Henri Tomasi
Encyclopedia
Henri Tomasi was a French
classical composer
and conductor
.
, France, in the working class neighborhood on August 17, 1901. His father Xavier Tomasi and mother Josephine Vincensi were originally from La Casinca, Corsica
. At the age of five, Henri and his family moved to Mazarques, France where his father had a job as a postal worker. At this time his father enrolled Henri in music theory
lessons. At the age of seven, Henri entered the Conservatoire de Musique de Marseille. Pressured by his father, Henri played for upper-class families, where he felt "humiliated to be on show like a trained animal." (Tomasi assoc.) In 1913, the family moved back to Marseille. Tomasi had dreams of becoming a sailor
, and skipped many of his music classes. During the summer, he stayed with his grandmother in Corsica and learned traditional Corsican songs. In 1916, Henri won first prize in harmony, along with his friend Zino Francescatti
, the celebrated violin
ist. World War I delayed his entrance into the Paris Conservatoire, so he played piano in Marseille to earn money. He performed in diverse venues such as upscale hotel
s, restaurant
s, brothel
s, and movie houses
. His gift for composition was developed during this time as he improvised at the keyboard. The early Charlie Chaplin
films also intrigued him.
, Vincent d'Indy
, Georges Caussade
, and Paul Vidal
. In 1927, he won the second Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata, 'Coriolan', and a First Prize for Orchestral Conducting, both awarded unanimously. In this same year he met his future wife, Odette Camp, at the Opéra-Comique
and married her in 1929. Tomasi began his career as a conductor for Concerts du Journal.
, originally founded by Julien Maigret during the 1931 Colonial Exhibition in Paris. Tomasi became one of the first radio conductors and a pioneer of "radiophonic" music. During the 1930s he was a founder of a contemporary music group in Paris entitled "Triton
" along with Prokofiev
, Milhaud
, Honegger
, and Poulenc
. He spent equal time composing and conducting. He was one of the conductors for studio broadcasts of the Orchestre Radio Symphonique de la Radioduffusion Francaise (Paris Radio). His most memorable recording was in 1936 with the extraordinary French mezzo soprano Alice Raveau in Gluck's Orfeo, which was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque
. In 1939 Tomasi was drafted into the French Army
and was named marching-band conductor at the Villefranche sur Mer fort.
, oboe
, clarinet
, saxophone
, bassoon
, trumpet
, horn
, and trombone
. He also composed concerti for violin
and viola
. In 1944, his son Claude was born and Tomasi started composing a Requiem
dedicated to "the martyrs of the resistance movement and all those who have died for France." (RadioFrance) Tomasi was disillusioned by the events of World War II and subsequently rejected all faith in God. His Requiem was set aside and was not discovered again and recorded until 1996. An hour-long documentary film produced by Jacques Sapiega was made in 2001. In 1946, Tomasi assumed the post of conductor of the Opera
de Monte Carlo
. He became extremely sought-after as a guest conductor all over Europe. In 1948, he wrote what would become his most popular composition, the Concerto for Trumpet. In 1949 the Concerto for Saxophone was performed by Marcel Mule
.
and the Concerto for Trombone
were composed. This same year brought the long-awaited world premiere of his opera "Don Juan de Manara" based on a text by poet O. V. de L. Milosc. This opera, "L'Atlantide", and the comic opera "Le Testament di Pere Gaucher" established his reputation as an opera composer.
In May 1956 at Bordeaux
, his opera Sampiero Corso was premiered, the title role being created by the Australian tenor Kenneth Neate
. This was repeated at the Holland Festival in June.
In 1957, Tomasi stopped conducting because of physical problems, including advancing deafness in his right ear. In 1966 his Concerto for Flute
was played by Jean-Pierre Rampal
with the Orchestre des Concerts Classiques in Marseille
. His last piece for the theater, "In Praise of Madness (the nuclear era)", is a cross between opera
and ballet
and contains references to Nazism
and napalm
. It reflects Tomasi's postwar disillusionment with mankind. During his last period of composition he was motivated by political events and wrote pieces such as the 'Third World Symphony' and 'Chant pour le Vietnam
'. In 1969, he held a series of interviews with his son, Claude, called "Autobiography with a Tape Recorder." (Tomasi assoc.) As his health deteriorated, he began working on an operatic version of Hamlet
. On January 13, 1971, he died peacefully in his apartment in Montmartre
, Paris. He was buried in his wife's family tomb in Avignon
. Later, to celebrate the centennial of his birth, his ashes were moved to the village of his ancestors in Penta di Casinca, Corsica
.
melodic lines predominate supported by tertian
and polychordal harmonies. His music is highly colorful and one can hear the influence of his French contemporaries. Exotic sounds and colors of Corsica, Provence
, Cambodia
, Laos
, the Sahara and Tahiti
are used. He also wrote music inspired by medieval religious songs. He utilized many styles including Oriental recitative and twelve tone techniques but they were always personal and unique to him.
