Derek Solomons/Haydn

[Roger Webb]

Roger, that sounds absolutely delightful, I hope you have a great time. I'd love to do some of those pilgrimages, especially the Haydn one. I remember the South Bank Show when Chris Hogwood and H C Robbins Landon went to the palace with the AAM and gave performances of some early Haydn symphonies in the music room. I think it's on YouTube somewhere, or at least the symphonies are, maybe not the documentary part.

Very much looking forward to the Tribune on the Enigma, fascinating to hear what the French make of the recordings chosen. Out of interest, who is your favourite? I only have the Barbirolli which I chose as it is considered such a classic, but I certainly have room for one more!

Visiting composers' houses (and graves!) has been an obsession for many years.... especially in France....but not down your way, mainly Normandy, Brittany and of course Paris

I'll post my thoughts on the Enigma on the La Tribune thread (I've just put the post from France Musique up there).

[MickyD]

I wonder if there are any composers homes to visit here in the South of France? That'd be a good bit of research to do. I know that André Campra was maître de musique for a few years at the cathedral of St Trophime here in Arles, but that's about the limit of my knowledge.

[vinteuil]

... the lovely little township of Saint-Félix-Lauragais was the birthplace of Déodat de Séverac. There is a plaque, but I'm not sure the house is visitable. But the place is well worth a visit in its own right (excellent restaurant avec chambres too... )

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-F%C3%A9lix-Lauragais

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9odat_de_S%C3%A9verac

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(Aldo Ciccolini is buried in Saint-Félix-Lauragais , near to the tomb of Déodat de Séverac... )

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[Roger Webb]

I wonder if there are any composers homes to visit here in the South of France? That'd be a good bit of research to do. I know that André Campra was maître de musique for a few years at the cathedral of St Trophime here in Arles, but that's about the limit of my knowledge.

Do you know, I don't think many/any composers came from that area, well Milhaud, Marseilles. No, Micky, the great glory of your area is it's attraction for artists...especially Post Impressionists. Obviously Van Gogh, and I've visited Arles for that reason - shame they knocked down The Yellow House where that roundabout is down by the station! And St Rémy of course. I enjoyed Collioure too where Matisse and the other Fauves lived, and we stayed in the hotel where they had....there's a painting in every room, one of those left behind in lieu of board. We've enjoyed the Côte all the way over to Menton in search of painters, but little or no musicians! Oh, d'Indy retired to Agay, and his villa is still there overlooking the coast road.

[MickyD]

I thought as much, not very rich pickings! Cézanne is another favourite of mine, he depicted this area beautifully.

Sadly the loss of the Yellow House was caused by American bombers destroying the bridge across the Rhône nearby - necessary to stop the Nazis from using it. Unfortunately that whole district was destroyed - bombs were not so accurate in those days. But happily in the gallery where I work, we were loaned the original Yellow House painting in 2014 for the summer, so it got back to where it was created for a brief while. Similarly this year, "Starry Night on the Rhône" (not far from the Yellow House) is on loan from the Musée d'Orsay for a few months - first time it has ever been back to Arles since it's creation.


I have heard a lot about Collioure, really must drive down there before long.

[vinteuil]

... the lovely little township of Saint-Félix-Lauragais was the birthplace of Déodat de Séverac.

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... and here's a nice little video -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&feature=youtu.be&v=TUCGN-KtFsA

(my thanks to gurnemanz who found it.)

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[Roger Webb]

... the lovely little township of Saint-Félix-Lauragais was the birthplace of Déodat de Séverac. There is a plaque, but I'm not sure the house is visitable. But the place is well worth a visit in its own right (excellent restaurant avec chambres too... )

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-F%C3%A9lix-Lauragais

.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9odat_de_S%C3%A9verac

.

(Aldo Ciccolini is buried in Saint-Félix-Lauragais , near to the tomb of Déodat de Séverac... )

.

Yes, I've been there!....and have the Ciccolini set of piano pieces, and there's an album of songs, part of the Hyperion French Song series. We didn't stay overnight, but had a drink in the little bar nearby run by a double bass player who was interested as to why we'd come.

We were lucky that day as visiting a village a few miles away (can't remember the name) it was the one day in the year when they dance the Cerdaña, immortalised by de Séverac in his works.

Edit. My wife tells me it was a different holiday from the St Félix visit, where we saw the Cerdaña. It was inland from Collioure, near Prades, possibly Villefranche de-Conflent.

[Roger Webb]

Back to Haydn Micky, have you heard this new recording of Haydn flute trios? It's lovely playing - just your thing I would have thought!

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9621848--haydn-complete-flute-trios

Wonderful relaxed domestic music making, and beautifully caught by the engineer.

