ALBERIC MAGNARD
Hymne a la justice
Suite dans le style ancien
Chant funebre
Ouverture Op. 10
Hymne a Venus
Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg
Mark Stringer
Harry Halbreich
mais reelle -surtout dans le cercle de ses amis et
collPgues-, a emerge depuis une bonne vingtaine
d'annees d'un quasi-oubli.
Alberic Magnard a dedie un hymne orchestral i
la justice et un autre i Venus; ils incarnent les deux
p61es complementaires de son engagement d'hommeet de son inspiration d'artiste: I'exigence morale
prealable 2 I'existence possible d'une comniunaut6,
d'une cite, et I'amour, condition nun moins indispensable de la vie sociale, mais qui s'acconiplit
d'abord dans I'union avec la femme airnee et dans
les fruits de cette union.
Avec Magnard, le grand chantre de I'Pme humaine, il est inevitable de parler cl'abord de I'expression des 6motions, avant toute consideration
technique, car chez lui les moyens du langage ne
sont jamais un but en soi et le metier artisanal est
entierement au service du message. Ceci dit, peu de
createurs ont eu i ce point le souci cle la perfection,
seule garante d'une communication totale. Ce grand
humaniste des sons eut le culte le plus intransigeant
de ce qu'on appelle la musique pure, loin de toute
anecdote et de tout pittoresque de surface et m&me
ses operas s'appuient sur de structures relevant de la
grande forme organique.
Aussi, au sein d'un catalogue que les exigences
d'une auto-critique impitoyable et les affres cl'un travail lent et acharne ont reduit i vingt-et-un numeros
seulement -et mort tragiquement avant la cinquantaine, il n'eut qu'un petit quart de sihcle pour s'exprimer, de 1888 i 1914- les vastes architectures
en quatre mouvements predominent, celles cle ses
quatre symphonies et de ses cinq grands ouvrages
de musique de chambre. AprPs de longues decennies de ni6connaissance, la musique de klagnard,
qui connut de son vivant une notoriete restreinte
Le langage de Magnard n'est pas celui d'un
revolutionnaire comme celui de son contemporain Claude Debussy. 1
I est fidhle i la tonalite, mais
celle-ci s'affirme nun seulement avec une vigueur
rare, niais aussi avec une radicalit6 qui en explore
toutes les possibilites. Fort peu chromatique dans
le contexte d'une epoque encore sous I'emprise de
Tristan et lsolde de Wagner (une comparaison avec
Ernest Chausson, dont le rapproche la generosite
de I'expression, est trPs edifiantedece point devue!),
ce langage, enrichi de I'apport specifiquement
franqais des echelles modales, peut atteindre i de
puissantes tensions dissonantes par I'usage intensif
des retards, des appoggiatures, des broderies, bref
de tout I'arsenal inepuisable des notes 6trangPres.
Magnard s'inscrit aussi dans le droit fil de la
descendance de Rameau, qui fut i la fois le compositeur le plus tonal et le plus dissonant de son temps.
Dou6 d'une inspiration melodique d'une generasite rare, qui nourrit ses ceuvres d'une richesse de
thPmes proche de la prodigalit6 et ces thhmes, loin
d'&tre pauvres et sch6matiques cellules, s'epanouissent en amples periodes. Magnard est aussi un grand
rythmicien, i une epoque oh prbcisement le rythme
tendait i s'alanguir. Chez lui il atteint i une vigueur
et i une vari6t6 dignes de Beethoven, au point que
ses idees s'impriment frequemment dans notre
memoire par leur simple profil rythmique. Ses harmonies sont robustes et pleines, renonqant i tout
sfumato en leur solide franchise. Et il fut un maTtre
du contrepoint, lequel chez lui est toujours polymelodique. Toutes les voix chantent, et ['indication
Chantez revient frequemment dans ses partitions.
LA JUSTICE ET L'AMOUR
L'Hymne B lalustice, de pair avec I'opera Guercceur qui le precede, est le message n politique r le
plus important que nous laisse Magnard, lequel fut
un ardent defenseur des droits de I'homme (et de la
femme, se rangeant parmi les premiers avocats du
vote feminin !). Aussi n'est-il pas etonnant de le trouver parmi les Dreyfusardsau nioment de 1.' Affaire r
qui divisa alors la France. Au lendemain de la publication du celebre c< J'accuse 3 d'imile Zola (13 janvier 1898), il lui avait envo)6 une vibrante lettre de
soutien, alors qu'il venait d'achever le premier acte
de Guerceuret songeait au deuxieme, lequel devait
depeindre une populace guere plus reluisante que
celle qui condamna Dreyfus. Mais ce ne fut que pres
de quatre ans plus tard, de septembre ou octobre
1901 au 30 mars 1902, qu'il composa son H)~mne2
laJustice, qu'il dedia alors au verrier nanceien (mile
Gall6, grand defenseur des droits de I'homme. La
cr6ation de I'ceuvre, comme celle de bien d'autres
de la mCme plume, eut lieu par les soins de son
ami )-Guy Ropartz, qui la dirigea au Consewatoire
de Nancy le 4 janvier 1903. De pair avec le Chant
fun6bre et les deux dernieres symphonies, elle demeure son ceuvre orchestrale la plus connue et la
plus jou6e. En aoirt 1944, notamment, I'Hymne B
la Justice ouvrit le programme du premier concert
donne par Iforchestre National dans Paris libere.
