Jean Jules Roger-Ducasse

[alberto]

In topic "Joseph-Ermend Bonnal" , reply 9, Marcus quoted Roger-Ducasse, but declared to know only the Second Quartet (the composer's very last work-1953). He quoted the existence of a Marco Polo record.
I have got it many years ago (indeed in the French Naxos " Patrimoine" series n.8.550891, cond. L.Segerstam).
Much impressed by the music, I later found and bought a previous Cybelia (label disappeared, CD 820) partially duplicating the identical MP performances. (Evidently there were two Cybelia orchestral records and MP-Naxos picked from both works for just one CD).
Roger-Ducasse was an adopted surname, in order to avoid confusion with the older Paul Dukas (our composer surname was just Ducasse). According to some rumours R-D was an illegitimate son of Gabriel Fauré, and anyway the preferred pupil of the Old Master. (The picture on MP record shows a man almost identical to Fauré; a picture on the Cybelia booklet shows a sligthly weaker resemblance).
On reading the symphonic programs of Torino in 1911 I see that two works by R-D were performed: the Suite Francaise and the Sarabande (the latter conducted by no less than C.Debussy, eleven years older than R-D).
The works I know are:
-three Symphonic Fragments from the "mimodrama" Orpheus (1913, 25' 05"): wild music and luxuriant orchestration;
-Nocturne de Printemps (1918, 10' 30"): a magical score  indebted to Debussy
-Marche Francaise (indeed a symphonic poem or phantasy lasting 14' 20") and Suite Francaise (19' 15"):a mix of impressionism and clearness
-Prélude d'un ballet
-Petite Suite
-Le joli jeu de Furet
Between the many good unsung Frenchmen born between 1870 and 1879 (Schmitt, d'Ollone, Ladmirault, Cras, Dupont, Tournemire, Vierne, Aubert, Severac, Busser...) I would rank high Roger-Ducasse.
I would prize him with a silver medal.
Gold Medal to Schmitt (less unsung: I have attended twice performances of La tragédie de Salomé).
Silver medal to Séverac.
--------------------------
Does anybody know a longish Quartet by d'Ollone, which should exist on CD? I have read, on a French magazine,
a review exalting its qualities (I own just the Claves CD of orchestral works by d'Ollone).

[alberto]

Silver medal "ex aequo" to Séverac.

[jimmattt]

Gold medal to them all from me,  some of Severac's orchestral music is exquisite, heard it on Portuguese radio once.

[Ebubu]

A complete Roger-Ducasse piano works has been released on Nimbus, and Dominique Merlet has also issued a sampler of R-D piano music.

There still is a lot of discoveries to make in this composer's catalogue.  The complete ballet (Orphée) has some resemblance to Ravel's Daphnis & Chloé, and would make for a very interesting rediscovery.  His symphonic poem, with chorus and soloists looks very Debussy-like.

His opera Cantegril is based on a "regionalist" novel by Raymond Escholier (set in a southern France pyrenean village, telling the love story of Cantegril, sort of a local Don Juan, with Francezine, surrounded by a lively village setting and customs.  It contains pages with exquisite music which reminds of Canteloube, or the Ravel of l'Heure Espagnole, and much "local" flavour as in Severac's music (though it's not exactly set in the same region).
I'll try to upload the very troncated (and badly recorded) version made by the French radio.

[Alan Howe]

This is probably the recording of Cantegril you mean:
http://premiereopera.net/product/cantegril-by-roger-ducasse-1962/

[eschiss1]

Was his second quartet composed "1912-1953" or "1952-1953"? The former looks like a typo but it's what we have over @ IMSLP. Thanks for your help Sorry... (I don't know how it sounds- there's a recording of it, 50 minutes, from the Loewenguth quartet- but this is just information gathering on my part... Will take to pmsg or try somewhere else if it's really inappropriate to this forum.)

