Milhaud, Darius

Darius Milhaud – L’homme et son désir op. 48
(comp. 1918 / rev. 1966) Poème plastique de Paul Claudel

(b. Marseille, 4 September 1892 – d. Geneva, 22 June 1974)

I Modéré (p. 1) – II Apparition de la Lune. Plus vif (p. 8) – Plus modéré (p. 10) – III L’Homme endormi et le fantôme de la Femme morte (p. 13) – Très modéré (p. 22) – IV L’Homme qui dort debout. Plus vif (p. 28) – V Tout les choses de la forêt
vienne voire l’Homme endormi. Un peu moins vif (p. 35) – Animez (p. 39) – Vif (p. 43 – Modéré (p. 44) – Vif (p. 48) –
Modéré (p. 49) – Vif – Modéré (p. 51) – Animez (p. 55) – Vif (p. 56) – Modéré (p. 62) – VI Danse de la passion. (Vif, p. 65) – Animez un peu (p. 69) – Animez (p. 71) – Vif (p. 77) – Modéré (p. 78) – Assez vif (p. 80) – Le double moins vif (p. 85) –
VII Réapparition de la Femme qui entraîne l’Homme. Très lent (p. 86) – VIII La Lune a disparu. Moins lent (modéré) mais puls lent que le début (p. 98) – Mouvement du début (p. 102)

Preface
Darius Milhaud enrolled at the Paris Conservatoire in 1910 where he studied composition and counterpoint by André Gedalge, composition by Charles-Marie Widor, and conducting by Vincent d’Indy. In Gedalge’s class he made friends with Arthur Honegger and Jacques Ibert. In the beginning he mainly wrote songs and soon finished his first opera «La brebis égarée». In 1912 he became familiar with Paul Claudel (1868-1955) and they became friends for a lifetime and developed a lively artistic collaboration that bore first fruits in Milhaud’s stage music compositions to Claudel’s Aeschylus adaptation «Agamemnon» Op. 14 and Claudel’s original play «Protée» Op. 17 (from the latter Milhaud later formed his «Deuxième Suite symphonique» Op. 57 in 1919, one of his more popular orchestral works). In 1915 this collaboration proved to be a lucky strike with the music to Claudel’s Aeschylos adaptation «Les Choéphores» Op. 24, and they went on with the «Quatre Poèmes pour baryton» Op. 26 (1915-17), a setting of Claudel poems with piano accompaniment, and the three-act Aeschylos opera «Les Euménides» Op. 41 (1917-22). During World War I Claudel was sent to Rio de Janeiro as French ambassador in Brazil, and Milhaud who was exempt from military service on health grounds went with him as his attaché. In Rio de Janeiro they created the ballet «L’Homme et son désir» based on a ’poème plastique’ by Claudel in 1918. In 1918-19 Milhaud returned via New York to Paris where he composed «Le Bœuf sur le toit» Op. 58 (1919), the three-movement «Sérénade pour orchestre» Op. 62 (1920-21), the «Cinq Études pour piano et orchestre» Op. 63 (1920), the «Saudades do Brazil» Op. 67 (1920-21), «La Création du monde» Op. 81 (1923, followed by the famous concert suite Op. 81b after the ballet in 1926) and «Le Carnaval d’Aix» Op. 83b for piano and orchestra (created in 1926 as a fantasy from the ballet «Salade» from 1924). In these years he wrote some of his most successful works, among them his most popular compositions in Brazilian style, and was hailed as the pioneer of French clarté that abandoned tradition and played the bitonal game with breathtaking virtuosity….

by Christoph Schlüren

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