Si le dreyfusisme de Magnard ne souffre aucun
doute, puisqu'il I'amena h signer I'une des toutes
premieres listes de soutien et i demissionner de
I'armee (lieutenant de reserve), I'ceuvre ne constitue pas une reaction immediate et Cpidermique i
I'a Affaire r. Le volontaire recul permit i Magnard
de prendre de la hauteur et de transcender un evenement certes exemplaire au niveau de I'archetype.
Pour lui, la justice etait avant tout un principe moral,
une forme sublime et garante de I'ordre, et jamais
il n'eGt pu h i r e la terrible phrase de Goethe, qui
avouait preferer une injustice h un desordre. >>
D'ailleurs il n'etait pas particulierement pros6mite,
et son hostilite envers certains juifs qui lui deplaisaient s'exprime en termes parfois virulents. Pour
ceux qui condamnerent Dreyfus et pour leurs allies,
il etait coupable parce que juif; pour Magnard il
n'etait pas innocent pour cette seule raison. Mais il
fut I'ennemi irreductible de la ldchete et de la rnalhonnCtet6 intellectuelle generatrice d'injustice, et
c'est lh ce qu'il reconnaissait dans ceux qu'il pourfendait. Dre).fus, au demeurant personnage assez
mediocre et conformiste, du genre que detestait Magnard, ne I'interessait certes pas sur le plan personnel. On ne saurait emprisonner un esprit aussi libre
dans le circonstanciel, mais seulement dans I'intransigeance de son ideal. LraAffaireasuscita I'H)lmne B
la Justice, mais celui-ci demeure pour denoncer les
injustices cl'aujourd'hui et de demain: son message
est universel.
Le ((programmer redig6 par Gaston Carraud reste encore toujours valable et nous aide h determiner
la grande forme, au demeurant d'une force et d'une
clarte exemplaires: n Nous entendons, dans la premiere idee, se succeder I'oppression de I'injustice
et I'appel douloureux h la justice. Brutalement terrassee, la victirne l6ve les yeux vers I'ideal inaccessible. Avec une plainte qui reveille la persecution,
elle voit s16vanouir la douce lueur; nlais au msme
moment que la violence impose son retour le plus
insolent, le triomphe de la justice eclate, foudroyant,
en apotheose. n
La grande forme, frequente chez Magnard, est
celle d'une triade en legere expansion (114, 139 et
151 mesures), faisant se succeder chaque fois les
deux thsmes principaux (il y a donc six sections au
total), et comme le dernier voiet presente le carac5-
tere d'une reexposition suivie d'une coda, on peut
aussi y reconnaitre le principe fondaniental cle la
sonate. Aucune aeuvre de Magnard ne demarre de
maniere aussi foudroyante, avec ce premier theme
agite en si mineur hache, brutal, d'une abrupte violence, et dont la reprise au paroxysme de la puissance est suivie tout aussitBt cl'une deuxieme idee,
m6lorlique, la plainte vehemente, 1'. appel douloureux r dont parle Carraud. Et cette passion exasperee, chauffee i blanc, se reldche enfin pour faire
place au contraste total de la deuxieme section (tres
calme): en tremolos de cordes lumineux et lointains,
comme venant de tres haut, un simple theme de
gamme ascendante en si bemol majeur plane, irreel,
vision de paix inaccessible, poussant au paroxysme
le contraste entre les deux iclees traditionnellesde la
forme sonate. La musiquese meurt doucement, mais
avec la cleuxii.me partie de la grande triade (le n d6veloppementn), la persecution reprend par le retour
du theme initial, d'abord sourdement lancinant aux
basses, puis, apres une violente montee de triolets,
strident comme un ricanement aux bois aigus et i
nouveau ponctue par les triolets, qui finissent par
dominer completement la scene. Cette gradation tumultueuse culmine en un enorme tutti en fa mineur
environne d'un flamboiement de gammes rapides,
que nous retrouverons dans une atmosphere diamktralement changee au cours de I'apotheose finale. La
musiquepeu 21 peu s'apaise et 1'. appel douloureux u
aura 4t4 totalement absent de cette section. L'hymne
convolant revient en re majeur, mais la menace du
theme rythmique demeure sous-jacente aux basses.
