Maurice Duhamel (23 February 1884 – 5 February 1940) was the pen-name of Maurice Bourgeaux, a Breton musician, writer and activist who was a leading figure in

Breton nationalism Breton nationalism (Breton language, Breton: ''roadelouriezh Brezhoneg'', French language, French: ''nationalisme Breton'') is a form of Territorial nationalism, regional nationalism associated with the region of Brittany in France. The politic ...

and federalist politics in the years before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Early life

The son of a coal merchant, Duhamel was born in

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

. From youth, he displayed great musical talent, composing his own original works and collecting and arranging traditional Breton songs. He also worked as a journalist for music magazines. Meanwhile, he learned the

Breton language Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of t ...

and studied Breton literature. At the age of 19, he reported for a local newspaper on the trial of

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus ( , also , ; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. ...

, which took place in the premises of his high school in Rennes. Like his father he was a Dreyfusard and a Freemason. However, he left Freemasonry because he was shocked by the

Affaire Des Fiches The Affair of the Cards (french: Affaire des Fiches), sometimes called the Affair of the Casseroles,The appellation is certified by Paul Naudon1. In the slang of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, “casserole” meant someone who cooked to ...

in 1905.

Political activity

He joined the

Breton Regionalist Union The Breton regionalist union (Union Régionaliste Bretonne or URB) was a Breton cultural and political organisation created August 16, 1898. It was a broadly conservative grouping dedicated to preserving Breton cultural identity and regional indepe ...

(Union Régionaliste Bretonne) and created the piano score for '' Bro Gozh ma Zadoù'', the song chosen by the Union to be the Breton national anthem. In 1912, he resigned from the Union, along with

Emile Masson Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...

Camille Le Mercier d'Erm Camille Le Mercier d'Erm (1888 in Rennes - 1978 in Dinard) was a French poet, historian and Breton nationalist. He later adopted the neo-Bardic name Kammermor. He is also known as Kamil Ar Merser 'Erm, the Breton language form of his name. His wor ...

, François Vallée and Loeiz Herrieu, to found the more leftist Breton Regionalist Federation, which, contrary to other Bretonist organisations, survived the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and started a political magazine, ''Le Réveil breton'', in 1920. In 1926, he met

Olier Mordrel Olier Mordrel (29 April 1901 – 25 October 1985) is the Breton language version of Olivier Mordrelle, a Breton nationalist and wartime collaborator with the Third Reich who founded the separatist Breton National Party. Before the war, he worked a ...

and

Morvan Marchal Morvan Marchal (31 July 1900, Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine – 13 August 1963, Paris), is the Breton name of Maurice Marchal, an architect and a militant Breton nationalist. He is best known for having designed the national flag of Brittany. Bio ...

. The three men rapidly formed themselves into a steering committee to create the

Breton Autonomist Party The Breton Autonomist Party (french: Parti Autonomiste Breton or PAB, br, Strollad Emrenerien Vreiz) was a political party which existed in Brittany from 1927 to 1931. Origin The party was created at the first congress of the nationalist journal ' ...

, which was founded in 1927. He was responsible for establishing links to national French political movements, particularly the French left. He became editor in chief of the party journal Breiz Atao and he gave the party a federalist and leftist orientation. However, his views clashed with the right wing of the party, led by Mordrel, which was drawn to outright separatism and was in sympathy with

Nazi ideology Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

.Compositeurs Bretons
The disputes eventually led both Duhamel and Marchal to resign in early 1931. Duhamel explained his own federalist vision:

The current status of Europe is outdated, and the internationalization of economic life requires a political federation where existing states allow room for genuine national communities. But here, the autonomy of federal components is no longer required because of history, race or old treaties, but because it is the natural outcome of a new organization which is essential for Europe if it is to escape the wars that its economic borders attract - as iron attracts lightning." ��le statut actuel de l'Europe est périmé et que l'internationalisation de la vie économique appelle une fédération politique où les États actuels cèderont la place aux véritables communautés nationales. Mais, ici, l'autonomie des composantes fédérales n'est plus requises au nom de l’'histoire, de la race ou de traités caducs; c'est l'aboutissement naturel d'une organisation nouvelle qui s'impose à l'Europe si elle veut echapper aux guerres que ses frontières économiques attirent comme le fer attire la foudre."

Faced with the creation of Mordrel's pro-Nazi

Breton National Party The Breton National Party (French ''Parti National Breton'', Breton ''Strollad Broadel Breizh'') was a nationalist party in Brittany that existed from 1931 to 1944. The party was disbanded after the liberation of France in World War II, because o ...

, Duhamel, Marchal and others set up the short-lived

Breton Federalist League The Breton Federalist League (french: Ligue fédéraliste de Bretagne) was a short-lived Breton political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common f ...

