SKU: HX.499981

SKU: A0.1070871

Live recording: Daniela Carlino -Syrah ensemble, Palermo 2017

Parte Terza: il sogno come evasione dalla precarietà della vita

L'ultima  parte è la più complessa della composizione ed è basata su un testo di Guido Gozzano: La via del rifugio . Si tratta di una poesia molto articolata che offre parecchi spunti quasi teatrali: il poeta si trova disteso a terra, nella campagna piemontese, mentre due bambine, nipoti, figlie della sorella, giocano cantando un'antica filastrocca. Il poeta alterna le sue riflessioni sulla vita e sulle grandi domande dell'esistenza ai versi di questa filastrocca e alla descrizione dei giochi delle bambine, i girotondi e la cattura di una farfalla, che tanto coinvolge le piccole.

Al fine di rendere meglio la teatralità del brano l'autore ha affidato il testo della filastrocca a due voci infantili e le riflessioni del poeta alla voce di soprano (con l'eccezione di qualche frammento di quest'ultimo tipo recitato dalle bambine stesse). La struttura del testo, con ritorni frequenti di alcune brevi strofe, ha suggerito una forma musicale che si avvicina al tradizionale rondò, in cui in particolare un refrain ritorna in maniera sempre nuova alternandosi a vari episodi. La melodia della filastrocca, elaborazione di una tipica melodia tradizionale è il refrain  principale e viene sempre variato nella combinazione delle due voci e degli strumenti, e nell'armonizzazione. Un altro episodio frequente, anch'esso rivisitato nei vari ritorni, è quello del primo intervento dell'autore: socchiusi gli occhi sto seduto sul trifoglio, e vedo un quatrifoglio che non raccoglierò, nelle sue  varianti testuali.

Il brano vuole anche essere anche una sintesi dei precedenti (Parte Prima e Seconda), riproponendo riferimenti importanti ai temi principali uditi, ma anche a frammenti secondari, che compaiono all'interno del tessuto musicale per suggerire  stati d'animo o immagini simili a quelle originarie del brano da cui sono state estrapolate o comunque servono a mettere i brani a confronto e creare delle correlazioni musicali e concettuali.

SKU: A0.534402

Jacques Leguerney (1906-1997) composed two string quartets. The Premier Quatuor à cordes was composed in 1925 during Leguerneyâ??s private piano and composition study with French pianist Thérèse Cahen. His second quartet, subject of this publication by Musik Fabrik, was written between November 1947 and September 1948.  

The four movements are: I. Allegro moderato; II. Intermezzo; III. Scherzando; IV. Presto-Andantino.

This work was, in part, Leguerneyâ??s response to the Premier Quatuor à cordes (inédit) by his colleague, Henri Sauguet. Leguerney stated in a personal interview with Patrick Choukroun (18 May 1989) that: â??I wrote it a bit in opposition to Sauguetâ??s Premier Quatuor. It seemed to me that his quartet was without interest: just scratchings! I wanted to express my way of looking at it from the classical viewpoint of the past: it is almost in the spirit of Mozart, except for the harmonic language, of course. In fact, I wanted to fight against everything that has been done to a quartet since Beethovenâ??s last ones.â?�

The premiere of the Quatuor à cordes en ré mineur was by the Quatuor Pro Arte at the Abbaye de Royaumont. Before this performance, Poulenc sent Leguerney the following note: â??Fortunate man for whom twelve strings are enough to charm people, I wish you good luck and respectfully embrace you.â?� (Handwritten letter, Reims, 4 September 1959).

Leguerney was appointed artistic director of the Lumen recording company in 1951, and remained in this position until 1959. He produced four recordings of his music, including the Quatuor Pro Arteâ??s recording of the Quatuor à cordes en ré mineur (1947-1948) (Lumen, LD 2.440, 1958). This disc won the Grand Prix du Disque de lâ??Académie Charles Cros on 13 March 1959. The Pro Arteâ??s members were Suzanne Plazonich, Violin I; Chantal Beylier, Violin II; Nicole Gendreau, Viola; and Micheline Burtin, Cello.