Tomasi said: "Although I haven't shirked from using the most modern forms of expression, I've always been a melodist at heart. I can't stand systems and sectarianism. I write for the public at large. Music that doesn't come from the heart isn't music." (Tomasi assoc.)
His earliest influence stemmed from a performance his mother took him to of the opera
La bohème
. He wept over the tribulations of the main character, Mimi. In fact, he felt that La bohème was responsible for his musical destiny. It gave him a great passion for lyrical theater. Later he heard Bizet
's Carmen
and learned about Mussorgsky
through Boris Godunov
, and Debussy
through Pelléas et Mélisande
. He was influenced by Ravel
, and later by Richard Strauss
. Richard Wagner
was never an influence on him. His harmonic inspiration derived from Debussy and Ravel. He felt that his experience from conducting enabled him to orchestrate with more skill. He felt that dodecaphonic music could be used occasionally when needed or called for. He thought that the inherent danger in electronic music
was that it was devoid of the human factor: "...the end of the heart -a world filled with nothing more than the sound of machines!" (Tomasi assoc.) Tomasi frequently based his works on a text of some sort, even if words were not actually used. To translate Tomasi's views on his own music: "My musical knowledge is not based on any system. The sensibility expresses itself and the mind controls. What good is it to invent new forms of speech? Everything has been said and everything has been done." (Tomasi assoc.) Tomasi was primarily interested in "man and his passionate style." (Tomasi assoc.)
Nocturne was first published in 1954 by Pierre Noel. The copyright was later taken over by Gerard Billaudot in 1999. It is marked Lent and has a surreal quality. It is intensely lyrical and expressive. There are polychords present. There is constant eighth-note movement. The slow section evolves to a poco pui agitato interlude followed by a short cadenza marked a piacere (freely). The initial tempo returns and the song ends in calm repose with an unusual closing chord
: the C minor
seventh. Complainte du Jeune Indien was composed in 1949 and published the same year by Alphonse Leduc. It is cordially dedicated to Monsieur Beaucamp. The French word Complainte refers to a lament or plaint. Perhaps one can conjecture that the jeune (young) Indian is expressing nostalgia for his homeland. (Gordon) It is marked tristamente (sadly) in a slow Andante tempo. The harmonic motion is very slow with only a G minor
chord until rehearsal #2. The chords move in parallel motion similar to Debussy. Before the brief cadenza at rehearsal #4, there is a "B" eleventh chord. This cadenza
is optional; another optional cut is between rehearsal #8 to #11, which eliminates the second brief cadenza. These cuts will not be taken in this performance. The initial theme returns, and it closes even more slowly and sadly.
The Danse Nuptiale (Wedding Dance) was originally composed as a work for chamber orchestra and soloists in 1961. It was published by Alphonse Leduc in 1962 and dedicated to Andre Boutard. The original instrumentation was for oboe
, clarinet
, bassoon
, French horn, tuba
, tympani, a battery of percussion, piano, and string quintet
. The first movement, Danse Agreste (Rustic Dance) in the original work features the oboe. The second movement, Danse Profane has the French horn as soloist. The Danse Sacree (Sacred Dance) features a tuba soloist, and the fifth movement, Danse Guerriere (War Dance), highlights the bassoon. There is a woodwind quintet version of this entire work dating from 1963. The transcription was dedicated to the Rejeliovo Decliove Quintet from Prague. In the third movement of the quintet, the bassoon is the soloist instead of the tuba. The marking at the beginning is Bien scande, which refers to placing much stress or accent when indicated. (Gordon) There are a plethora of accents sprinkled throughout this brief movement. It opens with a quick two bar ostinato in 3/8. The changing meters give it impetus. It is in ABA form with the interior section marked Lent and fantasque This is punctuated by a figure marked brusquement and counteracted with three bars marked tendrement. The "A" section returns briefly with the main theme ostinato.
