''Chant après chant'' (Song after Song) is a composition for

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

singer,

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, and six

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

s, by the French composer

Jean Barraqué Jean-Henri-Alphonse Barraqué (17 January 1928 – 17 August 1973) was a French composer and music writer. His relatively small is known for its serialism. Life Barraqué was born in Puteaux, Hauts-de-Seine. In 1931, he moved with his family to P ...

, written in 1966. It is the third part of a projected but unfinished cycle of works based on

Hermann Broch Hermann Broch (; 1 November 1886 – 30 May 1951) was an Austrian writer, best known for two major works of modernist fiction: '' The Sleepwalkers'' (''Die Schlafwandler,'' 1930–32) and '' The Death of Virgil'' (''Der Tod des Vergil,'' 1945). ...

's novel '' The Death of Virgil'', and uses texts written by the composer as well as extracts from the second book of Broch's novel, in the French translation by Albert Kohn. A performance lasts about twenty-five minutes.

History

''Chant après chant'' was composed rapidly, in just a few weeks, on a commission from

Les Percussions de Strasbourg Les Percussions de Strasbourg is a contemporary classical music percussion ensemble made up of six percussionists. Founded in 1962, the ensemble is still performing and commissioning music. The current lineup has played together for 15 years. Their ...

. It was premiered in the Palais des Fêtes at the Strasbourg Festival on 23 June 1966. The performers were Berthe Kal (soprano), André Krust (piano), and Les Percussions de Strasbourg, conducted by

Charles Bruck Charles Bruck (2 May 1911 – 16 July 1995) was a French- American conductor and teacher. Bruck was born in a Jewish family in Temesvár, Banat, then in the Kingdom of Hungary, part of Austro-Hungarian Empire, since 1920 Timișoara in Roma ...

. The manuscript score is not dated, but was finished late in April 1966. When the score was published in 1968, it bore a dedication to Madame Edouard Blivet, the daughter of Francine Le Faucheur. However, on 20 August 1970, Barraqué added to the manuscript score a dedication to Maria and

Michel Bernstein Michel Bernstein (Paris, 1931 – Paris, October 31, 2006) was a French musical producer and founder of several record labels. Bernstein's first contact with classical music was hearing the school music teacher play Beethoven on an out-of-tune pian ...

. The first commercial recording was made in Copenhagen for Valois Records, from 20 to 23 December 1969, in the presence of the composer.

Analysis

The programme note written by Barraqué for the premiere begins: Acoustical resonance and visual images of light, sparks, and flashing glimpses are Barraqué's focus here; so are Broch's characteristic paradoxes (e.g., "noch nicht und doch schon"—not yet, and yet already) play a central role here. As in the

Concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

, the composer builds ''Chant après chant'' in seventeen phases but, in this case, after having completed the main structure, Barraqué added an additional opening section, ending with a

cadenza In music, a cadenza, (from , meaning cadence; plural, ''cadenze'' ) is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist(s), usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing virtuosic display ...

for the piano and a first vocal line. The first phase occupies nearly a quarter of the total duration, and half of the work has elapsed by the time the fifth phase has finished. The second half of the work, therefore, hurries through the remaining twelve phases, sometimes presenting two simultaneously. Barraqué uses a rhythmic series of seventeen

cells Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life * Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network * Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization * Electrochemical cell, a d ...

, and for the pitched structure applies his technique of "proliferating series" to two source rows: the basic row for the ''Mort de Virgile'' cycle, and the row from his

Piano Sonata A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement (Liszt, Scriabin, Medtner, Berg), others with two movemen ...

Discography

* ''Jean Barraqué: Séquence; Chant après chant''. Josephine Nendick (soprano), Noël Lee (piano), and the Copenhagen Percussion Group, conducted by Tamás Vető. Recorded in the presence of the composer in Copenhagen, 20–23 December 1969. LP recording, 1 disc: 12 in., 33⅓ rpm, stereo. Valois MB 951.

rance Rance may refer to: Places * Rance (river), northwestern France * Rancé, a commune in eastern France, near Lyon * Ranče, a small settlement in Slovenia * Rance, Wallonia, part of the municipality of Sivry-Rance ** Rouge de Rance, a Devonian ...

Valois, 1970. Reissued, Musical Heritage Society MHS 1282. SA Musical Heritage Society, 1979. Reissued, Astrée AS 75,

Astrée, 1983. * ''Jean Barraqué: Œuvres complètes''.

Claudia Barainsky Claudia Barainsky (born 30 September 1965) is a German operatic soprano. She has performed internationally, and won awards for her roles in contemporary operas such as Bernd Alois Zimmermann's ''Die Soldaten'' and Aribert Reimann's ''Medea''. Ca ...

(soprano) 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

Peter Rundel Peter Rundel (born 1958 in Friedrichshafen), is a German violinist and conductor. A recipient of the Grand Prix du Disque in 1998 for his recording of Jean Barraqué's complete works, he became conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Fla ...

. Recorded 16 January 1996, in the Casino Zögernitz, 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 romant ...

, 1998. * ''Soli for Soprano with Percussion Orchestra''. Jamie Jordan (soprano), Cory Holt Merenda (piano), McCormick Percussion Group, conducted by Robert McCormick. Recorded at Springs Theatre Recording Studio, Tampa, Florida. CD recording, 1 disc: 12 cm, stereo. Ravello 7884. North Hampton, New Hampshire: Ravello Records, 2014.

References

Sources * * *

History

Analysis

Discography

References

Further reading