Francis Poulenc wrote to Leguerney concerning this recording: â??It is very good Leguerney. Of course, frivolous as I am and shall always remain, it is the 2nd movement that I prefer. Between us, I am like you: I prefer the scherzos after the andantes; that way one is not forced to write a Finale allegro. Yours pleases me very much, in fact, so to my ears it is III-IV-I-II, in the order of pleasure.â?� (Manuscript letter, Bagnols, 14 October 1959)

The radio station France I broadcast the Quatuor with on 11 July 1959 on the program Schola of the series Concert de musique contemporaine, again with the Quatuor Pro Arte. An archive recording of this broadcast exists on magnetic tape.

Critic Claude Rostand wrote: â??Jacques Leguerney does not seem to have looked for special innovations either in form or language. His basic thought seems especially to have written a quartet, that is to say on one hand to have used the four voices with elegance and originality, clarity and homogeneity (four-part writing seems to always have come naturally to him, even at the piano), and on the other hand to exploit all of the supple cushioning that can result from the caress of a bow on a string.â?�

Critic Emile Vuillermoz wrote: â??His only ambition is to expresses clear and affectionate melodic ideas, in a highly distinguished, elegant and refined language, meaning an homage, in the beginning of our century, to the trios of the greatest stylists of our time. In fact, it is from the vocabulary of Fauré, Debussy and Ravel that he takes his grammar and syntax and that with which he carries out with his this harmonic writing that is both supple and sparse, that is so congenial to the association of four string instruments. This quartet, whose first movement is of a rare perfection, is a delicate enchantment.â?�

The Musik Fabrik edition of the Quatuor à cordes en ré mineur is taken from a photocopy of the composerâ??s manuscript of the full score. We also had access to the quartet parts found in Leg.

SKU: A0.1271766

À memoria da actriz Cruz Comesanha

Lábios de sabor a mar (Derradeira epístola) / Sea flavour lips (Last epistle) for Choir and Piano [ca. 7' 34]

Première: 27-V-2023. Igreja de Santo António, Lisboa. Int.: Coro da Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra (ANSO). Dir: Rafael Araújo.

The origin of this work is the emotional emptiness I felt when I received the news of the death of a close friend in an unfortunate accident at home. The text was constructed with ideas and phrases taken from the poetic correspondence we had exchanged in the previous months. A few years later, I plucked up the courage to write the music, firstly for Choir a Cappella, followed by a version for Brass Quintet and another for Voice and Piano. This new edition for Choir has been revised in its entirety and includes, as an option, the Piano.
The English translation of the text at the end of the score is not intended to be sung. It is only inserted to help singers who do not understand Portuguese to comprehend the message.
The complexes that organise the harmonic and melodic structure are [6, 2, 5, 1, 3], [10, 9, 2, 8] and [4, 8, 9, 7].

--oOo--

A origem desta obra está no vazio emocional que me produziu a notícia da morte de uma íntima amiga, num infortunado acidente caseiro. O texto foi construido com ideias e frases retiradas da correspondência poética que trocáramos nos meses anteriores. Alguns anos depois, ganhei coragem para escrever a música, primeiramente para Coro a Cappella, seguindo-se uma versão para Quinteto de Metais e outra para Voz e Piano. Esta nova edição para Coro foi revista na sua totalidade e inclui, como opção, o Piano.
A tradução inglesa do texto, no final da partitura, não é para ser cantada. Só se insere para ajudar na compreensão da mensagem, aos cantores que não percebam português. 
Os complexos que organizam a estrutura harmónica e melódica são [6, 2, 5, 1, 3], [10, 9, 2, 8] e [4, 8, 9, 7].

ISWC: T-041.574.843-4
ISMN: 979-0-707704-16-5.