While doing some research on René Cloërec I've just recently became aware of a spectacular concert of classic French film music (mostly from the 1930s and 1950s). I don't think this was discussed here - and it should be because the concert programme is really stunning.
In the coming days I'll walk you through the programme.
This is from the website of France Musique:
Concert of film music, from Tati to Godard, by the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France
Bruno Fontaine – Concert of Film Music, from Tati to Godard, 11 January 2019
France Musique and Arte France present a Radio France production in association with Arte France Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra Mikko Franck, musical director Bruno Fontaine, conductor Produced by Anaïs Spiro
Under the direction of Bruno Fontaine, the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra plays music from the films American Night, Breathless, My Uncle, Don't Touch the Grisbi, La Grande Illusion, and French Cancan. Concert given live from the Auditorium of the Maison de la Radio.
Concert given as part of the France Musique – SACEM film music prize.
After the premiere of a new work by Anne Dudley, let us rediscover the great scores of French cinema by Maurice Jaubert, Joseph Kosma, Antoine Duhamel or Paul Misraki..., selected by the three voices of filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier, author (among others) of “Voyage à travers le cinéma français”, Bruno Fontaine, composer, pianist, conductor, and Stéphane Lerouge, a specialist in music for the image. On this occasion, two scores that had completely disappeared have been reconstituted by Bruno Fontaine: those of “La Grande Illusion” by Jean Renoir and “Mr. Arkadin” by Orson Welles. The music of “Rafles sur la ville”, as arranged for the concert by Michel Legrand, can also be found.
Concert programme
Anne Dudley Hail the Superheroes (commissioned by Radio France, world premiere)
Voyage à travers le cinéma français de Bertrand Tavernier (2016) Bruno Coulais Voyage à travers le cinéma français
French-Cancan de Jean Renoir (1955) George Van Parys Ouverture
Les Portes de la nuit de Marcel Carné (1946) Joseph Kosma Introduction - Valse
La Grande Illusion de Jean Renoir (1937) Joseph Kosma La Grande IIlusion, suite (arrangement by Bruno Fontaine)
Madame de… de Max Ophuls (1953) George Van Parys Cœur de diamant
Touchez pas au grisbi de Jacques Becker (1954) Jean Wiener Touchez pas au grisbi (arrangement Bruno Fontaine)*
14 Juillet de René Clair (1933) Maurice Jaubert, Jean Grémillon 14 Juillet (arrangement by Bruno Fontaine)
En cas de malheur de Claude Autant-Lara (1943) René Cloërec En cas de malheur, pour piano solo (arrangement by Bruno Fontaine)*
Films de Jacques Tati Jean Yatove, Franck Barcellini, Alain Romans Tati Fantaisie : Mon oncle, Les Vacances de M. Hulot, Jour de fête (arrangement by Bruno Fontaine)
Mr Arkadin de Orson Welles (1956) Paul Misraki Mr Arkadin (arrangement by Bruno Fontaine)
Suite Jean-Luc Godard Martial Solal, Antoine Duhamel, Georges Delerue À bout de souffle (1960), Pierrot le fou (1965), Le Mépris (1963) (arrangement by Bruno Fontaine)**
Rafles sur la ville de Pierre Chenal (1958) Michel Legrand Rafles sur la ville (symphonic arrangement by Michel Legrand, 2018)
Suite François de Roubaix Le Vieux Fusil de Robert Enrico (1975), Dernier Domicile connu de José Giovanni (1970) (arrangement by Bruno Fontaine)
La Nuit américaine de François Truffaut (1973) Georges Delerue La Nuit américaine (arrangement by Bruno Fontaine)
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Bruno Fontaine conductor
*This piece was either no performed during the concert or the recordings has not been made available.
**Only the segment of “Pierrot le fou” is available here. It’s not clear if the other segments from the supposed Godard suite has been performed as initially announced, i.e. Martial Solal’s “A bout de souffle” and George Delerue’s “Le mépris”.
Let's start with the Anne Dudley piece which was not written for a film but has been commissioned by Radio France. The piece is in three parts. The middle part is in my opinion really quite good but rest is not my cup of tea at all.
0:40 Part I 4:35 Part II 10:29 Part III
From the video description:
The Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France plays the suite "Hail the Superheroes", a work commissioned by Radio France from Anne Dudley, conducted by Bruno Fontaine. [...] With "Hail the Superheroes", Anne Dudley opened an exceptional evening devoted to film music by paying tribute to the figures of the superhero. She reminds us that these characters were born as myths in Greece and ancient civilisations, before exploring some of the archetypes of the golden age of American comics. The Defenders first of all, who appeared at Marvel in the early seventies, including Doctor Strange, the Hulk, Namor and the Silver Surfer; Zatanna Zatara, a magician with a top hat and sensual nylon stockings, who wields a magic wand like a lightning bolt or a spider's thread; and Quicksilver, a mutant imagined in the sixties by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for the famous Marvel publishing house. Superpowers, split personalities and self-sacrifice for humanity are the essential and timeless principles of these heroes, who still delight popular cinema today. This is an opportunity, for Anne Dudley, "to explore the colours of a rich orchestra, the powerful energy of the tutti and the great and broad themes".