Introduction et Danse was composed in 1949 and dedicated to the clarinetist Monsieur Cahuzac. It was published in 1949 by Alphonse Leduc. It can be performed with clarinet and piano or clarinet and orchestra. It is a stylish handling of different dance moods. The entire range of the clarinet with respect to pitch and dynamics is utilized. A polychord opens the Andantino introduction. This fantasia like beginning has a short clarinet cadenza with a descending arpeggiated figure that will later appear in the dance. This is followed by a section in serial form that is soft and brooding in mood. The dance starts with an ostinato in the piano and cascading arpeggios in the clarinet. The dance is a play with freedom and constraint. There are numerous markings indicating slight fluctuations in tempo. The wealth of tone color and motivic work are reminiscent of Ravel. Chords move in parallel motion as in Debussy's writing, but are more dissonant, The work concludes with assai lento marked con malinconia.
Sonatine Attique is for solo clarinet and is, reputedly, a "poetic recollection of a night spent by Henri Tomasi under the Greek sky near the Parthenon
in Athens
." (Woodwind.org) It was composed in 1966 and published in 1967 by Alphonse Leduc. It is dedicated to the foremost French clarinetist of the time, Ulysse Delecluse, who premiered it in Rennes, France. His Evocations for solo oboe are written in a similar guise and call on the music of Peru
, Cambodia
, Nigeria
and Scotland
. Tomasi is referring to Ancient Greece
's Attica (L'Attique) whose capital is Athens
. The adjective attique refers to Attica, characteristic of the Athenians and their language, art, and literature. It has a connotation of delicacy, refinement, and gracefulness. The Ancient Greek Attica dialect was closely related to the refined Ionic language of the great Greek writers such as Aescchylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. (Gordon) The first and third movements of the work are senza misura (without meter). It is improvisatory in nature and Tomasi uses motives and develops them like his French compatriot, Jolivet. The first movement is marked Giocoso (playfully) and Tomasi makes chords out of the arpeggiated figures in the clarinet. This movement is in sonata form with a sostenuto section framed by the giocoso sections featuring complex rhythms and large leaps in register. The second movement is marked Mysterieux. A cadenza connects this to a Scherzando that is independent in form and fluctuates between 3/8 and 2/8. The soft motif in the low register returns to close the movement. The last movement uses rhythm and accents as a cohesive force. There is a brief slow interlude before the first tempo returns. The movement pulsates with perpetual motion until the end.
The Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra was also dedicated to Ulysse Delecluse and was published by Alphonse Leduc in 1953. Unfortunately, there is no commercial CD recording available with clarinet and orchestra and only one recording with piano reduction. Undoubtedly the orchestration is colorful, although it retains its charm with piano. Tomasi composed in an economical manner, deriving thematic material from motivic cells. The first movement was chosen to be the Paris Conservatory Examination Solo in 1953. Later, the second and third movements were the Contest Solo at the Paris Conservatory in 1966. Delecluse observed that "the concerto had gained enormous popularity throughout Europe; many critics consider it a masterpiece." (qtd. in Gee 20) It deserves to have greater notoriety today. The first movement is in sonata form and starts with an E flat/D Major polychord. Usually a conventional concerto has an exposition in the orchestra, but here the clarinet starts unaccompanied with a similar figure to Bach's E Major Partita for Solo Violin (Lerner 7). The second theme is stated in the piano at rehearsal #11. A long cadenza connects back to the original theme and ends with rhythmic material in 7/8. There are traditional key centers in a flexible framework. The nontraditional elements include polychords, chords with added notes, clusters, and dissonance. The clarinet exhibits a freedom of key relationships and tonal centers. The second movement opens with a motive from the first movement. This introduction is followed with ternary form with return above an ostinato of Sicilian rhythm. The short development at rehearsal #10 is followed by a recapitulation at rehearsal #15. The virtuoso Scherzo finale is in a sonata rondo construction. A combination of meters is used: 4/4 12/8, 3/4 9/8, 2/4 6/8. The concerto comes to a blazing conclusion after the final statement of theme "A". Henri Tomasi wrote his own notes on the concerto in 1957 and they are printed on the Tomasi Association of France website. He says of the first movement, "of odd and burlesque pace, the principal topic must be interpreted like an improvisation, with some lyric and dark abandonments rather discrete. A significant rate of frightening difficulty will bring us back little by little to a tempo first more stressed, to lead to final giocoso…" He says of the Nocturne (Night): "Mysterious recalls of the first principal theme will be like a romantic daydream. The dialogue between soloist and orchestra will be increasingly pressing, to go towards a lyrical and impassioned exultation. The conclusion will be melancholy." He describes the Scherzo-finale, "Furious accents will disturb this quietude. Suddenly, it will be a romantic and fantastic escape; rides through landscapes of dream, continuations, etc. Then, a song of extreme softness, pointing out the atmosphere of night will rise out of this tumult to create an idyllic environment. The furious agreements of the beginning will bring back to reality soloist and orchestra for an increasingly disheveled final conclusion." (Tomasi assoc.)
