Product Description
Composed in February 2020, Rouget
is a set of 12 variations (or explorations) on the French national anthem, « La
Marseillaise ». The title is a reference to the composer of the hymn,
Rouget de Lisle (1760-1836). Since rouget also happens to be the name of
a fish (the red mullet), the title also works as a jesting reference to
Schubert, who, with his "Trout" quintet, composed a set of variations on a
fish-related theme of his own. Textures characteristic of Schuberts music
(e.g., the Impromptu in B flat major Op. 142 No. 3) surface at various times
throughout this set.
1. Anticipating that listeners would
be quite familiar with it, I chose not to begin with the traditional, unadorned
statement of the theme. Instead, it is introduced in the left hand, but a trill
that increases in intensity soon covers it up, only fading out when there is a
break in the music. Then, the first of many quotations appears, when the
Marseillaises « entendez-vous dans nos campagnes » is commented on (or perhaps even put
in doubt) by a quote from Queens "Bohemian Rhapsody": "is this just fantasy?"
The narrative returns to "La Marseillaise," but skips directly to the chorus («
aux armes,
citoyens »). The choruss call to arms gives
the first movements title, "allarme," "to arms!" in Italian, which is the
origin of the word "alarm" in both French and English. The movement is supposed
to evoke the image of people being roused as well as a feeling of anxiety.
2. « Dans une
tapisserie fanée » ("in
a faded tapestry") evokes a neo-medieval mood, with a quotation of the pavane «
Belle qui tiens ma vie » by Thoineau Arbeau (1520-1595) and the first of
several allusions in this set to the music of Debussy (in this case, « La
cathédrale engloutie »).
3. « Cris du cœur et cris dorfraie »
("heartfelt cries and outraged cries") presents warbles that go from being
graceful to being more coarse. The movement also briefly quotes from the love
song "Bésame mucho."
4. « Étincelant » ("sparkly") is the
first virtuosic treatment of the theme, with angular runs marked by syncopated
accents, and tremolos textures. At times, the music echoes that of Debussy or
Ravel.
5. « Flânerie » ("stroll") evokes the
somewhat bobbing gate of a person out on a walk. Theres a kind of simplicity
and a mix between something elegant and the mildly popular and sentimental vein
of novelty salon pieces from the early 1900s.
6. « Ping-pong » accentuates
bounciness of the themes march rhythm. Its descending melodic direction
presages the mirror inversion in the upcoming eighth variation. The sound suggests
two balls bouncing slightly out of synch. The short movements relation to the
theme remains very abstract until the last few measures reestablish the
connection clearly.
7. "Zum roten Igel" ("at the red
hedgehog" or « Au hérisson rouge » in French) is the name of a restaurant
Brahms visited daily. This movement stitches together several characteristic
Brahmsian gestures, ending with the quotation of an infamously technical
passage from Brahmss "Variations on a theme by Paganini," which involves a
series of octave glissandos.
8. « Miroir » ("mirror") is a setting
of the chromatic mirror inversion of the theme: when the original melody goes
up by a half step, the mirrored melody goes down by half step instead, and so
forth. The rhythm is generally kept, although it is given a gentler and more
relaxed lilt than in the original march.
9. In « Monochromie » the theme is
stated using just one note (much as in Jobims one-note samba). Since the
rhythm is preserved, listeners familiar with the song can still follow without
too much difficulty.
10. « Chants » superimposes « La
Marseillaise » above the emblemati
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