Bruno Coulais – Voyage à travers le cinéma français Voyage à travers le cinéma français de Bertrand Tavernier, 2016 (International English title: My Journey Through French Cinema)
This piece was performed after the break
From the video description:
The Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra plays the music from the documentary film "Voyage à travers le cinéma français" composed by Bruno Coulais under the direction of Bruno Fontaine. [...] Bertrand Tavernier, director of the documentary film "Voyage à travers le cinéma français" and a great connoisseur of the seventh art, opens the doors of the most prestigious monuments to us without neglecting the more discreet edifices, the little-known but sometimes sublime details of the history of cinema. He places particular emphasis on music, even entrusting Bruno Coulais with the composition of a score that takes into account the tonalities and sounds of certain composers of the past, in contemporary arrangements and orchestrations. And, of course, a theme to begin and end the journey, with music as it should be.
Comment: For my taste, this Coulais composition is the least interesting one. It's ok, but nothing special.
I've tried to figure out in which order all the pieces were performed which was not easy. If anybody reading this thread knows it, feel free to post the info here.
1. Anne Dudley – Hail the Superheroes 2. Georges van Parys – French cancan 3. Joseph Kosma – Les portes de la nuit 4. Georges van Parys – Madame de… 5. Maurice Jaubert – 14 juillet 6. Joseph Kosma – La grande illusion
[Pause]
7. Bruno Coulais – Voyage à travers le cinéma français 8. Paul Misraki – Mr. Arkadin 9. Antoine Duhamel – Pierrot le fou 10. Franck Barcellini, Jean Yatove, Alain Romans – Tati fantaisie 11. Michel Legrand – Rafles sur la ville 12. François de Roubaix – Suite : Le vieux fusil – Dernier domicile connu 13. Georges Delerue – La nuit américaine
Duration about 80 minutes
After the Anne Dudley Suite, Bruno Fontaine conducted some gems from the French Golden Age of film music, beginning with the Overture from the French Cancan, composed by the - today - much underrated Georges van Parys, who at the height of his career was an ubiquitous figure in the French musical world of Opérette, Variété and film music.
Georges van Parys – Ouverture French Cancan, a film by Jean Renoir, 1955 (English title: French Cancan, aka Only The French Can)
From the video description:
Usually, everything in the cinema begins with music, and usually without images when the opening credits appear on the screen. The importance of the first piece of music is clear: it determines the way the viewer enters the film, his first impression and his expectations. The role of music is even greater when Renoir is interested in the soul of Parisian nights: nothing is more irresistible than French Cancan with its frenzied rhythms, colourful petticoats and leg lifts; no dancer more charming than his heroine, inspired by an emblematic figure of the genre, Nini Patte-en-l'air. There is of course the score by Georges van Parys: a regular in cabarets, from Chez Fischer to Pigalle, where he accompanied the most popular singers, the composer has a wide knowledge of classical music and of opera in particular, but he is more at home in light music, in film music as well as in operetta (with René Clair's Le Million, he wrote the first score for a French musical sound film, almost entirely sung). He carefully timed his numbers to meet the requirements of post-synchronisation, and Georges van Parys put an end to the use of "incidentals", and invited directors to stop picking and choosing from one catalogue or another. Sharing the limelight with Oscar Straus in Madame de..., he takes advantage of all the inventions of Max Ophuls, right up to the strange scene in which Madame, facing her mirror, thinks aloud, sings, and engages in a curious dialogue with the instrumental accompaniment. The main theme is like a potpourri, mixing passion and frivolity, tenderness and exuberance. It is like the woman who sells and resells her diamond hearts, but is capable of loving sincerely to the point of leading a baron to the grave.
Joseph Kosma's lovely theme from "Gates of the night" (1946) later turned into the timeless song "Les feuilles mortes" with lyrics by Jacques Prévert.
Kosma was a native of Hungary who met Prévert in Paris. They wrote the song together. In the film, it was sung by Irène Joachim. The poem was published, after the death of Prévert (in the book "Soleil de Nuit", 1980). Kosma was influenced by a piece of ballet music, "Rendez-vous" written for Roland Petit, performed in Paris at the end of the Second World War, which was itself borrowed partially from "Poème d'octobre" by Jules Massenet.
The first commercial recordings of "Les Feuilles mortes" were released in 1950, by Cora Vaucaire and by Yves Montand. Johnny Mercer wrote the English lyric and gave it the title "Autumn Leaves". Mercer was a partner in Capitol Records at the time, and Capitol recording artist Jo Stafford made the first English-language recording in July, 1950.