There is other worthy chamber music by Tomasi utilizing the clarinet to explore. He composed two woodwind quintets (1925 and 1952) in addition to the 1963 reduction of the Cinq Danses Profanes et Sacrees. There are Trois Divertissements for four clarinets, a Corsican Song that may be performed on clarinet (the instrument is not specified), wind trios, and a piece for clarinet, flute and harp. The works for clarinet by Tomasi have been relegated to the background of this oeuvre but they deserve to be performed with more regularity.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
classical composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
.
The early years
Henri Tomasi was born in MarseilleMarseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, France, in the working class neighborhood on August 17, 1901. His father Xavier Tomasi and mother Josephine Vincensi were originally from La Casinca, Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
. At the age of five, Henri and his family moved to Mazarques, France where his father had a job as a postal worker. At this time his father enrolled Henri in music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
lessons. At the age of seven, Henri entered the Conservatoire de Musique de Marseille. Pressured by his father, Henri played for upper-class families, where he felt "humiliated to be on show like a trained animal." (Tomasi assoc.) In 1913, the family moved back to Marseille. Tomasi had dreams of becoming a sailor
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
, and skipped many of his music classes. During the summer, he stayed with his grandmother in Corsica and learned traditional Corsican songs. In 1916, Henri won first prize in harmony, along with his friend Zino Francescatti
Zino Francescatti
René-Charles "Zino" Francescatti was a French virtuoso violinist.Zino Francescatti was born in Marseilles, to a musical family. Both parents were violinists. His father, who also played the cello, had studied with Camillo Sivori. Zino studied violin from age three and was quickly recognized as a...
, the celebrated violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist. World War I delayed his entrance into the Paris Conservatoire, so he played piano in Marseille to earn money. He performed in diverse venues such as upscale hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s, restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s, brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
s, and movie houses
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
. His gift for composition was developed during this time as he improvised at the keyboard. The early Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
films also intrigued him.
The 1920s
In 1921, he commenced his studies at the Paris Conservatoire with a scholarship from Marseille and a stipend from a lawyer, Maitre Levy Oulman. He still performed at cafes and in the cinemas to earn money, however. His friend Maurice Franck described Tomasi as a hard worker: "He showed up with a fugue a week, he was indefatigable - an inveterate workaholic." (Tomasi assoc.) In 1925, his first piece, a wind quintet called 'Variations sur un Theme Corse', won the Prix Halphen. His teachers at the Paris Conservatoire included GaubertPhilippe Gaubert
Philippe Gaubert was a French musician who was a distinguished performer on the flute, a respected conductor, and a composer, primarily for the flute....
, Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy was a French composer and teacher.-Life:Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy was born in Paris into an aristocratic family of royalist and Catholic persuasion. He had piano lessons from an early age from his paternal grandmother, who passed him on to Antoine François Marmontel and...
, Georges Caussade
Georges Caussade
Georges Caussade was a French composer, music theorist, and music educator. Born in Port Louis, Mauritius, he joined the faculty of the Conservatoire de Paris in 1905 as a teacher of counterpoint. He began teaching fugue at the school as well in 1921; a position his wife, composer Simone...
, and Paul Vidal
Paul Vidal
Paul Antoine Vidal was a French composer, conductor and music teacher.Paul Vidal was born in Toulouse. He studied at the conservatoires in Toulouse and in Paris, under Jules Massenet in the latter. He won the Prix de Rome in 1883, one year before Claude Debussy did...
