Georges Migot: Quartet for flute, violin, clarinet and harp, Trio for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, Concert for flute, cello and harp, Sonatine in duet for oboe and clarinet). Ensemble Pyramide. Integral Classic INT 221.108 (2000) 3576072211080
Recorded 28 June-3 July 1999 in the Church of Ins (Switzerland)
Unassuming and touching little works, by a composer writing in a style that is certainly not cutting edge, but who appears to think he has nothing to prove
8 September 2024
A composer who chooses to write for the combination of flute and harp, with either violin, viola or cello joining in, is evidently referring and paying tribute to Debussy’s First Sonata for Flute Viola and Harp (1915). One may think of Garden of Joys and Sorrows by Russian Sofia Gubaidulina (1976) or Toru Takemitsu’s “And then I knew ‘twas wind” from 1992 (both fittingly coupled with Debussy’s Sonata on ECM 481 0880, barcode 028948108800, in a performance by Maria Piccini, Kim Kashkashian and Sivan Magen, from 2014). And so with George Migot, although his lineups vary marginally from Debussy’s combination.
Both his Quartet for Flute, Violin, Clarinet and Harp (1924) and Concert for Flute, Cello and Harp (1929) are elegant, delicate and playful works that stir – unsurprisingly – reminiscences of Debussy’s Sonata, but also of Albert Roussel’s Serenade and André Caplet’s Le Conte Fantastique (especially in the occasional use of ominous harp ostinatos). They also convey faint echoes of Japanese music (or the Western’s fantasy of Japanese music), and this fascination for Japan is confirmed by other woks of Migot (“The Lacker Screen with Five Images” for two violins, viola and piano, “Seven Little Pictures From Japan” for soprano and piano, “Hagoromo” for baritone, chorus and orchestra). Suffice to say that if paired on disc with those compositions of Debussy, Roussel and Caplet, both works may not be the disc’s highlight but wouldn’t put their composer to shame.
George Migot is one of those very obscure (even in his own country), nth-league minor masters, with something of a cult niche-following, initiated at the end of the LP era by the (now defunct) French label Cybelia (Discogs.com also lists a 1976 recording of Migot’s Piano Trio on Harmonia Mundi, presumably released on the occasion of the composer’s death that year – link will open new tab to listing). The torch was then passed on to Integral Classic (some releases under the label moniker Integral Distribution), who published a number of CDs of Migot’s music, both reissues of Cybelia LPs or CDs (piano music) and (as here) new recordings (apparently the label is now gone as well). Migot was born in 1891 and died in 1976, which makes him, by birth at least, a contemporary of Ibert and Honegger and, by birth AND death, of Milhaud (1892-1974). Migot saw himself as much as a painter (the CDs cover art is the reproduction of one of his paintings) and a poet than as a composer. In music, he viewed himself as the heir of the “French tradition” of the Troubadours, of Titelouze, of Rameau, and as primarily a melodist, one for whom horizontal monophony (plainchant, popular song) was more essential than harmony. He was an independent, and in the 1920s the American critic Irwin Schwerke dubbed him, in reference to the “Groupe des Six”, the “Groupe du Un” (I venture GOO as a translation, the “Group of the One and Only”). As many independents, his fame soon passed. After the war he made a living by being in charge of the museum of instruments of the Paris Conservatoire.
The Trio for oboe, clarinet and bassoon (1943-44) and Sonatine for oboe and clarinet (1962) don’t show much stylistic evolution, although they convey a slightly different mood, more down-to-earth, but one still anchored in the light-hearted atmospheres of pre-war “musique française”. Underpinned by a bassoon full of bonhomie (abetted by a very transparent recording) often moving at a pedestrian gait, they display more humor at times, and when more somber moods set in, they are always discreet and restrained. The timbral differences between the instruments enable the listener to perceive the music in its contrapuntal richness, as the combination of different voices dialoging together, rather than “harmonically”, as a continuum of sound. The pieces become little plays of an imaginary theatre – the story is up to the listener’s fantasy. They are unassuming and touching little works, by a composer writing in a style that is certainly not cutting edge and will unfailingly paint him in a very small and remote corner of the music scene of his days, but who seems to think he has nothing to prove.
Liner notes are from musicologist and great champion of Migot, Marc Honegger, English translation is often inept. These works remain as rare on disc as they were when this one was published – I may be missing some but I’ve spotted only another recording of the Concert for flute cello and harp, on Marcal Classics MA001001 (2010) barcode 3476710010016. As far as I can tell without comparison, the Swiss Ensemble Pyramide from Zürich play excellently. TT 70 minutes.
As a bonus, here is a short discography of Migot’s music on Cybelia and Integral Classic:
Cybelia:
LP CY 609 (1982) Musique française du 20e siècle Georges Migot, Albert Roussel String Trios by Trio à cordes Albert Roussel (Eric Alberti, Georges Schwarz, Pierre Llinares). Link will open new tab to entry on Discogs.
LP CY 661 (1983) Musique française du 20e siècle Georges Migot Le Livres des Danceries, Quatuor pour flûte violon violoncelle et piano. Yanet Puech flute, Annie Jodry violin, Françoise Petit piano, Alain Courmont violincello
LPs CY 665-666 (1984) Musique française du 20e siècle Georges Migot Le Zodiaque 12 études de concert. Jacqueline Eymar 1959-1960, reissue of two LPs originally from the label Lumen, LD 3.443 and LD 3.445. CD reissue on Integral Classic INT 221.144 (2005) 3576072211448, see my review.
CD CY 811 (1986) Sauguet, Migot Works for Guitar (Sauguet : Soliloque “En mémoire à Manuel de Falla” 1958, Trois Préludes 1970, Musiques pour Claudel No. 1 1973, Musique pour Claudel No. 2 1973, Cadence 1985 / Migot : Pour Hommage à Claude Debussy 1924, Sonate 1960). Alain Prévost
CD CY 822 (1988) Georges Migot Piano Works (Le Calendrier du petit berger, Le Petit fablier). John Hoyland reissue Integral Classic INT 221.114 (2002) 3576072211141
Integral:
INT 221.105 (1999) 3576072211059 Ropartz First Cello Sonata, Debussy Cello Sonata, Migot Three Pieces for Cello and Piano, Second Dialogue. Jean-Marie Trotereau (cello), Jeffrey Grice (piano)
INT 221.239 (2011) 3576072212391 Works for Piano and Chorus (Tombeau de Du Fault joueur de luth for piano, Three A Cappella Choruses, Suite pour piano et choeurs en vocalises, Trois Nocturnes dantesques for piano. Christine Marchais piano, Choeur de Chambre de Rouen, Daniel Bargier