[MickyD]

Yes, I've been there!....and have the Ciccolini set of piano pieces, and there's an album of songs, part of the Hyperion French Song series. We didn't stay overnight, but had a drink in the little bar nearby run by a double bass player who was interested as to why we'd come.

We were lucky that day as visiting a village a few miles away (can't remember the name) it was the one day in the year when they dance the Cerdaña, immortalised by de Séverac in his works.

Edit. My wife tells me it was a different holiday from the St Félix visit, where we saw the Cerdaña. It was inland from Collioure, near Prades, possibly Villefranche de-Conflent.

Thanks to Vints, Gurnemanz and Roger for all this - ashamed to say I didn't know about Séverac at all and it was lovely to hear his music for the first time - any CD recommendations for me as to where to start?

[MickyD]

Back to Haydn Micky, have you heard this new recording of Haydn flute trios? It's lovely playing - just your thing I would have thought!

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9621848--haydn-complete-flute-trios

Wonderful relaxed domestic music making, and beautifully caught by the engineer.

I have known and loved these little pieces for years, thanks to the recordings made way back in the late 70s and 80s by the Kuijken brothers for Accent. They are very much my thing as you so rightly surmise! I'm sure the new recording is well worth acquiring, but for me it would take a lot for them to overtake the Kuijkens, who also enjoy a lovely spacious acoustic.

[Roger Webb]

I have known and loved these little pieces for years, thanks to the recordings made way back in the late 70s and 80s by the Kuijken brothers for Accent. They are very much my thing as you so rightly surmise! I'm sure the new recording is well worth acquiring, but for me it would take a lot for them to overtake the Kuijkens, who also enjoy a lovely spacious acoustic.

Yes Micky, if you've the Kuijkens you'll probably have the best version, period perf. wise. This one has a few of the arr. of the baryton trios for flute as well which I've been enjoying - by the way at Eisenstadt they have on display the baryton owned by Prince Esterházy.

De Séverac is particularly badly served by recordings of works other than the piano ones. The best thing is to look for the three CD set with Aldo Ciccolini on EMI. I have the issue numbered CES 572 372 2, but it's not easy to find...I've had a look on the usual sites, you may have more luck in France! There are other perfs ie three single discs on Naxos, but I haven't heard them or seen them at a decent price. The songs usually come as two or three on recital CDs so probably not feasible, unless you want the other stuff. Sorry not to be much help!

[HighlandDougie]

Yes Micky, if you've the Kuijkens you'll probably have the best version, period perf. wise. This one has a few of the arr. of the baryton trios for flute as well which I've been enjoying - by the way at Eisenstadt they have on display the baryton owned by Prince Esterházy.

De Séverac is particularly badly served by recordings of works other than the piano ones. The best thing is to look for the three CD set with Aldo Ciccolini on EMI. I have the issue numbered CES 572 372 2, but it's not easy to find...I've had a look on the usual sites, you may have more luck in France! There are other perfs ie three single discs on Naxos, but I haven't heard them or seen them at a decent price. The songs usually come as two or three on recital CDs so probably not feasible, unless you want the other stuff. Sorry not to be much help!

Bingo on the 3 CD Aldo Ciccolini set as in World of Books.fr - for 16 euros including postage.

[vinteuil]

I wonder if there are any composers homes to visit here in the South of France? That'd be a good bit of research to do...

Do you know, I don't think many/any composers came from that area, well Milhaud, Marseilles. .

I thought as much, not very rich pickings!

well, there is Ravel

[Roger Webb]

well, there is Ravel

Yes, I'm sure if we spread the net wide we could find a few more, but I was thinking initially of the area around the Med, but it is a bit strange that so few French composers came from the South isn't it. Stanley Sadie in his excellent 'Calling on the Composer' which is my bible for planning visits mentions not one museum or birthplace on the whole of the south coast from the Italian border to the Spanish one, or on the west coast from the Spanish border to Honfleur, where Satie was born, and is a really bizarre experience as birthplaces go. Plenty of composers were born in Brittany and Normandy, but the houses are not open to the public. Mentioning Ravel, Montfort-l'Amaury is well worth a visit west of Paris, as is Debussy's birthplace at St-Germain-en-Laye.

The French simply don't do this as well as the Germans and Austrians.

[oliver sudden]

Seconding the recommendation of the Ravel house in Montfort-l’Amaury. Especially if like me you’re a fan of L’Enfant et les sortilèges. All those trinkets on the shelf in the piano room as though they’re waiting to sing their solos, and that big garden stretching away out the back.

My Solomons Haydn box arrived today but that almost feels off-topic