Une progression syncopee et vehemente steleve,
irrepressible, pour debaucher dans le troisieme
grand volet, servant de reexposition. Commen~ant
au sommet de la violence dans le ton principal (si
mineur), elle est r6guliere et complete, y compris
I'<<appel douloureux r . L'oppression est plus feroce que jamais, toute issue semble bouchee. Mais
soudain, veritable deus ex machina P, n le triomphe de la justice &late, foudroyant, en apotheose 2
(G. Carraud), avec le theme de gamnle ascendante,
autrefois vision inaccessible, ipresent clam6 en si
niajeur dans la pleine puissance des cuivres, environne par le flamboiement des gammes rapides. Et
la musique, la victoire du droit confirmee, peu i peu
s'apaise, et la victime sauvee reprend son souffle.
Ce bonheur se poursuit longuement par un hymne
admirable (chaudement), de plus en plus detendu
en une infinie beatitucle ob flotte peut-&tre,dans des
inlassables cadences plagales, un souvenir inconscient du Liebestod de Tristan, jusqu'i la cadence
conclusive, exprimant la paix totale en un pianissimo lumineux.
.
Magnard, dge de vingt-trois ans, n'avait ison
actif que trois pieces pour piano et une melodie
lorsqu'il se lanqa dans la premiere tentative orchestrale, encore bien modeste, de la Suite dans le style
ancienop. 2, tentative d'abord inaboutie (juillet a
decembre 1888), puisqu'il dut la reorchestrer complktement en janvier 1889 ila suite des observations cle son maRre Vincent d'lndy. Mais il beneficiait d6ji d'une grande s0ret6 d'ecriture et d'un sens
inn6 tles justes proportions formelles. )-Guy Ropartz
en donna une premiere lecture iAngers fin octobre
1889, mais la premiere audition publique eut lieu au
Casino de Royan le 18 aoiit 1890. Apres quelques
executions, I'ceuvre tomba dans I'oubli complet.
Magnard s'en tient sagement iune formation
restreinte d'orchestre de chambre, avec les vents
par deux (mais une seule trompette). Les cinq mouvements, tous brefs, conservent le ton principal de
sol mineur, respectant ainsi I'unite tonale propre i
la vieille suite de danses pr6-classique dont le compositeur a fait son modele. Dans les deux derniers
morceaux, on le voit tenter de sf6vader avec une
certaine impatience des limites si strictes qu'il s'est
fixees. Mais si le style de I'ouvrage n'annonce que
d'assez loin I'avenir, la grdce et If616gance de certaines id6es se retrouveront par exemple dans les
Promenades pour piano ; cette suite s'inscrit ainsi i
un rang parfaitement honorable parmi les tentatives
n6o-classiquesde m@meordre du xxe finissant.
Magnard commence par une Francaise (Allegro
giocoso i 214). Certes i l n'existe aucune danse classique de ce nom, mais les suites traditionnellescommencent souvent par une... Allemande, et le choix
de celui qui allait mettre en musique quelques mois
plus tard le celebre Rhin allemand de Musset s'explique sans doute par une r6action patriotique h la
fois ombrageuse et ironiquetypique de la France des
lendemains de 1870. C'est en tous cas ce que semble
exprimer cette page alerte et decidee, bas6e sur un
theme unique 6labor6e en un contrepoint solide et
sans lourdeur p6dante. La m6lancolique Sarabande
fait chanter au cor anglais une melodie de coupe irregdiere, et au theme de la Gavottefait suite un v6ritable Trio contrastant, presque entierement r6serv6
aux vents et trait6 en imitations. Le Menuet est de
loin le morceau le plus d6veloppe et, avec sa Gigue
finale, le plus personnel. Le theme chante gracieusement 2 la clarinette, et un conduit modulant mene
au Trioen si bernol mineur, sur un nouveau motif en
canon, auquel se m@lecependant I'idee pr6c6dente.
C'est un veritable developpement modulant et symphonique, aboutissant i un bref sommet d'intensit6,
avec des tr6molos et autres proc6d6s modernesn
i I'orchestre, et des harmonies, oublieux du syle
baroque. Apres une accalmie et une reprise du klenuet, une petite coda rappelle le motif du Trio, et
le morceau sf6vanouiten tenues d'harmoniques pianissimo. La Gigtie finale (Energico, 6/16) expose en
fugue 2 quatre entr6es son theme principal, enjou6
et tourbillonnant, repris par le tutti, puis 6labor6 en
renversement avant de retrouver sa forme droite
pour un d6veloppement modulant. Vient ensuite s'y
superposer le theme de la Gavotte, caden~antsur un
point d'orgue. Timbales i decouvert et percussions
relancent alors le theme de la Gigue, mais surprise:
c'est une coda pianissimo sur le theme de la Sarabande qui conclue sur la pointe des pieds.
