"Though born in Le Havre, Arthur Honegger was Swiss by parentage and nationality, and began his studies at the Zurich Conservatoire. But he spent much of his life in Montmartre, becoming closely identified with the inter-war developments in French music. He was among those who clustered round the venerably eccentric figure of Erik Satie, and was also one of 'les Six', a group of iconoclastic young Parisian composers who are best remembered for their flippantly satirical 'entertainment music' and cultivation of 'Franco-American' jazz style. Yet the weightier creative personalities among them soon began to go their separate ways; Honegger, arguably the least flippant of them all, did so earliest. It was in the forms of symphony, oratorio and chamber music that he achieved lasting success.
"Even his notorious tone poem Pacific 231 is subtitled 'symphonic movement'. A virtuoso study in rhythm and orchestral scoring, it evokes the journey of a great modern express train (a 300-ton 'Pacific' class locomotive with a wheel configuration of 2-3-1 each side) pulling out of the station and gradually gathering speed until it is hurtling through the night at 120 km/h. Honegger said his aim was not to imitate the noise of a locomotive but to reproduce its visual impression and physical sensation through a musical design.
"In 1929 Serge Koussevitzky, who conducted Pacific 231's scandalously successful 1924 premiere at the Paris Opera, commissioned Honegger to compose a piece in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The result was the First Symphony, premiered by the orchestra under Koussevitzky on 13 February 1931. Like all Honegger's symphonies, this is cast in three movements, concise and clearly contrasted, with the slow movement providing the centre of gravity. The pounding motoric rhythms and sinewy counterpoint of the first movement is balanced by the ardently serious and songful slow movement, which begins with passionate instrumental recitative. The brilliant, toccata-like finale eventually slows into an unexpectedly gentle and fulfilled-sounding epilogue.
"Honegger's remaining symphonies were all composed in the decade 1940-1950. In a sense, Nos. 2 to 4 form a 'war' trilogy reflecting his reactions to the events of the Second World War. The Second Symphony, for string orchestra with trumpet, written during the German occupation of Paris, is in a wiry, vigorous, and deeply troubled neo-Classical idiom, the promise of deliverance being proclaimed by an eloquent trumpet chorale at the very end. It was composed for Paul Sacher, who gave the first performance in Zurich in May 1942.
"The Third Symphony, entitled 'Liturgique', was begun at the end of the war and was also premiered in Zurich, conducted by Charles Munch, in-August 1946. Honegger himself spoke of this work as 'a drama played out by three protagonists: happiness, misery and man. That is the eternal problem'. The very dark instrumental timbres, shot through occasionally with searchlight beams of bright instrumental colour, create a largely nocturnal impression — a sound-world where ignorant armies seem to clash by night beneath the immaculate purity of the stars. The furious, toccata-like 'Dies irae', the grave, chant-like 'De profundis' and the remorseless war-march of the 'Dona nobis' give way at last to a transfiguringly seraphic coda, with a nightingale song on flute entwined with ecstatic solo violin.
"The Fourth Symphony, subtitled 'Deliciae Basilienses' ('The delights of Basle'), was composed for the twentieth anniversary of the Basle Chamber Orchestra, and premiered by them under Paul Sacher in January 1947. This is the most serene and radiant of Honegger's symphonies, poised and lyrical, a celebration of peace linked specifically to the neutrality of Switzerland, with old Swiss folksongs woven into the texture. Lyricism and contentment give way in the finale to the merriment of trumpet and drums.
"Some months after the premiere of this symphony, Honegger suffered a severe heart attack, leaving him an invalid for the remainder of his life, during which he composed his Fifth Symphony for the Koussevitsky Music Foundation. Charles Munch directed the premiere in Boston the following year. Honegger called it 'Di tre re', referring to the pianissimo note D, on timpani and pizzicato basses, concluding each of the three movements. Perhaps he meant this as a symbol of inevitable fate: the mood of the work is predominantly dark and tragic. On the other hand, he regarded it as his most successful essay in symphonic form. The Fifth is Honegger’s only symphony to begin with a slow movement: a majestic but anguished chorale for full orchestra, gradually dissolving into more lyrical but still tragically accented contrasting ideas for smaller groups of instruments. The second movement is a fleet-winged, almost Mendelssohnian scherzo, enclosing at its heart a profoundly expressive Adagio. Frenetic and furious, the finale seems to be powered by an unstoppable drive, but at last runs down, like an untended machine, to quiet extinction." (Malcolm MacDonald. From the liner notes.)
Performers: Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, Michel Plasson
1.1. Symphony No. 1: I. Allegro Marcato
1.2. Symphony No. 1: II. Adagio
1.3. Symphony No. 1: III. Presto
1.4. Symphony No. 2: I. Molto Moderato
1.5. Symphony No. 2: II. Adagio Mesto
1.6. Symphony No. 2: III. Vivace Ma Non Troppo - Presto
1.7. Symphony No. 3 'Liturgique': I. Dies Irae, Allegro Marcato
1.8. Symphony No. 3 'Liturgique': II. De Profundis Clamavi, Adagio
1.9. Symphony No. 3 'Liturgique': III. Dona Nobis Pacem, Andante
2.1. Symphony No. 4 'Deliciae Basilienses': I. Lento E Misterioso - Allegro - Lento - Allegro Molto Tranquillo
2.2. Symphony No. 4 'Deliciae Basilienses': II. Larghetto
2.3. Symphony No. 4 'Deliciae Basilienses': III. Allegro - Adagio - Allegro
2.4. Symphony No. 5 'Di Tre Re': I. Grave
2.5. Symphony No. 5 'Di Tre Re': II. Allegretto - Adagio
2.6. Symphony No. 5 'Di Tre Re': III. Allegro Marcato
2.7. Pacific 231 (Mouvement Symphonique No. 1)
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