''L'éventail de Jeanne'' (''Jean's Fan'') is a children's ballet choreographed in 1927 by

Alice Bourgat Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

and

Yvonne Franck Yvonne is a female given name. It is the feminine form of Yvon, which is derived from the French name Yves and Yvette. It is from the French word ''iv'', meaning "yew" (or tree). Since yew wood was used for bows, Ivo may have been an occupation ...

. The music is a collaborative work by ten French composers, each of whom contributed a stylised dance in classic form: #

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

(''Fanfare'') #

Pierre-Octave Ferroud Pierre-Octave Calixte Ferroud (6 January 1900 – 17 August 1936)K.S. (2003). was a French composer of classical music. Life Ferroud was born in Chasselay, Rhône, near Lyon. He went to Lyon, to Strasbourg (for military service from 1920-2) w ...

(''Marche'') # Jacques Ibert (''Valse'') # Alexis Roland-Manuel (''Canarie'') # Marcel Delannoy (''Bourrée'') #

Albert Roussel Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (; 5 April 1869 – 23 August 1937) was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His ...

(''Sarabande'') # Darius Milhaud (''Polka'') #

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

(''Pastourelle'') # Georges Auric (''Rondeau'') # Florent Schmitt (Finale: ''Kermesse-Valse'') "Jeanne" refers to a Parisian hostess and patroness of the arts,

Jeanne Dubost Jeanne may refer to: Places * Jeanne (crater), on Venus People * Jeanne (given name) * Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, 1412–1431) * Joanna of Flanders (1295–1374) * Joan, Duchess of Brittany (1319–1384) * Ruth Stuber Jeanne (1910–2004), Ame ...

, who ran a children’s ballet school. In the spring of 1927 she presented ten of her composer friends with leaves from her fan, asking each of them to write a little dance for her pupils. The children were dressed in fairytale costumes and the décor was enlivened by a set designed with mirrors. It was produced in private at Jeanne Dubost’s Paris salon on 16 June 1927, with Maurice Ravel playing a piano transcription of the music. It had its public premiere at the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

on 4 March 1929, with the ten-year-old Tamara Toumanova dancing the lead role. This was the first performance of Darius Milhaud's music there and he was so annoyed to debut with a trifling work that he boycotted the performance. Excerpts have been recorded, particularly Ravel’s ''Fanfare'' and Poulenc’s ''Pastourelle''. The first complete recording was made in 1984 by the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, W ...

led by Geoffrey Simon.

References

* Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed.
What’s What in Titles of Classical Music – and Beyond

Notes

External links

Video - Darius Milhaud - ''L'éventail de Jeanne'' (30:00).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eventail De Jeanne, L' Ballets by Maurice Ravel Ballets by Francis Poulenc Ballets by Jacques Ibert Ballets by Darius Milhaud Ballets by Albert Roussel Ballets by Florent Schmitt Ballets by Georges Auric Ballets by Alice Bourgat Ballets by Yvonne Franck 1927 ballet premieres 1927 compositions Collaborations in classical music