Joseph Kosma – Introduction – Waltz Les Portes de la nuit, a film by Marcel Carné, 1946 (English title: Gates Of The Night)
From the video description: From the soundtrack of Les Portes de la nuit, a legendary film of the poetic realism movement directed by Marcel Carné, one thinks first of Les Feuilles mortes, a song written by Jacques Prévert and set to music by Joseph Kosma, which would later enjoy international success. But one could just as easily recall the opening credits, set against a background of graffiti, as a medley of the joys of the war's end and the looming human catastrophe, along with the choir, as misty as the fog over the capital, followed by a lively dance to keep up with the moving tramway, and the old barrel organ.
The concert continues with an absolutely delightful piece of music composed by Georges van Parys (1902-1971), “Cœur de diamant”. Bruno Fontaine arranged it splendidly. – For me, it’s one of the top favourite pieces of the whole concert programme. I never tire of this beautiful music, so delicately well performed by Fontaine and his orchestra. – The film it was created for is the French classic “Madame de…” directed by Max Ophüls (1902-1957), released in 1953. By the way, Oscar Straus (1870-1954) is the credited co-composer – it would be his last film score.
Georges van Pary – Cœur de diamant Madame de…, a film by Max Ophüls, 1953 (English title: Madame de…, aka The Earrings Of Madame De...)
Louise de Vilmorin (1902-1969) wrote the novella of the same name which served as the basis for the screenplay adaptation accomplished by Marcel Achard, Max Ophüls, and Annette Wademant. The novella was published in 1951.
The cast: Danielle Darrieux as Comtesse Louise de… Charles Boyer as Général André de… Vittorio De Sica as Baron Fabrizio Donati Jean Debucourt as Monsieur Rémy Jean Galland as Monsieur de Bernac Mireille Perrey as La Nourrice Paul Azaïs as First coachman Josselin Hubert Noël as Henri de Maleville Lia Di Leo as Lola
About the plot: To pay off her debts, Comtesse Louise sells a pair of earrings, a wedding gift from her husband, Général André. To her husband, she claims to have lost the earrings. After her husband learns the truth through the jeweller Rémy, he buys them back and gives them to his lover Lola, who leaves for Constantinople. There, after a run of bad luck at gambling, Lola sells the earrings to continue gambling. The Italian diplomat Baron Fabrizio Donati buys the earrings and gives them to Louise, with whom he begins an affair. When her husband finds out, he reimburses the baron for the earrings, stops the relationship and forces his wife to give the jewellery away. When they are offered for sale again, Louise buys them back and hides them from her husband. As André notices that Louise is still in love with Fabrizio, he challenges him to a duel under a pretext. Louise, visibly upset by the course of events, knows that her husband is the better shot, donates the earrings to the church and prays there for a good outcome of the duel. On the way to the duel, Louise collapses after hearing a shot and no second follows.
Cœur de diamant
From the video description: Sharing with Oscar Straus the composition of the soundtrack of Max Ophuls' film Madame de..., it is to Georges van Parys that we owe the title "Cœur de diamant". The music can be heard in the strange scene where Madame, facing her mirror, thinks out loud, sings, and engages in a curious dialogue with the instrumental accompaniment. The main theme resembles a potpourri, mixing passion and frivolity, tenderness and exuberance. It is the reflection of the woman who sells and resells her hearts of diamonds, whilst being able to love sincerely to the point of leading a baron to his grave.
Clip from the 1953 film:
Here is a rare video document of a TV appearance by Georges van Parys together with actress and singer Arletty (1898-1992) and opera singer Michel Caron (1929-2001):
I don’t know when this aired on French TV. It might have been in the mid 1960s. It seems that van Parys appeared from time to time on television in those years. – At 5:55 into that clip, van Parys starts playing the piano to accompany Caron’s singing. Enjoy.
The concert continues with an absolutely delightful piece of music composed by Georges van Parys (1902-1971), “Cœur de diamant”. Bruno Fontaine arranged it splendidly. – For me, it’s one of the top favourite pieces of the whole concert programme. I never tire of this beautiful music, so delicately well performed by Fontaine and his orchestra. – The film it was created for is the French classic “Madame de…” directed by Max Ophüls (1902-1957), released in 1953. By the way, Oscar Straus (1870-1954) is the credited co-composer – it would be his last film score.
Luckily, this wonderful "Coeur de diamant" piece is also available on CD. On Universal France´s Van Parys compilation CD from 2006 it is also quite nicely played in a new recording by the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Laurent Petitgirard who had the original conductor scores at his disposal. For about the first three minutes the arrangement is almost the same as the one for the Bruno Fontaine concert and comes very close to the original recording of the film itself. For his recording Fontaine then mainly added the long piano solo at the end of the piece with some ideas of his own which do not appear in the original version and also not in the one by Petitgirard.