, which was replaced after 1933 by other groups. In the late 1930s, Duhamel worked on his ''History of the Breton People: from their origins to 1532'', which was published in 1939. However, copies were seized by the French government on its publication because its perceived anti-French viewpoint was seen as seditious on the outbreak of

. Duhamel died of cancer in 1940 without having completed the second volume of his ''History of the Breton People'', which was to have covered the period after the union of Brittany with France in 1532.

Musical works

Duhamel's compositions were primarily for voice and piano. His orchestral works are rare. Brittany was central to Duhamel's inspiration as the names of his works such as ''Impressions de Bretagne'' and ''Esquisses bretonnes'' emphasise. In 1912, he was also a co-founder of the

Association des Compositeurs Bretons Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

and, together with

Paul Ladmirault Paul Émile Ladmirault (8 December 1877 – 30 October 1944) was a French language, French composer and Music criticism, music critic whose music expressed his devotion to Brittany. Claude Debussy wrote that his work possessed a "fine dreamy musi ...

, one of its driving forces. Like

Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray (2 February 1840 – 4 July 1910) was a French Breton composer, pianist, and professor of music history/theory at the Conservatoire de Paris as well as a Prix de Rome laureate. He was born at Nantes and died at ...

and

François-Marie Luzel François-Marie Luzel (6 June 1821 – 26 February 1895), often known by his Breton name ''Fañch an Uhel'',He signed his name as ''Francès-Mary an Uhel'' in the ''Les Chants de l'épée'' (1856), although Joseph Ollivier, in his 1943 preface to ...

before him, he collected folk ballads. His publications on the subject are important, and he was highly regarded by the most influential writers on the subject of the era, such as

Anatole Le Braz Anatole le Braz, the "Bard of Brittany" (2 April 1859 – 20 March 1926), was a Breton poet, folklore collector and translator. He was highly regarded amongst both European and American scholars, and known for his warmth and charm. Biography Le Br ...

and Joseph Loth. ;Orchestral *''Trois Petites pièces orientales'' (1924) *''Harald. Ouverture'' (1926) *''Quatre Incidentaux''. Contains: 1. ''La Trahison'', 2. ''Galopade'', 3. ''Bataille'', 4. ''Epilogue'' (1927) *''Quatre Incidentaux''. Contains: 1. ''Grazioso'', 2. ''Amoroso'', 3. ''Doloroso'', 4. ''Agitato'' (1927) *''En terre celtique''. Contains: 1. ''Chanson galloise'', 2. ''Cortège de noce en Trégor'', 3. ''Dans les brumes de la mer des Hébrides'', 4. ''Cornemuse des Highlands'', 5. ''Soir de mai dans l'Argoad'', 6. ''Danse des Epées'' (1928) *''Sous un balcon de Murcie'' (1929) *''Habanera'' (1929) *''Deux Marches celtiques'' (1930) ;Chamber music *''Soniou an Dous, Canevon y briodferch'' for cello or viola and piano (1911) ;Piano *''Le Chevalier du guet'' (1905) *''Valse'' (1906) *''Impressions de Bretagne'' (1907) *''Esquisses bretonnes'' (1915) *''En terre celtique''. Contains: 1. ''Chanson galloise'', 2. ''Cortège de noce en Trégor'', 3. ''Dans les brumes de la mer des Hébrides'', 4. ''Cornemuse des Highlands'', 5. ''Soir de mai dans l'Argoad'', 6. ''Danse des Epées'' (1925) ;Vocal and sacred *''Viviane''. Drame lyrique *''Le Cœur peut changer''. Comic opera (1908) *''Gwerziou ha Soniou Breiz Izel'' (1913) *''Chansons populaires du Pays de Vannes'' (1930) *arrangements of works by romantic composers *arrangements of folk songs

Publications

*''Musiques bretonnes'', "Gwerziou ha soniou Breiz-Izel", preface by

(Paris: Rouart, Lerolle et Cie., Éditeurs, 1913; reprint: Paris: Dastum, 1997) *''La Question bretonne dans son cadre Européen'' (Paris: Delpeuch, 1929) *''Chansons populaires du pays de Vannes'', by

Loeiz Herrieu Loeiz Herrieu or Louis Henrio (27 January 1879 in Lanester, then in Caudan – 22 May 1953 in Auray) was a Breton historian who wrote in his native language of Breton vannetais. The son of a farmer, he was nicknamed Er Barh Labourér ("the pea ...

, tunes transcribed by Maurice Duhamel, 1930, republished by EROMI, Lorient (1997) *''Histoire du peuple breton''. Original edition seized in 1939; reprinted 2000.

References

External links

Maurice Duhamel: Breton musician (in French)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duhamel, Maurice 1884 births 1940 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians Breton Autonomist Party politicians Breton Federalist League politicians Musicians from Rennes French classical composers French male classical composers Politicians from Rennes