. In 1927, he won the second Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata, 'Coriolan', and a First Prize for Orchestral Conducting, both awarded unanimously. In this same year he met his future wife, Odette Camp, at the Opéra-Comique
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
and married her in 1929. Tomasi began his career as a conductor for Concerts du Journal.
The 1930s
From 1930 to 1935 Tomasi served as the music director of the Radio Colonial Orchestra in French IndochinaFrench Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
, originally founded by Julien Maigret during the 1931 Colonial Exhibition in Paris. Tomasi became one of the first radio conductors and a pioneer of "radiophonic" music. During the 1930s he was a founder of a contemporary music group in Paris entitled "Triton
Triton (mythology)
Triton is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the big sea. He is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea, and Amphitrite, goddess of the sea, whose herald he is...
" along with Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, Milhaud
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
, Honegger
Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which is interpreted as imitating the sound of a steam locomotive.-Biography:Born...
, and Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
. He spent equal time composing and conducting. He was one of the conductors for studio broadcasts of the Orchestre Radio Symphonique de la Radioduffusion Francaise (Paris Radio). His most memorable recording was in 1936 with the extraordinary French mezzo soprano Alice Raveau in Gluck's Orfeo, which was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque
Grand Prix du Disque
The Grand Prix du Disque is the premier French award for musical recordings. The award was inaugurated by l'Académie Charles Cros in 1948 and offers prizes in various categories. The categories vary from year to year, and multiple awards are often made in any one category in the same year...
. In 1939 Tomasi was drafted into the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
and was named marching-band conductor at the Villefranche sur Mer fort.
The 1940s
In 1940 he was discharged and took up the baton at the Orchestre national de la Radiodiffusion française. As a composer, his orchestral music is important, but above all he was attracted to the theater. In the realm of instrumental music, he preferred composing for wind instruments. He composed concerti for fluteFlute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
, trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, and trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
. He also composed concerti for violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
. In 1944, his son Claude was born and Tomasi started composing a Requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
dedicated to "the martyrs of the resistance movement and all those who have died for France." (RadioFrance) Tomasi was disillusioned by the events of World War II and subsequently rejected all faith in God. His Requiem was set aside and was not discovered again and recorded until 1996. An hour-long documentary film produced by Jacques Sapiega was made in 2001. In 1946, Tomasi assumed the post of conductor of the Opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
de Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
. He became extremely sought-after as a guest conductor all over Europe. In 1948, he wrote what would become his most popular composition, the Concerto for Trumpet. In 1949 the Concerto for Saxophone was performed by Marcel Mule
Marcel Mule
Marcel Mule was a French classical saxophonist.Marcel Mule was known worldwide as one of the great classical saxophonists, and many pieces were written for him, premiered by him, and arranged by him. Many of these pieces have become staples in the classical saxophone repertoire...
.
His later Life
In 1956 the Concerto for ClarinetClarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
and the Concerto for Trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
were composed. This same year brought the long-awaited world premiere of his opera "Don Juan de Manara" based on a text by poet O. V. de L. Milosc. This opera, "L'Atlantide", and the comic opera "Le Testament di Pere Gaucher" established his reputation as an opera composer.
In May 1956 at Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, his opera Sampiero Corso was premiered, the title role being created by the Australian tenor Kenneth Neate
Kenneth Neate
Kenneth Neate was a renowned Australian operatic and concert tenor, opera producer and singing teacher. He was a regular artist in Wagnerian opera at Bayreuth, and he was noted as a dramatic tenor in German, French, and Italian repertoire in opera houses in England, France, Italy, Austria,...
. This was repeated at the Holland Festival in June.
In 1957, Tomasi stopped conducting because of physical problems, including advancing deafness in his right ear. In 1966 his Concerto for Flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
was played by Jean-Pierre Rampal
Jean-Pierre Rampal
Jean-Pierre Louis Rampal was a French flautist. He has been personally "credited with returning to the flute the popularity as a solo classical instrument it had not held since the 18th century."-Early years:...
with the Orchestre des Concerts Classiques in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
. His last piece for the theater, "In Praise of Madness (the nuclear era)", is a cross between opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
and contains references to Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and napalm
Napalm
Napalm is a thickening/gelling agent generally mixed with gasoline or a similar fuel for use in an incendiary device, primarily as an anti-personnel weapon...
