940
  Madrigal (J. Aubry), S, fl, str trio, harp, 1942
  Beauté, retirez-vous (G. Couturier), S, fl, va, vc, hp/hpd, 1943
  Ma belle forêt (G. Pajot), chorus, 1943
  Je vous salue, Marie, S, org, 1943
  Les 4 saisons, children's chorus, 1949 [from Sym. no.2]
  La cornette (R.M. Rilke), B/Bar, orch, 1951
  Mouton-blanc (Princess Bibesco), chorus, 1952
  Requiem aeternam, chorus, org, 1954
  Tombeau d'un berger (L. Jacques), 2 Bar, 2B, 1956 [lost]
  Pie Jesu Domine, chorus, org, 1957
  Requiem aeternam, libera me, Pie Jesu, Allelulia, chorus 4vv, 1959 [from film score Tu es Petrus]
  Plus loin que la nuit et le jour (L. Emié), cant, T, chorus, 1960
  L'oiseau a vu tout cela (J. Cayrol), cant, Bar, str, 1960
  5 chansons (Emié), 4vv, 1965
  Toast, male v, 1965
  Ecce homo, chorus, 1965
  Chant pour une vieille meurtrie (M.A. Monfet), orat, 6 solo vv, chorus, orch, 1967
  3 chants de contemplation (Lao-Tseu), v, pf 1971 [also version for rec/brass/wind qt]
  Elisabeth de Belgique, la reine aux cheveux d'or (M. Carême), S, 6 insts, 1976
  Par-delà les étoiles (J.L. Wallas), S, T, chorus, org, hp, ondes mar, cel, glock, 1982
  Messe jubilatoire, B, T, str qt, 1983

  Cirque, 5 songs for voice and piano
  La Voyante (The Fortune-Teller), for voice and piano
  Le Chemin des Forains, for voice and piano
  Les Animaux et leurs Hommes, song cycle for voice and piano 
  Le Chat, for voice and piano
  6 Mélodies sur des poèmes symbolistes, for voice and piano 
  Îles, for voice and piano
  L'espace du dedans, for voice and piano
  Force et Faiblesse, song cycle for voice and piano 
  Comme à la Lumière de la Lune, for voice and piano 
  Visions Infernales, song cycle
Thanks for this Scion7. I think that I need to explore the Piano Concerto next.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: André on September 18, 2020, 09:05:27 AM
That concerto is a superb work. Unassuming from the outset, but it grows on you. Lovely stuff.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: Papy Oli on October 08, 2020, 02:34:34 AM
Cross-posted from the French Music Exploration thread:

Quote from: Papy Oli on September 18, 2020, 05:08:55 AM
Henri Sauguet is the French composer I am exploring today. I was really impressed by his 1st symphony recently, upon Jeffrey's (Vandermolen) recommendations. I'll be exploring his symphonies 2 (playing now), 3, 4, his three string quartets, his mélodies (songs), and some ballet music as well. Also some guitar music.

(https://static.qobuz.com/images/covers/20/63/0730099346320_600.jpg) (https://static.qobuz.com/images/covers/29/64/0730099346429_600.jpg)  (https://static.qobuz.com/images/covers/28/72/0730099347228_600.jpg)  (https://static.qobuz.com/images/covers/ma/mk/ix5wnpoo9mkma_600.jpg)

(https://static.qobuz.com/images/covers/07/07/3377891310707_600.jpg)  (https://static.qobuz.com/images/covers/28/52/0059582515228_600.jpg) (https://static.qobuz.com/images/covers/83/16/5028421951683_600.jpg)

Quote from: aligreto on September 18, 2020, 05:14:56 AM
Once again, I know nothing of this composer so I look forward to some recommendations here.

Quote from: Papy Oli on September 18, 2020, 05:58:24 AM
So far, his symphony No.2 is surprisingly very engrossing. I wasn't convinced to start off with, with the soprano and the choir, but they just draw you in, like in a tale, through the seasons. Very atmospheric, sometimes eerie. Definitely a work where some narration would fit right in, like in Children of Lir  actually (I can't believe I would miss/consider narration !!). Worth it if in the right mood.

Couldn't be any more different to what I discovered with his First either.

(https://static.qobuz.com/images/covers/29/64/0730099346429_600.jpg)

Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on September 18, 2020, 06:08:40 AM
Well, I just listened to some long 'samples' of some of Sauget's works:  Les Forains, Tableaux de Paris, and his first symphony and what I heard left me feeling "Eh".   :(  It felt very retro to me...unexciting.  Pleasant and charming for Les Forains and the Tableaux, but not memorable.  Perhaps it was my mood?  Would be interesting to hear others thoughts here.

PD

Quote from: André on September 18, 2020, 08:59:59 AM
More likely it's the genre, PD. French composers were often adept at writing charming light music with ease, so judging from that end of their output may lead one to believe they have little depth or originality. Like Florent Schmitt. Imagine coming to him through Le petit elfe Ferme-l'oeil (charming work). You'd never think he had stuff like the piano quintet, Psaume XLVII or La tragédie de Salomé in him.