[Alan Howe]

This website (in French) confirms the long gestation period of the 2nd String Quartet:
http://www.musimem.com/roger-ducasse.htm

To summarise: it's in D major, plays for 50 minutes, was begun in 1912 but only completed in 1953. Throughout his life the composer re-started work on the quartet, modifying it, shortening it, developing it further. It was dedicated to the Loewenguth Quartet who performed it at the Bordeaux Festival (Château de La Brède) on 20th May 1953. It has four movements: Presque lent;  Moderato, très précis de rythme; Très lent; and Allegro maestoso.

[Alan Howe]

The recording made by the dedicatees is reviewed here (in poor English!):
http://www.geocities.co.jp/MusicHall/6119/museum/rogerducasse/english.html

"Quartuor à Cordes en Re majeur No.2" (Mandala : MAN 4934)
Quatuor Loewenguth : Alfred Loewenguth, Maurice Fueri (vln) Roger Roche (vla) Pierre Basseux (vc)

His second quartet was started to write in 1912. He seems to have thought the quartet was yet to be completed for many years, such that he confessed Isidor Philip that 'this is the third time that I have started to re-write the finale'. After all, more than fourty years had passed when he could think it was finished (he commented like that in the letter to his mother in Nov. 1952). Except the second one, all movements are longer than 10 minutes. Although the diction is strongly based on german-centric romantic idiom, freely expanded key changes and particularly strong accent arrangements demonstrate that the quartet is one from modern era. He should have taken special care to let the listeners to enjoy the lengthy movements without feeling dull, this quartet sounds most interesting in its rhythmic content. We can easily remind the same tendency can be found on Schmitt's quartet (written in 1948). The quartet resembles this considerably not only in the length but the amount of recordings (both of them have just one recordings because of the difficulty or length). If their was any possibility that Ducasse had inspired Schmitt's one by hearing it in any occasion, that should be interesting aspect to understand the charm of this quartet. The recording was done in February 1954, Paris. The occasion was the premier of the work. About 4 month before the composer's death. Although the pitch control is worse than now, they perform in strong sympathy.

[Ebubu]

Hi Alan, actually there are 2 recordings (of Cantegril), both equally bad and heavily cut.  But yes, this one must be the better and most complete of the 2.

The website mentions "Act 3 has unfortunately been cut"... If it was only for Act 3 !  Most of the choral passages (very complicated , with lots of small roles) have been cut, which totally disfigures Act 1, as well as lots of other cuts of various lengths.
Have you listened to the piece ?  Of course, it's better than nothing, but unfortunately, I have to say that one must have the score under the eyes to fully appreciate this recording. 
There's nothing like it in the French repertoire, in the form of "regionalist opera", with many passages inspired by local songs and dances (in the spirit of Canteloube's Chants d'Auvergne).

[Alan Howe]

No, I don't know the opera at all. Not sure it's my 'tasse de thé'.

[semloh]

Are we still in "Romantic" territory as per our definition?

[Alan Howe]

Truth to tell, I don't know. We need to hear the music...

[Gareth Vaughan]

There's a fair bit on YouTube. I would say it just about falls within our remit. It is impressionistic in sound - bit like Debussy without the memorable tunes (I don't want to do the composer a disservice - I only sampled about 5 minutes' worth).

[TerraEpon]

Yeah, I have 2 CDs of his music from way back on Marco Polo.....very much impressionistic.

[petershott@btinternet.com]

I've just noticed at the start of this thread a question by Alberto posed way back in 2011 - "does anyone know a longish (String) Quartet by d'Ollone?"

Maybe this refers to the Quartet in D major from 1898 (and thus an early work of Max d'Allone)?

If so it is recorded on a most satisfying Pierre Vernay disc (PV799061) released in 1999 where it is performed by the Quatuor Athenaeum Enesco. This generous disc also contains the String Trio in A minor from 1920 and the Piano Quartet in E minor where members of the Quartet are joined by Patrice d'Ollone, the composer's grandson.

However the Quartet isn't an especially long piece at just over 20 minutes in duration. But so far as I know d'Ollone wrote just the one String Quartet.

Apologies for tucking this comment on the end of a thread about Roger-Ducasse (whose works for piano on the Nimbus set referred to above I much enjoy). Maybe worth a new d'Ollone thread although most of his works are now largely forgotten operas mostly composed between the two World Wars?