. It reflects Tomasi's postwar disillusionment with mankind. During his last period of composition he was motivated by political events and wrote pieces such as the 'Third World Symphony' and 'Chant pour le Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
'. In 1969, he held a series of interviews with his son, Claude, called "Autobiography with a Tape Recorder." (Tomasi assoc.) As his health deteriorated, he began working on an operatic version of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
. On January 13, 1971, he died peacefully in his apartment in Montmartre
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
, Paris. He was buried in his wife's family tomb in Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
. Later, to celebrate the centennial of his birth, his ashes were moved to the village of his ancestors in Penta di Casinca, Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
.
His music
Tomasi's music is fundamentally lyrical. Diatonic and chromaticChromatic scale
The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone apart. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered instrument, all the half steps are the same size...
melodic lines predominate supported by tertian
Tertian
In music theory, tertian describes any piece, chord, counterpoint etc. constructed from the interval of a third...
and polychordal harmonies. His music is highly colorful and one can hear the influence of his French contemporaries. Exotic sounds and colors of Corsica, Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, the Sahara and Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
are used. He also wrote music inspired by medieval religious songs. He utilized many styles including Oriental recitative and twelve tone techniques but they were always personal and unique to him.
Tomasi said: "Although I haven't shirked from using the most modern forms of expression, I've always been a melodist at heart. I can't stand systems and sectarianism. I write for the public at large. Music that doesn't come from the heart isn't music." (Tomasi assoc.)
His earliest influence stemmed from a performance his mother took him to of the opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
. He wept over the tribulations of the main character, Mimi. In fact, he felt that La bohème was responsible for his musical destiny. It gave him a great passion for lyrical theater. Later he heard Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
and learned about Mussorgsky
Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period...
through Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov (opera)
Boris Godunov is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky . The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar during the Time of Troubles,...
, and Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
through Pelléas et Mélisande
Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)
Pelléas et Mélisande is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande...
. He was influenced by Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
, and later by Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
. Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
was never an influence on him. His harmonic inspiration derived from Debussy and Ravel. He felt that his experience from conducting enabled him to orchestrate with more skill. He felt that dodecaphonic music could be used occasionally when needed or called for. He thought that the inherent danger in electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
was that it was devoid of the human factor: "...the end of the heart -a world filled with nothing more than the sound of machines!" (Tomasi assoc.) Tomasi frequently based his works on a text of some sort, even if words were not actually used. To translate Tomasi's views on his own music: "My musical knowledge is not based on any system. The sensibility expresses itself and the mind controls. What good is it to invent new forms of speech? Everything has been said and everything has been done." (Tomasi assoc.) Tomasi was primarily interested in "man and his passionate style." (Tomasi assoc.)
Nocturne was first published in 1954 by Pierre Noel. The copyright was later taken over by Gerard Billaudot in 1999. It is marked Lent and has a surreal quality. It is intensely lyrical and expressive. There are polychords present. There is constant eighth-note movement. The slow section evolves to a poco pui agitato interlude followed by a short cadenza marked a piacere (freely). The initial tempo returns and the song ends in calm repose with an unusual closing chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
: the C minor
C minor
C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The harmonic minor raises the B to B. Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with naturals and accidentals as necessary.Its key signature consists of three flats...
seventh. Complainte du Jeune Indien was composed in 1949 and published the same year by Alphonse Leduc. It is cordially dedicated to Monsieur Beaucamp. The French word Complainte refers to a lament or plaint. Perhaps one can conjecture that the jeune (young) Indian is expressing nostalgia for his homeland. (Gordon) It is marked tristamente (sadly) in a slow Andante tempo. The harmonic motion is very slow with only a G minor
G minor
G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. For the harmonic minor scale, the F is raised to F. Its relative major is B-flat major, and its parallel major is G major....
chord until rehearsal #2. The chords move in parallel motion similar to Debussy. Before the brief cadenza at rehearsal #4, there is a "B" eleventh chord. This cadenza
Cadenza
In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....
is optional; another optional cut is between rehearsal #8 to #11, which eliminates the second brief cadenza. These cuts will not be taken in this performance. The initial theme returns, and it closes even more slowly and sadly.
The Danse Nuptiale (Wedding Dance) was originally composed as a work for chamber orchestra and soloists in 1961. It was published by Alphonse Leduc in 1962 and dedicated to Andre Boutard. The original instrumentation was for oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
, French horn, tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, tympani, a battery of percussion, piano, and string quintet
String quintet
A string quintet is a musical composition for a standard string quartet supplemented by a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola or a second cello , but occasionally a double bass. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who favoured addition of a viola, is considered a pioneer of the form...
