''L'Homme et son désir'', Op. 48, is a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

composed by

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

from 1917–18, based on a scenario of

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

. It was written in Brazil, where Milhaud had accompanied Claudel as a secretary when the latter was appointed ambassador to Rio de Janeiro. It was the passage of the

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Russian Revolution, Revolution ...

with

Vaslav Nijinsky Vaslav or Vatslav Nijinsky (12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer of Polish ancestry. He is regarded as the greatest male dancer of the early 20th century. Nijinsky was celebrated for his virtuosity and f ...

in Rio de Janeiro that triggered it. This was Claudel's first musical collaboration and he then repeated the experience several times with some major works (including Honegger's ''

Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher Jeanne may refer to: Places * Jeanne (crater), on Venus People * Jeanne (given name) * Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, c.1412–1431), French folk heroine and saint * Jeanne Devos (religious sister) * Jeanne Devos (photographer) * Joan of Flander ...

''). The work is also one of Milhaud's first ballets. The score is written for four voices (wordless) and a small orchestra and a large number of percussion instruments (including a whip and a whistle). The Premiere took place on 6 June 1921, with a choreography by the

Ballets suédois The Ballets suédois (; "Swedish Ballets") was a predominantly Swedish dance ensemble based in Paris that, under the direction of Rolf de Maré (1888–1964), performed throughout Europe and the United States between 1920 and 1925, rightfully ea ...

under the orchestral direction of Jean Börlin. Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht.

Structure

The ballet is composed of eight parts played as a single movement: # Scène I # Apparition de la lune # L'Homme endormi et le fantôme de la femme morte # L'Homme qui dort debout, oscillant comme dans un courant d'eau et comme sans aucun poids # Toutes les choses de la forêt qui viennent voir l'homme endormi # Danse de la passion # Réapparition de la femme qui entraîne l'Homme peu à peu en tournant lentement devant lui sur elle-même # La lune I a disparu la première. La lune II disparaît à son tour. Les heures noires se sont écoulées. On voit apparaître les premières heures blanches A typical performance lasts around 20 minutes.

References

External links

Darius Milhaud : L'Homme et son désir, ballet for wordless singers and small orchestra Op. 48 (1918)
Ballets by Darius Milhaud 1918 compositions 1919 ballets Works by Paul Claudel {{ballet-stub