For meaty, serious Sauguet, the symphonies nos 3 and 4 and the piano concerto may help you reconsider.

Quote from: Papy Oli on September 18, 2020, 08:19:22 AM
I have sampled those two (guitar music, songs) but they didn't work for me.

Madiel,
You might want to check out the Melodies/Songs one just in case it hits the mark for you.


(https://static.qobuz.com/images/covers/07/07/3377891310707_600.jpg)  (https://static.qobuz.com/images/covers/83/16/5028421951683_600.jpg)

Quote from: Madiel on September 18, 2020, 01:57:51 PM
Okay, I'm not loving the Sauguet.

I lasted with Symphony No.3 for only a couple of minutes before thinking no, that's not what I want right now.  So I switched to String Quartet No.3, and while I've had it on for a bit longer I'm not feeling inspired. I can hear some of the same uninteresting qualities. Sure, it could be the performers (there's only 1 to choose from on Primephonic in each case)... or it could be that the music is a bit dull.

Switching to that Melodies album... hmm, could I find the words somewhere? That'd help me. But see, now I have to work out if it's the music that's flat or only the singer. Because the singer is definitely not impressing me.

I'd really like... a spark of energy somewhere. And I can't be certain whether this is just a run of flat performances or whether the music itself is flat.

Quote from: Papy Oli on September 19, 2020, 12:59:31 AM
They list his songs here but at a glance, not many have the lyrics. Some have.

https://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_settings.html?ComposerId=2462 (https://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_settings.html?ComposerId=2462)

I already struggle with songs in French but there were also too much "mannerism" in the singing, that really put me off.

Quote from: Papy Oli on September 19, 2020, 02:33:22 AM
Different day, different reaction.

Didn't click at all with Sauguet's symphonies No.3 & 4. Sampled about half of Les Forains ballet music as well. Bit underwhelmed too.
Trying his String quartets right now.

Oh well.

Quote from: aligreto on September 20, 2020, 01:58:10 AM
I have been doing some exploratory listening to Sauguet's music over the last couple of days as I also know nothing of this composer. I started with the Sauget thread, Sauget's Sanctum, started by Jeffrey when he was a young man.  ;D  In the opening post Jeffrey offers a link to the opening of Symphony which I found that I very much like. I like its noble grandeur, its rich but bleak musical language and the wonderful harmonies that it employs. I will certainly follow up on this one.

The Piano Concerto I thought was a very fine work. I like the wistfulness of both its nature and tone. 

I have also sampled his guitar music and from what I have heard I find it engaging if not completely compelling.

I then sampled his Garden's Concerto for harmonica which I duly abandoned.

Finally, I discovered the String Quartets. These, I found to be a delight. I liked the melodic and harmonic structure of these intriguing works. No. 3, in particular, demanded my attention. I found it very challenging but I know that I will ultimately find it very rewarding.


Just like Varese earlier, these are two composers to whom I have had no previous exposure. However, that has obviously changed and I will definitely pursue both of these further.

Quote from: Scion7 on September 20, 2020, 05:06:13 AM
Did you hear this (Sauguet) in the version for oboe?

Quote from: aligreto on September 20, 2020, 05:21:56 AM
No, with the harmonica....

https://www.youtube.com/v/2j4Fqsm3qa4

....although I could see how it might work for oboe. The voicing might make a difference all right.

Quote from: Scion7 on September 20, 2020, 05:53:24 AM
try this:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSYiyHyeBqE

Quote from: aligreto on September 20, 2020, 07:57:20 AM
Thank you. I will investigate with no preconceptions  :)

Quote from: Scion7 on September 20, 2020, 08:07:49 AM
the oboe is infinitely better for classical music!

Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: Scion7 on October 08, 2020, 06:23:27 PM
The organ concerto piece, Sonata D'Eglise (Church Sonata) for Organ & String Orchestra - is quite exciting.  It almost sounds like it could have  been used as the soundtrack to one of Hammer' classic horror films.