Here is a rare video document of a TV appearance by Georges van Parys together with actress and singer Arletty (1898-1992) and opera singer Michel Caron (1929-2001): I don’t know when this aired on French TV. It might have been in the mid 1960s. It seems that van Parys appeared from time to time on television in those years.
It must be from 1969 as it is mentioned in the interview that Van Parys had just written stage music for "Les Italiens à Paris" which premiered during the previous month in Paris. And "Les Italiens à Paris" premiered at the Comédie-Francaise in 1969: https://www.lesarchivesduspectacle.net/?IDX_Spectacle=28161
Arletty had already lost her eyesight at that time in 1969. Therefore she is probably wearing those glasses.
It's in a way somewhat funny to have two German members of this board discussing French film music with such expertise, isn't it ? I'm afraid I can't take part in your chat but I just found some more videos featuring Georges van Parys at home :
Thank you, Stefan, for reminding us that "Cœur du diamant" is also on the van Parys CD, which I own and should revisit as soon as possible - I haven't done that for years. But yesterday I did listen to this piece again. It's like night and day between the Fontaine version and the old recording. Not because either is bad, of course. But this piece makes it obvious how important it is that music from that period, recorded in those years - or even earlier - should be performed today and re-recorded with modern technology. It's like cleaning a precious jewel so that it can shine as brightly as possible.
I don't know the Petitgirard recording. I guess it's from "Voyage À Travers Le Cinéma Français", isn't it?
Thank you again for the reference to the TV programme: You're quite right in placing the clip with van Parys/Arletty/Caron as having been broadcast in 1969. -- And yes, Arletty's glasses are eye-catching in the extreme. I wasn't sure if she was already completely blind or still had some remaining ability to see, so I was hesitant to time the programme as late.
It's in a way somewhat funny to have two German members of this board discussing French film music with such expertise, isn't it ? I'm afraid I can't take part in your chat but I just found some more videos featuring Georges van Parys at home :
The next concert piece is an instrumental adaptation of a classic song (chanson) written in 1933 by Maurice Jaubert (1900-1940, killed as a soldier in the war), Jean Grémillon (1901-1959) and René Clair (1998-1981 for “14 juillet”. The quintet arrangement for piano, clarinet, violin, cello and bass is by Bruno Fontaine. The title of “À Paris dans chaque faubourg” means in English: In Paris, in every quarter of the city.
Maurice Jaubert, Jean Grémillon – Valse: À Paris dans chaque faubourg 14 juillet (aka Quatorze juillet), a film by René Clair, 1933 (English title: Bastille Day)
I recommend that you first just listen to the piece without watching the video recording - unless you have already seen it. After that, continue reading here.
From the video description: Music has an invaluable place in the work of director René Clair, making his cinematography a great ball populated with unforgettable ritornellos and refrains... To be convinced of this, one only has to go back to the thirties and listen again to "À Paris, dans chaque faubourg", the famous song from the film 14 juillet co-written by Maurice Jaubert and Jean Grémillon, the latter, a director himself, having only composed the scores for a few of his documentary films. But is it worth reviving these songs, even if it means detaching them from the image that gave birth to them?
Comment: Watching the recording and listening to the music creates a very strange mood of suspense. At least that's how I felt. Look at the faces of the musicians, those who play and those who just listen and sit waiting in the orchestra. The worried expressions, the effort, the sweat, the sometimes tense faces. Perhaps the cellist and bassist are at their most at ease. - If you think away the visuals, the music recording seems much more balanced than with the video images.
Note: After this performance, you see and hear Fontaine announce the next piece, a suite from "La grande illusion" by Joseph Kosma.
About the film “14 juillet”
"14 juillet" was produced in 1932 by the Paris-based Films Sonores Tobis, a subsidiary of the German Tobis. René Clair wrote the screenplay and directed the film.
The cast includes: Annabella as Anna George Rigaud as Jean Raymond Cordy as Jean's fellow cabbie Paul Ollivier as the tuxedoed drunk Raymond Aimos as Charles Thomy Bourdelle Michel André Pola Illéry as Pola Maximilienne as the tenant Gaston Modot Gabrielle Rosny
The world premiere was in Paris on 13 January 1933. The German premiere took place only a few days later, on 22 January 1933. In Austria, the film opened in April 1933 under the title "Paris tanzt". In the same year, the film could also be seen in Denmark, Portugal, the USA and Finland.
The film buildings were designed by Lazare Meerson, assisted by Alexandre Trauner. The costumes were designed by René Hubert. Louis Page worked as a simple cameraman for Georges Périnal.
The film, which is a close companion to René Clair's masterpiece "Sous les toits de Paris", is, like its predecessor, classified as a work of poetic realism.
About the film's plot:
The film tells an everyday story from the lives of two Parisian petit bourgeois, which takes its starting point on the French National Holiday, 14 July.
