Toward the end of World War I, when many French theaters and concert venues were shuttered due to the ongoing global conflict, visionaries of the modern art movement began to put on small concerts in spaces that were readily available to them - their own art studios. One such event that took place in 1917 featured a space with walls decorated by paintings of Picasso, Matisse, Léger, Modigliani and others; the music presented was by Erik Satie, George Auric, Louis Durey and Arthur Honegger. Over the next few years a number of these composers banded together (somewhat by chance) to form Les Six; six composers whose common purpose was to write music reacting against the musical styles of both the Germanic Richard Wagner and the Impressionist Claude Debussy.
Les Six (from oldest to youngest) consisted of Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, Germaine Tailleferre, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, and Georges Auric. All were French, except for Honegger, who was born in France to Swiss parents. From the moment their names were joined together, these disparate and unique composers forged paths all their own, some writing works that spoke not only to their own time, but that continue to speak to us over a century later.
One of Arthur Honegger's most famous works, Pacific 231, written in 1923, depicts, through sound, the impressive machinations of a steam locomotive. An avid train enthusiast himself, he once mused: "I have always loved locomotives passionately. For me they are living creatures and I love them as others love women or horses." But it is not the machine age that we visit today, but a beautiful depiction of Honegger's beloved Swiss alps. Inspired by a vacation to Bern in 1920 he composed Pastorale d'été (Summer Pastorale). On the score itself is inscribed an epigraph by Arthur Rimbaud: J'ai embrassé l'aube d'été - I have embraced the summer dawn. The music speaks for itself . . . Enjoy!
Honegger: Pastorale d'ete - Argovia Philharmonic, Rune Bergmann (conductor)
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