(https://arionmusicblog.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/arn68071-sauguet-vandeville.jpg?w=616)
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: Roy Bland on May 31, 2021, 06:04:36 PM
Sauguet is a very underrated composer  (IMHO symphonies aren't best part of his opus) and also ballets canadian disc it's done rather sloppily  in sound,playing  and organization of tracks
(https://forgottenrecords.com/data/covers/sauguet-symp-3-les-forains-dervaux-sauguet-front.jpg)
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on May 31, 2021, 09:43:26 PM
Quote from: Roy Bland on May 31, 2021, 06:04:36 PM
Sauguet is a very underrated composer  (IMHO symphonies aren't best part of his opus) and also ballets canadian disc it's done rather sloppily  in sound,playing  and organization of tracks
(https://forgottenrecords.com/data/covers/sauguet-symp-3-les-forains-dervaux-sauguet-front.jpg)
Very much agree that he's an underrated composer but the symphonies, especially No.1 'Expiatoire' are my favourites. The Organ Concerto sounds most interesting - must track that one down. And of course there is this fine recording of the First Symphony, a distinctive alternative to the Marco Polo recording, although I wouldn't be without either version:
(//)
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on August 21, 2021, 01:02:35 AM
Here is another reason why I like Sauguet:
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on August 21, 2021, 04:59:01 AM
From WAYLTN thread:
Sauguet: Symphony No. 2 'Allégorique' (The Seasons)
What a wonderful work! I hadn't fully appreciated it before. It's long (87+ minutes spread over two CDs) but my attention was held throughout. Unlike the urgent and powerful 1st Symphony 'Expiatoire', this one is dreamily atmospheric but also hauntingly memorable with some delightful passages (choral sections are interspersed with orchestral ones). Although I've owned this double CD set for many years I have only just 'clicked' with this music - one of my discoveries of the year:
(//)
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on August 31, 2021, 09:10:53 AM
I was surprised and delighted to see that there exists a boxed set of the complete Sauguet symphonies (Antonio de Almeida cond. Moscow SO, previously released on Marco Polo):
(//)
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: André on August 31, 2021, 09:18:35 AM
Quote from: vandermolen on August 31, 2021, 09:10:53 AM
I was surprised and delighted to see that there exists a boxed set of the complete Sauguet symphonies (Antonio de Almeida cond. Moscow SO, previously released on Marco Polo):
(//)

That's the one I have !
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on August 31, 2021, 09:33:34 AM
Quote from: André on August 31, 2021, 09:18:35 AM
That's the one I have !
Excellent André - the big question is do I need this boxed set? I already have all the individual Marco Polo releases of the same recordings and I suspect that the box set notes are all in French (no problem for you, but I failed my French 'O' (Ordinary) Level exam three times at school!) However, it's useful to have all the symphonies grouped together in a single box and there's a nice photo of Sauguet on the front cover which I've never seen before - looks like a no-brainer!  ;D
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: ritter on August 31, 2021, 11:38:00 AM
As I mentioned in the first page of this thread, I'm not really that much into the music of Sauguet.....but, the enthusiasm of some fellow GMGerss has led me to do some more research, and it turns out the Sauguet set to music a paragraph from Proust's Les plaisirs et les jours. It's included in this CD (with mélodies on texts by othe4 major poets), and I've just ordered it.

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71S8MZjP8UL._SX522_.jpg)

Does anyone know this disc? Who knows, if I like it, I might even go for the set of the symphonies.  ;)
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: André on August 31, 2021, 03:51:12 PM
Quote from: vandermolen on August 31, 2021, 09:33:34 AM
Excellent André - the big question is do I need this boxed set? I already have all the individual Marco Polo releases of the same recordings and I suspect that the box set notes are all in French (no problem for you, but I failed my French 'O' (Ordinary) Level exam three times at school!) However, it's useful to have all the symphonies grouped together in a single box and there's a nice photo of Sauguet on the front cover which I've never seen before - looks like a no-brainer!  ;D

You're right my friend, it's all in French. It's part of Naxos' Patrimoine series, which I believe to have been produced exclusively for the french market (d'Indy, Ferroud and a few others are part pf that series). The notes are very good, the text of the 2nd symphony is included but alas, no translation. The presentation is chic, which is a plus  :D.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: André on August 31, 2021, 03:53:51 PM
Quote from: ritter on August 31, 2021, 11:38:00 AM
As I mentioned in the first page of this thread, I'm not really that much into the music of Sauguet.....but, the enthusiasm of some fellow GMGerss has led me to do some more research, and it turns out the Sauguet set to music a paragraph from Proust's Les plaisirs et les jours. It's included in this CD (with mélodies on texts by othe4 major poets), and I've just ordered it.

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71S8MZjP8UL._SX522_.jpg)

Does anyone know this disc? Who knows, if I like it, I might even go for the set of the symphonies.  ;)

Try one of the symphonies, Rafael - any of them (1 occupies a disc, 2 two discs, while 3 and 4 are paired on a single disc). Sauguet became more succinct over time. Personally I have a weak spot for the last 2 symphonies, I like their austerity and boldness.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on August 31, 2021, 09:49:28 PM
Quote from: André on August 31, 2021, 03:51:12 PM
You're right my friend, it's all in French. It's part of Naxos' Patrimoine series, which I believe to have been produced exclusively for the french market (d'Indy, Ferroud and a few others are part pf that series). The notes are very good, the text of the 2nd symphony is included but alas, no translation. The presentation is chic, which is a plus  :D.
Thanks André. I have a Tournemire set in the series.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: vandermolen on August 31, 2021, 09:50:19 PM
Quote from: André on August 31, 2021, 03:53:51 PM
Try one of the symphonies, Rafael - any of them (1 occupies a disc, 2 two discs, while 3 and 4 are paired on a single disc). Sauguet became more succinct over time. Personally I have a weak spot for the last 2 symphonies, I like their austerity and boldness.
I agree - although 1 and 2 are my favourites.
Title: Re: Sauguet's Sanctum (Henri Sauguet 1901-1989)
Post by: Roy Bland on November 26, 2022, 06:25:46 PM
reprisal
https://www.unidivers.fr/event/les-forains-ballet-urbain-langon-gironde-2022-12-09/