Anna, a flower seller, and Jean, a taxi driver, are at the centre of the action. Both go to a street party on the eve of 14 July to dance in celebration of the holiday. After a small argument and the onset of a downpour, the two young people fall in love. But Jean has not forgotten the young Pola who has just left him. Pola maintains close contacts with the Parisian gangster scene and underworld and is a bad influence on her ex. Since Jean can't let go of Pola, one day he falls into the clutches of these evil circles. When Anna sees the two of them together, she believes Jean is cheating on her with her; she splits up with him.
From then on, Jean and Anna's lives follow different paths. When Anna's mother suddenly dies, the flower girl decides to give up her job. She takes a job as a waitress in a small café. Her reunion with Jean is dramatic. In the meantime, he is the lookout for two crooks who commit robberies. One day Anna also becomes their victim. But she has not forgotten Jean, her great love, and helps him escape from the police. As a result, she also loses her new job. But then happiness returns to her. From a gift of money from a billionaire, Anna is able to buy a flower cart with which she roams the streets of Paris. One day a taxi pulls up close to her. In it sits Jean, who has finally said goodbye to his criminal past. Amidst crowds of people, the two lovers realise that they belong together and that they are not going to be separated now.
The song “À Paris dans chaque faubourg” war recorded by many singers during the following decades.
Here is the historic recording of this song as performed by Lys Gauty (1900-1994):
Gauty’s song was released on shellac in 1936 (Columbia – J 2284). On the B side is a song co-written by a certain “Waxman” who is no other man than Franz Waxman. The song’s title is “On ne voit ça qu'à Paris” (You only see this in Paris).
A nice cover version was recorded and released in 2002 by Patrick Bruel in duet with Danielle Darrieux:
Thank you, Stefan, for reminding us that "Cœur du diamant" is also on the van Parys CD, which I own and should revisit as soon as possible - I haven't done that for years. But yesterday I did listen to this piece again. It's like night and day between the Fontaine version and the old recording. I don't know the Petitgirard recording. I guess it's from "Voyage À Travers Le Cinéma Français", isn't it?
I don´t really understand your question. Or are you mixing things up here? The Petitgirard recording of "Coeur de diamant" comes of course from the Van Parys Universal CD which you have yourself. Didn´t you notice it that this piece as well as the two other tracks from MADAME DE.. on that CD had been newly recorded by Petitgirard with the Hungarian orchestra and were not the original recordings? Only some tracks - mainly those which had formerly been available on French Singles or EPs during the 50s and have therefore been preserved - contain the original recordings, but many others do not. Everything you hear from MADAME DE..., CASQUE D´OR, LES BELLES DE LA NUIT or from LES MISÉRABLES on that CD compilation had been newly recorded by Petitgirard with the Hungarian orchestra. Just read Lerouge´s liner notes: "Of the Van Parys classics, however, there wasn´t a trace, absolutely nothing. Publishers Semi Méridian and Sido Music then added their financial support and produced a miracle; based on the original conductor scores, new material was written so that an orchestra could re-record the music: notably FRENCH CAN-CAN, CASQUE D´OR, MADAME DE... or LES GRANDES MANOEUVRES, all of them as closely as possible to the original version. And recorded they were, with the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra under the inspired, respectful baton of Laurent Petitgirard, himself a symphonist in the world of films."
Certainly one could say that this new Fontaine recording of "Coeur de diamant" is a bit more brilliant and sumptuous than the Petitigirard one and that all in all the Radio France Orchestra is the better orchestra with the appropriate French flair this music requires, but nevertheless I think that the Petitgirard recording was very nicely done and above all it was the first re-recording of that piece that anyone had ever done till 2006.
Of course I got that mixed up. I wasn't listening to the piece on CD but rather superficially from a digital file while doing something else on the computer, also without remembering who was actually playing or paying particular attention to the stereo sound. I would have to fish the CD and booklet off the shelf to check the details. However, this van Parys CD has never been a favourite of mine. I must have listened to it a few times after buying it, but that was probably well over 10 years ago by now. Today I listened again - this time very attentively - to Petitgirard's recording of "Coeur du diamant": for me, it's still like night and day compared to Fontaine's version, which I find outstanding.
By the way: Petitgirard's version is actually on the second disc of the soundtrack release of "Voyage à travers le cinéma français" (which I don't own -- I looked that up on Discogs).
Obviously, the highpoint of the first half was this final musical suite programmed before the intermission: Bruno Fontaine reconstructed Joseph Kosma’s score from the 1937 classic Jean Renoir film “La grande illusion. Clearly, most of the musicians in the orchestra are enjoying Kosma's music. This can be said especially of the bass section, whose marching rhythms dominate the opening and closing sections of the suite. Just look at the faces of those bass players.
Joseph Kosma (in Hungarian Kozma József) was a Jewish composer of Hungarian origin. He was born on 22 October 1905 in Budapest and died from a heart attack on 7 August 1969 in La Roche-Guyon (Val-d'Oise), aged 63. He became a naturalised French citizen in 1949.
