Is the ‘classical’ record defunct? No, smaller labels are resisting, as artists invest time and effort in daring cultural projects, refusing to let themselves be discouraged by economical difficulties in this niche market. Thanks to the support of their audiences and via participative funding, together they can undertake what they would be unable to carry out as individuals.

For 5 years, our association carries out an anthology of the music written during the First World War and unfairly forgotten. With the support of the Ministère des Armées and the label of La Mission du Centenaire we have been able to release 35 recordings with Les Editions Hortus. The original, unique and ambitious nature of the collection, as much as its indisputable quality, was acknowledged by the press. The First World War centenary is now nearing its end so we went into partnership with the Orchestre de l'Opéra de Toulon to complete the collection with the very last recording!

The Hortus label, known for its originality and the artistic quality of its choices, stands ready to distribute this CD in France and abroad. However, 5000€ are lacking to cover the recording and publication expenses of the album.

The Orchestra of the Toulon Opera is offering us an original programme consisting of rare, even unknown works written during the Great War, recalling not only the conflict itself and its countless casualties but also, in the rebounding of hope, a confidence in the future which their descendants had the task of upholding.

On the front lines, a young French composer, Jacques de la Presle, was dreaming of writing a great symphonic work. In the end he would not find the time but throughout his remaining life held on to the manuscript of a sketch: Soir de Bataille (Battle Evening), which has been orchestrated on the occasion of the present recording.

The English organist Ernest Bristow Farrar (1885-1918) enlisted in 1915, was named Second Lieutenant in February 1918 and was cut down by machine gun fire, after only two days on the front, on 18 September 1918 at the battle of Epehy Ronssoy, only a few weeks after the premiere of his Heroic Elegy.

Enlisted at the outset of the war, Frederick S. Kelly twice fought at Gallipoli (Turkey) where he made the acquaintance of the poet Rupert Brooke (1887-1915), himself enlisted as well, who was to die shortly thereafter from a severe infection. Following directly upon the death of his friend, Kelly decided to write the moving Elegy that he dedicated to the latter’s memory. He would in turn be killed on 13 December 1916 at Beaucourt-sur-l’Ancre, while attacking an enemy post.

In the rear, another British citizen, Frank Bridge, wrote his Lament in memory of the victims of the Lusitania, sunk by the Germans.

Jean Cras, a native of Brittany, undertook a twofold career, both naval and musical. He composed Âmes d’enfants (Children’s Souls) for piano six (small) hands, intended for his three daughters Isaure, Colette and Monique, prior to transcribing them for four hands and eventually orchestrating them. These three pieces, dubbed ‘Pures’, ‘Naïves’ and ‘Mystérieuses’, are revealing in terms of the confidence the composer accorded the future by virtue of the children.

Programme:

Ernest B. Farrar: Heroic elegy

Frank Bridge: Lament (for strings) in memory of the victims of the Lusitania

Frederick S. Kelly: Elegy for strings

Jacques de la Presle: Soir de Bataille (world premiere recording)

Jean Cras: Âmes d’enfants

Performers:

Orchestre Symphonique de l’Opéra de Toulon

The Orchestre Symphonique de l’Opéra de Toulon is a dynamic ensemble that has garnered considerable attention within the French musical landscape. Its highly eclectic repertoire spans four centuries of music. Prestigious conductors have commanded this legion: Giuliano Carella (Musical Director from 2003 to 2016), Steuart Bedford, Serge Baudo, Laurent Petitgirard, Claude Schnitzler, Antonello Allemandi, Friedrich Pleyer, Wolfgang Doerner, Thomas Rosner, Emmanuel Joël-Hornak, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Dmitri Liss, Laurence Equilbey, David-Charles Abell, Rani Calderon, Alexander Briger, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Jurjen Hempel… It has accompanied leading soloists such as Shlomo Mintz, Vladimir Spivakov, Brigitte Engerer, Laurent Korcia, Nicholas Angelich, Gary Hoffman, Nemanja Radulovic, Anne Queffélec, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Alexandra Soumm, Mickaël Rudy, Cédric Tiberghien, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Alina Pogostkina, Bertrand Chamayou, Andrei Korobeinikov, Alexandre Tharaud, Valeriy Sokolov, Yossif Ivanov, Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky… The Orchestre Symphonique de l’Opéra de Toulon participates in numerous regional concert projects in the context of a musical dissemination policy for all, in the service of a territorial dynamic. Thus it performs in the greater Toulon area as well as the Var département, throughout the region and abroad. In Paris, it regularly appears at the National Comic Opera Theatre. The Orchestre Symphonique de l’Opéra de Toulon has developed a policy of pedagogical and social endeavours with partners such as the CRR Regional Conservatory, the Inspection Académique educational authority, the Université du Sud Toulon-Var, the Intercity Hospital Centre of Toulon-La Seyne, the Toulon-La Farlède Penetentiary Facility… The orchestra is a member of the French Association of Orchestras (A.F.O.). The Dutch conductor Jurjen Hempel has been the new musical director since September 2018.

Pierre Dumoussaud, chef d’orchestre

Pierre Dumoussaud won First Prize in the ADAMI’s ‘Conductor Talents’, as well as the 1st International Competition for Opera Conductors organized by the Royal Opera of Wallonia. He made his debut in Carmen in February 2018. He has conducted the National Opera of Bordeaux in productions of Lucia di Lammermoor, Don Carlo, The Turn of the Screw and Les Tréteaux de Maître Pierre. He also premiered the Concerto for piano by Thomas Enhco in Pau.
Pierre Dumoussaud has conducted the great ballets Roméo et Juliette and Giselle, also accompanying several choreographic premieres based on El Amor brujo, L’Histoire du soldat, Le Festin de l’Araignée and Berio’s Folksongs.
In Europe he conducts the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonia of Galicia, the Budapest Opera, the North Hungarian Symphony Orchestra as well as the great French ensembles, among them the National Orchestras of the Capitole in Toulouse and those of Lille, Auvergne, Lorraine and Montpellier.
Pierre Dumoussaud received the Grand Prix du Livre Jeunesse and that of the Charles Cros Academy for the creation and recording, with the Paris Chamber Orchestra, of two tales by Roald Dahl set to music by Isabelle Aboulker and read by François Morel.

Project schedule

November 2018: recording
December 2018 - January 2019: sound montage, mixing and mastering
January - February 2019: editing
February - March 2019: fabrication
15 March 2019: CD release and sending of the compensations (except for the concert's tickets, which will be sent two days before the concert).

Elégies - œuvres pour orchestre de la Grande Guerre