''Pastorale d’été'', H. 31 (''Summer Pastoral''), is a short

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ( ...

for chamber

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...

. It was inspired by Honegger's vacation in the Swiss alps above

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

in 1920 and lasts seven or eight minutes. ''Pastorale d'été'' was written in August 1920 at Wengen in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It was Honegger's first orchestral work of any real consequence before he wrote his massive ''Horace victorieux'', which he wrote in the winter of 1920-21. The score of ''Pastorale d'été'' was inscribed with an epigraph by

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he s ...

: ''J'ai embrassé l'aube d'été'' (I have embraced the summer dawn). The scoring is for strings, single woodwinds, and horn. The work is atmospheric, placid and restrained, and has been described as "a latter-day ''

Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune ''Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un faune'' ( L. 86), known in English as ''Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun'', is a symphonic poem for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration. It was composed in 1894 and first performed ...

'' (''Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun'' by

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

). It seems to be a musical impression of a peaceful early morning in the Swiss alps. It opens with a languorous soaring theme on the horn, which is then taken up by the strings. The instrumentation matches the pastoral nature of the theme and the mood in the outer sections. The middle section is more lively and is colourfully orchestrated. The main theme returns to close the piece in the same peaceful, manner of the opening. The work was dedicated to Alexis Roland-Manuel. It was first performed on 17 February 1921 at the Salle Gaveau in Paris, conducted by Vladimir Golschmann.Topeka Symphony
The work won a Prix Verley, a prize decided by the audience members. The first British concert performance was on 27 October 1921 conducted by Eugene Goossens in the

Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. Fro ...

, London. The work has entered the general orchestral repertoire, and has often been played in concert. Honegger conducted a recording of the work himself, as have Hermann Scherchen,

Jean Martinon Jean Francisque-Étienne Martinon (also known as Jean Martinon (); 10 January 19101 March 1976) was a French conductor and composer. Biography Martinon was born in Lyon, where he began his education, going on to the Conservatoire de Paris to ...

(1971), Michel Plasson (1991),

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

, David Zinman,

Thierry Fischer Thierry Fischer (born 28 September 1957) is a Swiss orchestra conductor and flutist. Early life and education Fischer was born in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (Zambia) to Swiss parents. He studied flute with Aurèle Nicolet and bega ...

Charles Dutoit Charles Édouard Dutoit is a Swiss conductor. He is the principal guest conductor for the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. In 2017, he became the 103rd recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal Award. Dutoit held previous positions ...

and many others. As part of the narrative of the novel ''Expo 58'' by Jonathan Coe (published 2013) there is an imaginative and detailed description of the ''Pastorale'' in the chapter entitled 'The trouble with happiness'. It pays particular attention to the orchestration and to the overall shape of the piece, e.g. "...the main theme was by now beginning to take on the character of an old friend: once again, it rose and fell, rose and fell, a soft, endlessly renewable conversation between the different sections of the orchestra; until it too faded into nothingness, amid the dying flourishes of gossamer-bowed violins, the last twilit birdcalls of flute and clarinet."Coe, p. 163

References

Source

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pastorale D Ete, Honegger Compositions by Arthur Honegger Compositions for symphony orchestra Symphonic poems 1920 compositions