During the World War II and the occupation of France, Kosma was under house arrest in the region of Alpes-Maritimes. He was banned from composing. But Jacques Prévert managed to arrange for his friend to contribute music to films where other composers fronted for him.
Joseph Kosma – La grande illusion, suite Arrangement by Bruno Fontaine La grande illusion, a film by Jean Renoir, 1937 (English title: The Grand Illusion)
From the video description:
After listening to one of Joseph Kosma's great classics, the music of “Les Portes de la Nuit”, how can one fail to remember “La Grande Illusion”, its introductory march that gets out of control, then the waltz swirling like Jean Gabin's record, and, above all, the childish song softly intoned on the pipe (“Il était un petit navire”), so sad because it is synonymous with death for one, freedom for the others?
Like Kosma's orchestral equipment and all his other possessions, the score of “La Grande Illusion” was seized during the Occupation. Bruno Fontaine therefore reconstructed it by ear, from a 1937 monophonic soundtrack, compressed and altered by the sound effects. It is a complicated task, but one that film music lovers are used to, as they have to deal with real source problems throughout their research, often due to the negligence of editors, or even of the composers themselves, who were not very careful with material initially intended for a single recording.
Notes about the film and its plot:
“La Grande Illusion” (also known as “The Grand Illusion”) is a 1937 French war film directed by Jean Renoir (1894-1979), who co-wrote the screenplay with Charles Spaak (1903-1975). The story concerns class relationships among a small group of French officers who are prisoners of war during World War I and are plotting an escape. The title of the film comes from the 1909 book “The Great Illusion” by British journalist Norman Angell (1872-1967), which argued that war is futile because of the common economic interests of all European nations. The perspective of the film is generously humanistic to its characters of various nationalities.
The cast includes
Jean Gabin as Lieutenant Maréchal, a French officer, of modest social background Marcel Dalio as Lieutenant Rosenthal, a French officer, of nouveau riche Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry Pierre Fresnay as Captain de Boëldieu, a French flying ace and member of the French nobility Erich von Stroheim as Captain (later Major) von Rauffenstein, a German flying ace and member of the German nobility Dita Parlo as Elsa, a German farmwife and war widow Julien Carette as Cartier, the vaudeville performer Gaston Modot as an engineer Georges Péclet as an officer Werner Florian as Sgt. Arthur Jean Dasté as a teacher Sylvain Itkine as Lieutenant Demolder
The trailer with English subs – 75th anniversary restortion
Erich von Stroheim, according to Renoir's memoirs, despite being born in Vienna, Austria (then Austria-Hungary), barely spoke any German and had difficulty learning the language and his lines.
"La Grande Illusion" is hailed by critics and film historians as one of the great masterpieces of French cinema and one of the all-time great films. Orson Welles named it as one of only two films he would "take to the ark".
The original soundtrack includes many popular songs of the time from the French, English and German cultures. The musical direction was in the hands of film and music critic Émile Vuillermoz (1878-1960), who was also a composer in his early career.
Songs:
"Frou-Frou" (1897), text by Montréal and Blondeau, music by Henri Chatau, sung by Lucile Panis. "Il était un petit navire" ("Once upon a time there was a little ship"), performed by Boëldieu with his penny whistle to distract the German guards from Rosenthal and Maréchal's escape, a traditional French song about a shipwrecked sailor who must cannibalise another sailor to survive. Later in the film, the refugees Rosenthal and Maréchal shout the song sarcastically to each other as they almost fight. The lyrics refer to their own situation where they are running out of food. When Maréchal realises this, his singing stops. "Frère Jacques", a French nursery rhyme. "It's a long way to Tipperary" "Si tu veux Marguerite" (1913) by Harry Fragson "La Marseillaise", the National Anthem of France
Some more clips:
18 selections from the original soundtrack recording have been assembled and released on a grey market CD in the year 2000 (see reference here: https://www.discogs.com/de/release/4051312-Joseph-Kosma-La-Grande-Illusion). This CD is, of course, not recommended at all to buy, as it is a poor-sounding transfer of the film's soundtrack, including both dialogue and sound effects, probably sourced from a DVD or possibly even from lesser-quality stock.
Nonetheless, it is worth comparing the original soundtrack recording with the modern-day concert performance. Here are two clips from the historic film soundtrack:
1) The original 1937 recording of the main title music from “La grande illusion”:
The first piece after the intermission has already been posted: Bruno Coulais’ music from “Voyage à travers le cinéma français” – unfortunately, the second part of this piece was a bit compromised by a coughing attack that struck the second violinist virtually from start to finish.
Thus it was a relief to have this one finally end, and Fontaine announcing the much-anticipated suite from Paul Misraki's score he had composed for Orson Welles' "Mr. Arkadin" (aka "Confidental Report").