Le Chant fun&bre op. 9 est peut-&tre la premiere
euvre pleinement accomplie de Magnard meritant
Ir6pithete de chef-d'oeuvre, redig6 sous le choc de
la mort de son pere Francis (directeur du Figaro)
survenue le 18 novembre 1894 et qui interrompit
la composition de I'Ouverture. II composa alors ce
Chant funi.bre de janvier ou f6vrier i fin juin 1895,
et en dirigea la cr6ation au cours du fameux concert
du 14 mai 1899 qu'il avait organis6 h ses frais, au
Nouveau Thedtre, rue Blanche, pour y pr6senter sa
musique. D6di6 u h la memoire de mon peren, I'euvre, dans la tonalit6 principale de si b6mol mineur,
est I'une de ses pages les plus simples et les plus
directement emouvantes, un grand mouvement lent
dont les sept sections peuvent se ramener, soit une
forme sonate (dont les sections 4 et 5 formeraient le
d6veloppement), soit 2 un grand triptyque (avec les
sections 3, 4 et 5 en guise de u milieu 2 ) . De toute
facon, le premier theme occupe une place bien superieure 5 celle de la deuxieme qui n'intewient que
dans les sections 3 et 7 et se m&le au premier dans
la section 5. Mais il y a aussi un motif de a glas H,
associ6 au premiertheme dans les sections 2 et 4, au
deuxieme dans la section 7. Cependant I'impression
dominante est celle d'une grande coulee lyrique au
.
7-
I'energique premier theme. Si le climat rCveur du
deuxigme reprend temporairenlent le dessus, c'est
cependant la vivacite du premier qui I'emporte,
confirmee par I'allegre martelement des croches aux
bois. Elle amene tout naturellement la reexposition,
variee mais reguliere, se terminant B nouveau dans
le rGve. Un dernier rappel du theme vigoureux inaugure le developpement terminal, qui rejoint bien
vite la voluptueuse paresse d'une grande coda lente
en un decrescendo 2 peine Bmaill6 par le souvenir
lointain et tres ralenti de la tGte du premier theme
dialoguant entre les timbales, le caret la trompette,
avant qu'un paisible tierce picarde mette le point final sur la pointe des pietls...
Magnard perdit tragiquement sa mere, qui se
suicida alors qu'il n'avait que quatre ans, et il en
demeura marque pour la vie. II en vint i idealiser la
Femme, i defendre ardemment ses droits, et B exalter I'amour et la fidelite conjugale, dans sa vie comme dans son oeuvre. II dedia B son epouse Julia non
mains tle trois oeuvres importantes: entre les Quatre
PoPmes en musique op. 15, d'essence autobiographique et I'ultime opera B6r6nice se situe I1H}mne
3 Vgnus, op. 17, compose de decembre 1903 i fin
avril 1904, et nee i Nancy sous la baguette du fidele
]-Guy Ropartz le 4 decemhre de la meme annee.
Conformement B son theme, ce n'est pas une
page dramatique comme IrH)fmne2 la/ustice, mais
une page lyrique et poetique. Dans le strict cadre
de la musique pure, auquel il ne renonp jamais,
elle depeint avec une grande &rite et une grande
precision les realites de la vie amoureuse pour qui
sait en comprendre le langage. Ceci explique non
seulement sa forme particuliere, mais le fait unique
qu'elle commence hors de sa tonalit4 principale de
M i bemol majeur, non point de depart, mais but i
atteindre. Cette forme est celle, toute classique, de la
triade grecquestrophe, antistrophe, epode-avec
deux parties de structure semblable mais de plan
tonal different, chacune en quatre sections, suivie
d'une troisieme partie plus b r k e et de deux sections
seulement. Le premier theme, chantant et lyrique,
correspondant I'indication typique et originale de
Pur, demarre en la bCmol, sous-dominante du ton
principal mais aussi sixte napolitaine du Dgchaine'
qui lui fera contraste. Dans un cliniat tle grande
douceur, il se deploie amplement en trois periodes,
long (<colloque sentimental x tout de tendresse. Suit
un bref episode Languissant, entrecoupe de silences
haletants, confie au hautbois. C'est I'appel sensuel
de la femme, qui n'est pas sans rappeler les soupirs
de Juliette dans la ScGne d'amour du Rom6o et Juliette tle Berlioz. il suscite la reponse passionnee de
I'homme, qui est le veritable deuxieme theme, It61ement viril (D6chain9, en sol mineur. Suit encore un
element conclusif, chantant avec ampleur et generasite (Largenlent) dans le ton principal enfin atteint:
c'est le grand apaisement de I'amour comble, de la
fidelite du couple. L'antistrophe commence par la
reprise tlu theme initial, varie en 918 et orn6, mais
en sol majeur, car les chemins de I'amour, sans cesse differents, confluent toujours vers le mCrne but.
