Jean Marie Octave Géraud Poueigh (24 February 1876 in Toulouse – 14 October 1958 in
Olivet) was a French composer,
musicologist
Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...
, music critic, and folklorist. He wrote music criticism under the pseudonym Octave Séré. Poueigh is known for suing fellow French composer
Erik Satie over an insulting postcard.
Biography
A student at the
Schola Cantorum of Paris, Jean Poeigh is the author of works of chamber music, vocal or instrumental, a sonata for violin ..., lyrical works: ''Perkain'', opera based on a Basque legend by Pierre Harispe, libretto
Pierre-Barthélemy Gheusi
Pierre-Barthélemy Gheusi, also known by the pseudonym Norbert Lorédan, (21 November 1865 – 30 January 1943) was a French theatre director, librettist, journalist and writer. He was born in Toulouse and died in Paris.
Biography
A son of a ban ...
, presented at the
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
opera 16 January 1931, sets and costumes by
Ramiro Arrue), ''le Roi de Camargue'' (performed in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
21 May 1948).
At the same time, he wrote much as a musical critic in the ''Ère nouvelle''. After the performance of the ballet ''
Parade'' (1917), he wrote a virulent criticism and
Érik Satie sent him some incendiary letters, the most famous being thus written: "Monsieur and dear friend, you are only an arse, worse, an arse without music". This being sent on a postcard without envelope, so likely to have been ''read by the concierge'', Satie fell short of a one-year sentence for public defamation. At the trial
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...
was arrested and beaten by police for repeatedly yelling "arse" in the courtroom. Satie was given a sentence of eight days in jail. Satie was forced to pay a fine but on appeal his prison sentence was suspended and ultimately vacated. See Volta, "Satie Seen Through His Letters",
Pouegh was interested in traditional music, collecting songs from the
Basque Country and
Occitania
Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasse ...
and beyond, and all the folklore of these regions on which his works are still authoritative.
Musical works
*''Pointes sèches''
*''Nocturnes''
*''Les lointains'' (1903)
*''Suite Fünn''
*''Marche triomphale''
*''Rhapsodie des Pyrénées'' (1925)
*''Suite montagnarde'' (1926)
*''Le Meneur de Loups'' (1921), opera
*''Perkain'' (1932) opera
*' (film 1942)
*''Le Roi de Camargue'' (1948), opera
*''Bois-Brûlé'' (1956) opera
*''Frivolant'' (1922), ballet
Literary works
*1921: ''Musiciens français d'aujourd'hui'' (under the pseudonym Octave Séré), Paris,
Mercure de France
The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group.
The gazette was published ...
*1926: ''Chansons populaires des Pyrénées françaises'', ''traditions, mœurs, usages'', Paris
*1951: ''Chants de Béarn et de Gascogne'', in collaboration with
Simin Palay
*1952: ''Le folklore des pays d’oc : la tradition occitane'',
''Le folklore des pays d’oc : la tradition occitane''
/ref> Paris, Payot
*1954: ''De la musique chez les Basques : leurs chants et leurs danses populaires'', VIIIe Congrès d'études basques, Bayonne, Ustaritz
References
External links
Jean Poueigh : Air à Danser
on YouTube
*
Jean Poueigh
on Média 19
Jean Poueigh (1876-1958)
on CIRIEF
Musiciens français d'aujourd'hui; notices biographiques, suivies d'un essai de bibliographie et accompagnées d'un autographe musical
on archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poueigh, Jean
1876 births
Musicians from Toulouse
1958 deaths
20th-century French composers
French male composers
20th-century French musicologists
French folklorists
20th-century French journalists
20th-century French male musicians