Paul Misraki, born Paul Misrachi in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (now Istanbul, Turkey) into a French Jewish family of Italian descent on January 28, 1908, died in Paris on October 29, 1998 (some sources say it was Oct. 30). He was 90 years old. Misraki, now largely forgotten by younger generations, was a French composer of popular music and many film scores. Over the course of over 60 years, he composed about 130 film scores, working for a considerable number of very notable directors like Jean Renoir, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Jacques Becker, Jean-Pierre Melville, Orson Welles, Luis Buñuel, Claude Chabrol, Jean-Luc Godard and Roger Vadim. – By the 1930s, Paul Misraki was an established jazz pianist, arranger, and writer of popular songs. Around this time, he began composing film scores, with his first known work, although uncredited, being for Jean Renoir's first sound film, “On purge bébé” (English title: “Baby's Laxative”), released in 1931.
Paul Misraki – Mr. Arkadin Arrangement by Bruno Fontaine Mr. Arkadin, a film by Orson Welles, 1956 (English title: Confidential Report)
From the video description: Bruno Fontaine, composer and arranger of film music, has to face throughout his research real problems of sources, often due to the negligence of publishers, or even of the composers themselves, unconcerned about material initially intended for a single recording. Fortunately, happy surprises sometimes reward his efforts, such as the rediscovery of a piano score and orchestrated sketches of Orson Welles' 1956 film “Mr Arkadin” in the archives of composer Paul Misraki, which he was able to transform into an arrangement for orchestra.
Critical comments on YouTube: “Marshmallow! Instead of playing the great repertoire for which the orchestra was created, rather than those acidic sounding candies: That is not the true task of the OPL.” “I understand completely what Mr Hector* is saying. It's a bit of a marshmallow, yes, it is true. This is film music, well done and sweet, a bit like Chaplin or more recently Cosma. It's well executed, nothing transcendental, but from time to time a little chocolate with a cup of coffee isn't bad. Probably better than breaking your teeth on a Xenakis piece.”
* Hector is the one who made the previous comment – he would go on posting similar comments to other bits from that concert.
About the film:
“Mr. Arkadin” (first released in Spain, 1955), known in Britain as “Confidential Report”, is a French-Spanish-Swiss coproduction film, written and directed by Orson Welles and shot in several Spanish locations, including Costa Brava, Segovia, Valladolid and Madrid. Filming took place throughout Europe in 1954, and scenes shot outside Spain include locations in London, Munich, Paris, the French Riviera and at the Château de Chillon in Switzerland.
Welles got the idea for Mr. Arkadin, a mysterious criminal, from Harry Lime, who he played as a charismatic villain in the film "The Third Man" (1949). Another inspiration for Welles was the arms dealer Basil Zaharoff, who was also of somewhat enigmatic origin and, like Arkadin, owned a castle in Spain.
The cast: Orson Welles as Gregory Arkadin Robert Arden as Guy Van Stratten Patricia Medina as Mily Paola Mori as Raina Arkadin Akim Tamiroff as Jakob Zouk Grégoire Aslan as Bracco Jack Watling as Bob, the Marquess of Rutleigh Mischa Auer as the Professor Peter van Eyck as Thaddeus Michael Redgrave as Burgomil Trebitsch Suzanne Flon as Baroness Nagel Frederick O'Brady as Oskar Katina Paxinou as Sophie Radzweickz Martinez Tamara Shayne as the woman who hides Zouk Terence Longdon as Mr. Arkadin's Secretary Gert Fröbe as a Munich Detective Eduard Linker as a Munich Policeman Manuel Requena as Jesus Martinez Gordon Heath as the pianist in the Cannes bar Annabel as the woman with a baguette in Paris Irene López Heredia as Sofía (only in Spanish version) Amparo Rivelles as Baroness Nagel (only in Spanish version)
The plot: An elusive billionaire hires an American smuggler to investigate his past, resulting in a twisting journey down a Cold War European landscape.
There are several versions of this film that are differently edited. Apparently Welles never finished the editing job. The 2006 edition released by Criterion is largely considered as the definitive one.
Sehnsuchtshafen, thanks to your topic, I listened again to the 2d CD of VOYAGE A TRAVERS LE CINEMA FRANCAIS, something I probably didn't do ever since I purchased this item ! Besides, to be honest, I bought it first to discover Bruno Coulais' score. But this 2d CD unquestionably contains great stuff throughout. I will also play again Georges Van Parys' anthology as well as the 4 CD box MUSIQUES DE L'AGE D'OR DU CINEMA FRANCAIS published by Cinémusique.
