SONGBOOK FOR OUR TIMES VOL. 3

Status: in development

Maurice Jaubert (1900-1940): Saisir (1939/40)
III: Grands yeux ... dans ce visage
André Jolivet (1905-1974): Les trois complaintes du soldat (1940)
III: Complainte à Dieu
René Leibowitz (1913-1972): 3 melodies sur Pablo Picasso (1943)
I: Adagio
II: Allegro appassionato
III: Lento molto
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963):
Montparnasse (sur G. Apollinaire); 2 poèmes de Louis Aragon (1942/3)
-Montparnasse
II: Fetes galantes
I: C.
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992): Harawi (1945)
VII: Adieu

This is the planned third edition of the Songbook project, which focuses entirely on France during World War II. While the program is 90% fixed, there are still some issues that need to be resolved. Jolivet's "Three Laments of the Soldier" don't quite work well on the trumpet, but considering his significance as one of the most important French composers at the time, and the personal nature of these songs based on his own experiences on the front lines, there must be a way to include at least one of them in the program. I'm currently working on finding a solution for this, and we're even considering expanding the project into a trio, incorporating both trumpet and a singer to perform the solo parts. In that case, we might include the entire cycles by Jolivet and also Jaubert, which suffers from similar problems but holds great significance as well, being the last piece he wrote before being killed in battle. Obtaining the three early songs by René Leibowitz was quite challenging, but with tremendous assistance from the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel, I finally managed to secure a copy. This piece is an instant winner on the trumpet, and I can't wait to premiere it. The same goes for the beautiful selection of Francis Poulenc songs and the hymn-like finale, "Adieu," from Messiaen's hour-long Harawi cycle.