L'epode offre d'abord une ultime paraphrase ornee,
encore differente, du theme initial, puis s'amplifie
en un vaste developpement terminal qui acquiert
maintenant un caractere hymnique, conformement
au titre de I'oeuvre, religieux mEme -le caractere
sacre, sanctifie de I'amour -, debouchant sur une
coda en pleine puissance (Largement), culminant en
cinq mesures finales de Triomphal, expression d'une
euphorie rayonnante, couronnant I'une des pages
les plus detendues de Magnartl.
JUSTICEAND LOVE
Harry Halbreih
Alberic Magnard dedicated an orchestral hymn
to justice and another to Venus. Together, they embody the two complementary poles of his commitment as a man and his inspiration as an artist: the
high moral standards as a prerequisite for the possible existence of a community, a city and love, a noless-indispensable condition of social life, but which
is first fulfilled in the union with the beloved woman
and the fruits of that union.
With Magnard, a great exalter of the human soul,
one must inevitably speak first about the expression
of his emotions, before any technical consideration,
for with him, the means of language are never an
end in themselves, and craftsmanship is wholly to
serve the message.That said, few creators have been
concerned to this degree with perfection, the sole
guarantor of total communication. This great humanist of sounds was the most intransigent worshipper
of what we call pure or abstract music, far removed
from any anecdote or the superficially picturesque.
Even his operas are based on structures that come
within large organic form.
Moreover, his output was extremely limited, due
to the demands of pitiless self-criticism and the torments of slow, relentless work; and the fact that he
was tragically killed before the age of fifty. Thus, he
had barely a quarter-century-from 1888 to 1914to express himself, and in this catalogue containing
only twenty-one items, vast four-movement architectures predominate, those of his four symphonies
and five great chamber works. Finally, after long
decades of ignorance, the music of Magnard, who,
during his lifetime, knew limited albeit real fame-
especially in the circle of his friends and colleagues
-has finally, in the past twenty years, begun to be
recognized Magnard's language is not revolutionary
like that of his contemporary, Claude Debussy. He
is faithful to tonality, but that asserts itself not only
with rare vigour, but also with a radicality that explores all its possibilities. Hardly chromatic in the
context of an era that was still under the sway of
Wagner's Tristan undlsolde(acomparisonwith Ernest
Chausson, who was reproached for his generosity
of expression, is quite edifying from this point of
view!), this language, enriched by the specifically
French contribution of modal scales, can attain
powerful dissonant tensions through the intensive
use of suspensions, appoggiaturas, auxiliary notes...
in short, the whole, inexhaustible arsenal of nonharmonic notes.
Magnard was also a direct descendant of Rameau, who was both the most tonal and most dissonant composer of his time. His was a melodic inspiration of rare generosity, which nurtured his works
with a wealth of themes verging on prodigality, and
those themes, far from being poor, schematic cells,
blossomed in sweeping periods. Magnard was also
a great master of rhythm, just at a time when rhythm
was tending towards languor. With him, however, it
attained a vigour and variety worthy of Beethoven,
to the point that his ideas are frequently imprinted
on our memory due simply to their rhythmic profile. His harmonies are robust and full, renouncing
all sfumato in their solid straightforwardness.And he
was also a master of counterpoint, which, with him,
is alwa)fs poly-melodic: all the voices sing, and the
marking 'Chantez' is frequently found in his scores.
Along with the opera Guerceur, which preceded it, the Hymned la Justice is the most important
10 -
'political' message that Magnard, an ardent defender
of human rights -and women's rights, being one of
the first advocates for women's right to vote! - left
us. Thus, it is not surprisingto find him amongst the
Dreyfusardsatthe moment of the 'Affair' that divided
France at the time. The day after the publication of
iniile Zola's famous 'J'accuse' (13 January 1898), he
sent a vibrant letter of support. He had just finished
the first act of Guercceur and was thinking about the
second, which was to depict a populace hardly less
despicable than the one that condemned Dreyfus.
But it was not until nearly four years later, between
September or October 1901 and 30Ih March 1902,
that he coniposed his H)fmne 2 la Justice, dedicating it to the Nancy glassniaker irnile Galle, another
great defender of human rights. The work's first performance, like that of many another from the same
pen, took place thanks to his friend Guy Ropartz,
who conducted it at the Conservatory of Nancy on
4thJanuar)11903. Along with the Chant funPbre and
the last two symphonies, it remains his best known
and most often played orchestral work. In August
1944, notably, the Hyrnne d la Justice opened the
programme of the first concert given by the Orchestre National in liberated Paris.
While Magnard's stance in the Dreyfus Affair adniits of no doubt, since it pushed him to sign one of
the very first lists of support and to resign his army
commission (lieutenant in the reserves), the work
does not constitute an immediate, visceral reaction
to the Affair. Intentional hindsight enabled Magnard
to distance himself from and transcend an event that
was certainly exemplary on the archetypal level.