I've never seen LA GRANDE ILLUSION but I do like the suite you posted, especially the very martial main theme. Regarding Paul Misraki, his suite from Mr ARKADIN is also very exciting, characterized by a great progression and a virtuoso finale. I remember I saw not so long ago a movie he scored of which I liked the opening main title very much : KNOCK (1951). As far as I know, the music has ever been released and we can assume that the tapes must be lost for ages ! I've also seen lately an episode of the TV series COMMISSAIRE MOULIN entitled FAUSSES NOTES (1979) that he scored. There are actually very few original scores in this TV series (most of the music consisting of library stuff) but the choice of Misraki was in this case logical since the story dealt with a composer of operettas played by François Maistre who was found murdered in his villa.
As for Hector's snobbish comment published on YouTube, I simply don't care. I'd even say it's a pity there are still people around who have such a negative and contemptuous mentality towards film music. They simply have no idea how difficult and challenging it is to write music for the screen.
I don't think I have seen "La grande illusion" either - maybe some time later next year?
Here is a nice clip from the film, just with the music inserted as performed by the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France:
Miskraki is worth a whole new topic. Only very few of his film scores have ever been released. But there are some good CD compilations.
I must say, my interest in Georges van Parys grew considerably while working on this thread, and I plan to do something on him next year. A special film I love that he scored in the mid 1950s. It's a very good film that had a bluray release only recently.
There is something strange about the next concert item, regardless of the music.
Antoine Duhamel – Pierrot le fou* Arrangement by Bruno Fontaine Pierrot le fou, a film by Jean-Luc Godard, 1965
According to the concert programme, a suite with music from three Godard films would have been included here. Instead, we only get to hear a shortened version of "Ferdinand" from "Pierrot le fou", arranged by Bruno Fontaine.
Suite Jean-Luc Godard Martial Solal, Antoine Duhamel, Georges Delerue Arrangement by Bruno Fontaine À bout de souffle (1960), Pierrot le fou (1965), Le Mépris (1963) – Films by Jean-Luc Godard
I wonder where the selections of Martial Solal's music from "Au bout du souffle" and Georges Delerue's music for "Le mépris" have gone? In any case, neither of them can be found anywhere it seems, and I looked for it for a while and did some research. Perhaps the two pieces were the victims of cuts to the whole programme, weren't performed at all, or, the performances were so bad that they didn't want them to be shown in the first place? I don't know. By the way, two other pieces that should have been performed are also not available. I’ll talk about those in an upcoming post soon.
Personally, I was never a big admirer of this soundtrack and would have preferred something from Week-end, for which Duhamel also composed the music. Especially the piece "Ferdinand" has something very bleak and depressive about it. It is in some way intriguing to listen to because of its gloomy-grey tonality, if you can imagine what that means. But it is quite unusual to hear it performed in a concert setting. The orchestra plays the piece smoothly and without pretence, and I find it interesting to watch the flutist do his work.
So, here it is, the music from “Pierrot le fou”, the abridged version of “Ferdinand”.
From the video description: The "Jean-Luc Godard suite" orchestrated by Bruno Fontaine tells the story of the filmmaker and his art of editing, which led him to play images like musical themes, cutting and pasting, even if it meant keeping only a few notes from a long score. It tells the story of Camille in Le Mépris, the swaying and languid walk of Brigitte Bardot on a sun-drenched terrace, and its changing melody, in which all the art of Georges Delerue's orchestration is concentrated, gives pride of place to the music of Antoine Duhamel, who sublimates Pierrot le Fou, to which Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina sing.
Here is “Ferdinand” in its original, 7:46 minutes long recording by Antoine Duhamel:
About Antoine Duhamel
Antoine Duhamel, born on 30 July 1925 in Valmondois in the department of Seine-et-Oise (now Val-d'Oise) and died in the same town on 10 September 2014; he was a French composer, primarily known for his film scores. He started composing for films in the early 1960s. Some of the directors who hired Duhamel more than once are Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Fernando Trueba, Bertrand Tavernier, Jean-François Adam and Tony Richardson.
Young filmmakers, especially American ones, now seem to devote a veritable cult to him. Noah Baumbach (in “Frances Ha”) and Wes Anderson have used excerpts from his film compositions several times in their films.
Duhamel left a large body of work behind, not only film music, but symphonic works, operas and many other pieces.
About the film “Pierrot le fou”
"Pierrot le Fou" (translated: "Crazy Pierrot") is a 1965 French New Wave film directed by Jean-Luc Godard and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina. Originally released in 1962, the film is based on the novel "Obsession" by Lionel White. It was Godard's tenth feature film, made between "Alphaville" and "Masculin, féminin". The plot follows Ferdinand, an unhappily married man who escapes his humdrum society and travels from Paris to the Mediterranean with Marianne, a girl pursued by OAS killers from Algeria.
The movie was the 15th most successful film of the year with a total of 1,310,580 admissions in France.
PIERROT is one of my favourite New Wave films, and I often use the car theft scene in lectures about alternative film scoring, i.e. when Godard plays around with/mutes and unmutes Dudamel's scherzo.
