The Concerto for six instrumental formations and two solo instruments (

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

and

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

) is a work composed by

Jean Barraqué Jean-Henri-Alphonse Barraqué (17 January 192817 August 1973) was a French composer and writer on music who developed an individual form of serialism which is displayed in a small output. Life Barraqué was born in Puteaux, Hauts-de-Seine. In 1931 ...

, started in 1962 and finished in 1968.

History

The initial impulse to write the Concerto came when

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

wrote to Barraqué asking for a new work for the

Domaine musical The Domaine musical was a concert society established by Pierre Boulez in Paris, which was active from 1954 to 1973. Composers represented at its concerts included Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Olivier Messiaen, Luciano Berio, John Cage, Sylvano B ...

's 1962–63 season. Barraqué wrote back, suggesting the Concerto, and he began composing it on Easter Monday, 23 April 1962. He did not finish it at that time, however. He resumed work in the summer of 1968 in

Perros-Guirec Perros-Guirec (; br, Perroz-Gireg) is a commune in the department of Côtes-d'Armor in Brittany. It has been a seaside resort since the end of the 19th century. Geography Climate Perros-Guirec has a oceanic climate (Köppen climate classificatio ...

, and completed the score in Florence on 22 October of the same year. It was premiered on 20 November 1968 at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

in London, by

Hubert Rostaing Hubert Rostaing (17 September 1918 – 10 June 1990) was a jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist. He also did film composition and classical music. He began his career in Algiers with the "Red Hotters" and later moved to Paris. He might be best ...

(clarinet),

Tristan Fry Tristan Frederick Allan Fry (born 25 October 1946, London) is a British drummer and percussionist. Career Fry began his career by joining the London Philharmonic Orchestra as a timpanist at the age of 17. He was a founder member of a number of en ...

(vibraphone), and the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

conducted by

Gilbert Amy Gilbert Amy (born 29 August 1936) is a French composer and conductor. Career Born in Paris, Amy entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1954, where he was taught and influenced by Olivier Messiaen and Darius Milhaud and studied piano with Yvonne Lo ...

. The manuscript score was dedicated on 20 March 1969 to Claude and Hubert Rostaing.; ; .

Instrumentation

There are two solo instruments, clarinet and vibraphone, accompanied by six instrumental formations, each containing one stringed instrument, one woodwind, and one brass: # Violin, bassoon, trumpet # Viola, cor anglais, trombone # Cello, alto flute, tenor saxophone # Harp, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone # Amplified harpsichord, oboe, horn # Amplified guitar, flute, alto saxophone

Character

The manuscript title page includes several mottos and inscriptions indicating the formal character and intended poetic atmosphere. One of these is an abbreviated form of the "Affranchi du hasard" quotation found in the printed score of Barraqué's '' ... Au delà du hasard'' (1958–59): "the many currents cross / ... towards one convergent point / united among themselves they are the mirrors". One of the others indicate

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

as a spiritual influence: "because of a smile, for a sadness, for a very gentle memory towards Schubert".

Structure

The Concerto consists of seventeen sequences grouped in six sections, which are played without interruption. Its scoring resembles that of Pierre Boulez's '' Domaines'', which was begun in 1961 and premiered in the same year as the Concerto, but while Boulez keeps his six instrumental groups as distinct as possible, Barraqué's flow together into an orchestra. Boulez also projects a regular series of twelve alternations between his soloist and each instrumental group, whereas Barraqué's work is continuous.

Discography

* ''Jean Barraqué: Concerto; Le Temps restitué''. Rémi Lerner (clarinet), unnamed vibraphonist, and

Ensemble 2e2m The Ensemble 2e2m is a French musical ensemble specializing in the interpretation of works of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. History The Ensemble 2e2m was founded by Paul Méfano in 1972. 2e2m means ''études et expressions des modes ...

conducted by

Paul Méfano Paul Méfano (March 6, 1937 – September 15, 2020), was a French composer and conductor. Biography Paul Méfano was born in Basra, Iraq. He pursued musical studies at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, and then later at the Paris Conservat ...

. Recorded January 1987 at Studio 103, Radio France. CD recording, 1 disc: 12 cm, stereo. Harmonia Mundi 905199. Arles:

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is an independent record label which specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group. Its Latin name ''ha ...

, 1987. * ''Jean Barraqué: Œuvres complètes''. (clarinet), Charlie Fischer (vibraphone) and

Klangforum Wien The Klangforum Wien is an Austrian chamber orchestra, based in Vienna at the Konzerthaus, which specialises in contemporary classical music. Founded by composer and conductor Beat Furrer in 1985, it is run on collective principles, having no o ...

conducted by

Sylvain Cambreling Sylvain Cambreling (born 2 July 1948 in Amiens, France) is a French conductor. Biography Trained as a trombone player, Cambreling studied at the Paris Conservatoire. He joined l' Orchestre Symphonique de Lyon (OSL) as a trombonist in 1971. In 19 ...

. Concerto recorded 15–16 February 1995, in the Konzerthaus Mozartsaal, Vienna. CD recording, 3 discs: 12 cm, stereo. CPO 999 569-2. Musique française d'aujourd'hui. Georgsmarienhütte:

Classic Produktion Osnabrück Classic Produktion Osnabrück (often referred to as cpo, in lowercase) is a record label founded in 1986 by Georg Ortmann and several others. Its declared mission is to fill niches in the recorded classical repertory, with an emphasis on romantic ...

, 1998.

References

Works cited

* English translation by Paul Griffiths in . * *

External links

* {{Authority control Compositions by Jean Barraqué 1968 compositions 20th-century classical music Serial compositions Concertos for multiple instruments Music dedicated to ensembles or performers

History

Instrumentation

Character

Structure

Discography

References

Works cited

Further reading

External links