For him, justice was, above all, a moral principle, a
sublime form and guarantor of order. Never would
he have been capable of writing the terrible phrase
of Goethe, who admitted to 'preferring an injustice
-11
to disorder'. Moreover, he was not particularly proSemitic, and his hostility towards certain Jews who
displeased him could be expressed in terms that
were sometimes virulent. For those who sentenced
Dreyfus and for their allies, he was guilty because
he was Jewish; for Magnard, that did not, however,
make him innocent. But he was an implacable enemy of cowardice and the intellectual dishonesty that
generates injustice, which is what he recognized in
those he assailed. Dreyfus, who was, incidentally, a
rather mediocre, conformist figure, of the type that
Magnard detested, certainly did not interest him on
the personal level. One could not trap such a free
spirit in the circumstantial, but only in the intransigence of his ideal. Even though the 'Affair' inspired the H)~mne2 la Justice, the work remains to
denounce the injustices of today and tomorrow: its
message is universal.
The 'programme' written by Gaston Carraud is
still valid and can help us determine the large form,
which is, incidentally, of exemplary force and clarity: 'In the first idea, we hear in turn the oppression
of injustice and the painful call to justice. Brutally
struck down, the victim lifts his eyes towards the
inaccessible ideal. With a moan that awakes the
persecution, he sees the soft light vanish; but at the
same moment that violence imposes its most Insolent return, the stunning triumph of justice bursts
forth in apotheosis.'
The large form, which is frequent in Magnard's
music, is that of a triad in slight expansion (114, 139
and 151 bars), each time having the two main themes follow each other (there are thus six sections
in all), and as the last section presents the character of a recapitulation followed by a coda, here one
can also recognizethe fundamental principle of the
sonata. No other work of Magnard's begins in such
-
a stunning \yay, with this jerk): brutal first theme
(agite in B minor) ant1 its abrupt violence. Its repeat,
at the peak of power, is imnlediately followed by a
second, melodic idea, the vehement moan or 'painful call' that Carraud spoke of. And this exacerbated,
galvanized passion finally relaxes to make room for
the total contrast of the second section (very calm):
in luminous, distant string trenlolos, as if coming
from on high, a simple theme of a rising B flat major
scale hovers, unreal, creating a vision of inaccessible peace and pushing to paroxysm the contrast
between the hvo traditional ideas of sonata form.
The music softly dies out, but with the second part of
the large triad (the 'development'), the persecution
starts up again with the return of the opening theme,
first mufflecl and throbbing in the basses, then, after
a violent rise of triplets, strident as a snigger in the
high winds and again punctuated by triplets, which
end up completely dominating the scene. This tumultuous gradation culminates in an enormous tutti
in F minor, surrounded by a blaze of rapid scales,
which we will find again in an atmosphere cliametrically changed in the course of the final apotheosis.
The music gradually calms down, the 'painful call'
having been totally absent from this section. The
eloping hymn returns in D major, but the threat of
the rhythmic theme remains underlying in the basses. A vehement syncopated progression rises irrepressibly, running into the third large section, which
selves as a recapitulation. Beginning at the peak of
violence in the main key (B minor), it is regular and
complete, including the 'painful call'. The oppression is fiercer than ever, and every exit seems blocked. But suddenly, a real deus ex machina, 'the stunning triumph of justice bursts forth in apotheosis' (G.
Carraud), with the rising-scale theme, previously an
inaccessible vision and now proclainiecl in B ma-12-
jor with the full power of the brass, surrounded by
the blaze of rapid scales. And the music, the victory
of right confirmed, gradually calms down, and the
rescued victim gets his breath back. This happiness
continues at length with an admirable hymn (warmly), increasingly relaxed in a boundless beatitude
in which perhaps, in the unflaggingplagal cadences,
floats an unconscious memory of the Liebestodfrom
Tristan, up to the concluding cadence, expressing
total peace in a luminous pianissimo.
When, at the age of hventy-three, he first tried
his hand at an orchestral score, Magnard had only
three piano pieces and a song to his credit. This
attempt, the Suite in the Old St)de, Op. 2, was still
quite modest and, initially (July-December 1888),
abortive, since he had to completely re-orchestrate it
in January 1889, folloiving comments by his master,
Vincent d'lndy. But already he benefitedfrom a great
sureness in writing and an innate sense of proper
formal proportions. Guy Ropartz gave it a reading
in Angers in late October 1889, but the first public
hearing took place at the Casino of Royan on 18th
August 1890. After a few performances, the work fell
into total neglect.
Magnard wisely restricted himself to the limited
forces of the chamber orchestra, with winds in pairs
(but only a single trumpet). The five movements, all
brief, maintain the principal key of G minor, thus
respecting the tonal unity appropriate for the preclassical suite of old dances that the composer took
as his model. In the last two pieces, we see him, with
a certain impatience, trying to escape from the very
strict limits he had set for himself. But although the
work's style only remotely announces the future, the
grace and elegance of certain ideas will be found
again, for example, in the Promenades for piano.
This suite thus compares favourably with neo-classical attempts of the same order from the end of the
l9lh century (Saint-Saens, cl'lndy, or even Grieg's
Holberg Suite).
Magnard begins with a Franqaise (Allegro giocoso, 2/4). Admittedly, there exists no classical dance by that name, but traditional suites often begin
with an... Allemande, and the choice of he who, a
few months later, was going to set to music Musset's
famous Le Rhin allemand, can doubtless be explainet1 by a patriotic reaction both touchy and ironic,
typical of post-1870 France. In any event, that is
what seems to be expressed in this lively, decided
piece, based on a single theme elaborated in solid
counterpoint without pedantic weightiness. The melancholy Sarabande gives the cor anglais a melody
of irregular cut to sing, and the theme of the Gavotte
is folloived by a true contrasting Trio, almost entirely resewed for the winds and treated in imitations.
The Adinuet is by far the most developed piece and,
with the concluding Gigue, the most personal. The
theme is played gracefully by the clarinet, and a modulating conductus leads to theTrio in B flat minor,
on a new canonic motif, with which the previous
idea nonetheless mingles. This is a true modulating,
symphonic development, resulting in a brief peak of
intensity, with tremolos and other 'modern' procedures in the orchestra, and harmonies also indicating that, for a short instant, the Baroque style has
been forgotten. After a period of calm and a repeat
of the Minuet, a short coda brings back the motif of
the Trio, and the piece dies out pianissimo in tenuti
harmonics. The final Gigue (Energico, 6/16) lays out
its main theme as a lively, whirling four-part fugue,
taken up by the tutti, then elaborated in inversion
before returningto its straight form for a modulating
development. Next, the theme of the Gavottearrives
-1
to superpose itself, cadencing on a fermata. Exposed
timpani and percussion then revive the theme of the
Gigue, but surprise! it is a pianissimo coda on the
theme of the Sarabande that concludes on tiptoe.
The Chant funi.bre, Op. 9 is perhaps Magnard's
first fully accomplished work worthy of being callet! a 'masterpiece'. It was written in a state of shock
following the death of his father, Francis (the director of Le Figaro), which occurred on 18Ih November 1894 and interrupted the composition of the
Ouverture. He then composed this Funeral Song
behveen January or February and the end of June
1895, conducting its first performance in the course
of the famous concert of 14Ih May 1899, which he
had organized at his own expense at the Nouveau
Thestre in Paris, to present his music. Dedicated 'to
the memory of my father', the work, in the main
key of B flat minor, is one of his simplest and most
immediately moving works, a large slow movement
whose seven sections can boil down to either a sonata form (of which sections 4 and 5 tvould form the
development) or to a large triptych ((with sections 3,
4 and 5 by way of 'a middle'). In any event, the first
theme occupies a much higher place than that of
the second, which intervenes only in sections 3 and
7 and blencls with the first in section 5. But there is
also a 'knell' motif, associated with the first theme in
sections 2 and 4, the second in section 7. However,
the dominant impression is that of a great lyric flow
over a slow, processional rhythm. The expression of
this mourning shows to what degree Magnard felt
the loss of a father against whom so many conflicts
had nonetheless opposed him.
As always, the orchestra is treated with sobriety
and plenitude, and it will be noted that it contains a
single trumpet facing the customary four horns and
three trombones.ln the slow tempo, which we will
barely leave, the admirable threnody sings in a 312
bar, made more flexible by a few syncopations, and
its melody, one of the vastest to flow from Magnard's
pen, generously pours its heart out. f i e second section proposes a variation on this, in D minor (412),
and introducesthe new, solemn tolling motif of only
three notes, played by the horn, punctuated with
cello pizzicati, and one truly has the impression of
bells accompanying the funeral procession, inexorable and resigned. In section 3, we finally have the
sweet consolation of the secontl theme, in the relative D flat major (very calm), still in 412, a sort of chorale with a harmonization of august grandeur. After
the fourth section, tvhich is a varied, more luxuriant
repeat of the seconcl, but in F sharp minor, the fifth,
returning in 312, enlivens the tempo some\vhat for a
modulating development alternatingthe two themes
(the second in 412, of course), with, to end, the first
in the Phrygian D minor, intoned by the sepulchral
trumpet. This is music of pure eniotion that cannot
be described with words. The sixth section offers a
complete recapitulation of the first, in the initial key,
but with a sumptuous rhythmic elaboration: richness
of counterpoint, richness of heart - it's the same
thing... In section 7, the consoling second theme
is in turn repeated in B flat major, escorted by the
knell, whereas the harp and string tremolos \\leave
a delicate, luminous tapestry. But the emotion reaches its peak with the belated appearance of a coda
theme, in a highly expressive gruppetto, repeated by
the basses in a broad major plagal conclusion, such
as Magnard liked.
The Overture i n A major, Op.10 is doubtless the
most obscure of Magnard's orchestral works, and
he intended it, like his first hvo symphonies, for the
'colony of refugees' (i.e privileged few), although he
was not particularly fond of it himself. And yet, this
lovely, modest unknotvn score has many charms. Perhaps its long, calm epilogue, somewhat unexpected after the vigorous beginning, did it a disservice,
just like its rather unappealingtitle, which Magnard
could at least have enhanced with an epithet, if not
an evocative name. The work is accessible to medium-sized orchestras, as it does awa)l with trombones and limits itself to a classic formation 'by pairs'
with four horns. Begun in August 1894, the composition was interrupted by that of the Chant funPbre
and completed behveen July and late August 1895.
Magnard himself conducted the first performance at
the concert of 141hMay 1899.
The form is that of a sonata, whose exposition
must be repeated, and which concludes with a rather
vast terminal development. Under sonorous batteries of the winds, the low strings, soon relayed by the
violins, launch a gay and vigorous theme (Vifl full of
alacrity, with varied rhythmic patterns (bar changes).
A calmer, modulating bridge - flute-oboe dialogue
-leads to the second theme in B minor, blossoming
in the violins. But there is still the concluding idea
(twice as sIo\v), peacefully sung by the trumpet in B
major, and whose delightful reverie-favoured by a
vaporous, quivering orchestra -is prolongedduring
the transition that leads to the repeat. This bucolic
stroll continues to the beginning of the development
before the return of the joyous animation of the energetic first theme. Although the dreamy atmosphere
of the second again temporarily gets the upper hand,
it is however the vivacity of the first that wins out,
confirmed by the cheerful hammering of quavers
in the winds. It leads quite naturally to the varied
but regular recapitulation, once again ending in the
dream. A final repeat of the vigorous theme inau-
4-
gurates the final development, which quickly joins
the voluptuous laziness of a grand slow coda in a
decrescenclo barely punctuated by the distant, very
slow-moving reminiscence of the beginning of the
first theme, dialoguing between the timpani, horn
and trumpet, before a peaceful Picardy third puts a
full stop on tiptoe...
Magnard was only four when his mother tragically committed suicide, and this marked him for
life. Due to that, he came to idealize Woman, ardently defend her rights and exalt love and conjugal
fidelity, both in his life and in his work. He declicatecl no less than three important works to his wife
Julia: behVeen the essentially autobiographical Four
poems in Adusic, Op. 15 and the final opera, Berenice, stands the Hymne d V6nus, Op. 17, composed
behveen December 1903 and late April 1904. It was
in Nancy under the baton of the faithful
Guy Ropartz on 4IhDecember of the same year.
In keeping with its theme, this is not a dramatic
piece like the Hyrnne ila Justice, but a lyrical, poetic
work. Within the strict framework of absolute music,
which he never renounced, it depicts, with precision
and great trueness to life the realities of amorous life
for whomsoever knows how to understand the language. This explains not only its particular form, but
the unique fact that is begins outside its main key of
E flat major, which is not the point of departure but
a goal to be reached. This is the very classic form
of the Greek triad - strophe, antistrophe, epode with two parts of similar structure but different tonal
outline, each in four sections, followecl by a third,
shorter part and only t\vo sections.
The first theme, lilting and lyrical and corresponcling to the typical, original marking Pure, begins in
A flat, the sub-dominant of the main key, but also
the Neapolitan sixth of the DGchain6 ('Unleashed')
that will contrast with it. In an atmosphere of great
softness, it unfolds broadly in three periods, a long
'sentimental colloquium' full of tenderness. This is
followed by a brief episode Languissant, interspersed with breathless rests, entrusted to the oboe. This
is the sensual call of the woman, reminiscent of Juliet's sighs in the Love Scenefrom Berlioz's Romeo et
Juliette. It arouses the man's impassioned response,
which is the true second theme, the virile element
(D&cha?n6), in C minor. This is again followed by
a lilting concluding element, with breadth and generosity (Largement, 'broadly') in the main key,
which has finally been reached and depicting the
great appeasement of fulfilled love, the fidelity of the
couple. The antistrophe begins with a repeat of the
initial theme, varied in 918 and ornamented, but in
G major, for the ways of love, endlessly different,
always flow tolvards the same goal. The epode first
presents an ultimate ornamented paraphrase of the
opening theme initial, again different, then expands
into a vast terminal development. This now takes on
a hymn-like, religious or even sacred character - in
keeping with the work's title - sanctified by love,
ancl leading to a coda in full strength (Largement).
This culminates in five final bars of 'Triomphal', the
expression of a radiant euphoria, crowning one of
Magnard's most relaxed works.
Translated by John Jyler Turtle