. The first movement, Danse Agreste (Rustic Dance) in the original work features the oboe. The second movement, Danse Profane has the French horn as soloist. The Danse Sacree (Sacred Dance) features a tuba soloist, and the fifth movement, Danse Guerriere (War Dance), highlights the bassoon. There is a woodwind quintet version of this entire work dating from 1963. The transcription was dedicated to the Rejeliovo Decliove Quintet from Prague. In the third movement of the quintet, the bassoon is the soloist instead of the tuba. The marking at the beginning is Bien scande, which refers to placing much stress or accent when indicated. (Gordon) There are a plethora of accents sprinkled throughout this brief movement. It opens with a quick two bar ostinato in 3/8. The changing meters give it impetus. It is in ABA form with the interior section marked Lent and fantasque This is punctuated by a figure marked brusquement and counteracted with three bars marked tendrement. The "A" section returns briefly with the main theme ostinato.
Introduction et Danse was composed in 1949 and dedicated to the clarinetist Monsieur Cahuzac. It was published in 1949 by Alphonse Leduc. It can be performed with clarinet and piano or clarinet and orchestra. It is a stylish handling of different dance moods. The entire range of the clarinet with respect to pitch and dynamics is utilized. A polychord opens the Andantino introduction. This fantasia like beginning has a short clarinet cadenza with a descending arpeggiated figure that will later appear in the dance. This is followed by a section in serial form that is soft and brooding in mood. The dance starts with an ostinato in the piano and cascading arpeggios in the clarinet. The dance is a play with freedom and constraint. There are numerous markings indicating slight fluctuations in tempo. The wealth of tone color and motivic work are reminiscent of Ravel. Chords move in parallel motion as in Debussy's writing, but are more dissonant, The work concludes with assai lento marked con malinconia.
Sonatine Attique is for solo clarinet and is, reputedly, a "poetic recollection of a night spent by Henri Tomasi under the Greek sky near the Parthenon
Parthenon
The Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their virgin patron. Its construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
." (Woodwind.org) It was composed in 1966 and published in 1967 by Alphonse Leduc. It is dedicated to the foremost French clarinetist of the time, Ulysse Delecluse, who premiered it in Rennes, France. His Evocations for solo oboe are written in a similar guise and call on the music of Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Tomasi is referring to Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
's Attica (L'Attique) whose capital is Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. The adjective attique refers to Attica, characteristic of the Athenians and their language, art, and literature. It has a connotation of delicacy, refinement, and gracefulness. The Ancient Greek Attica dialect was closely related to the refined Ionic language of the great Greek writers such as Aescchylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. (Gordon) The first and third movements of the work are senza misura (without meter). It is improvisatory in nature and Tomasi uses motives and develops them like his French compatriot, Jolivet. The first movement is marked Giocoso (playfully) and Tomasi makes chords out of the arpeggiated figures in the clarinet. This movement is in sonata form with a sostenuto section framed by the giocoso sections featuring complex rhythms and large leaps in register. The second movement is marked Mysterieux. A cadenza connects this to a Scherzando that is independent in form and fluctuates between 3/8 and 2/8. The soft motif in the low register returns to close the movement. The last movement uses rhythm and accents as a cohesive force. There is a brief slow interlude before the first tempo returns. The movement pulsates with perpetual motion until the end.
The Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra was also dedicated to Ulysse Delecluse and was published by Alphonse Leduc in 1953. Unfortunately, there is no commercial CD recording available with clarinet and orchestra and only one recording with piano reduction. Undoubtedly the orchestration is colorful, although it retains its charm with piano. Tomasi composed in an economical manner, deriving thematic material from motivic cells. The first movement was chosen to be the Paris Conservatory Examination Solo in 1953. Later, the second and third movements were the Contest Solo at the Paris Conservatory in 1966. Delecluse observed that "the concerto had gained enormous popularity throughout Europe; many critics consider it a masterpiece." (qtd. in Gee 20) It deserves to have greater notoriety today. The first movement is in sonata form and starts with an E flat/D Major polychord. Usually a conventional concerto has an exposition in the orchestra, but here the clarinet starts unaccompanied with a similar figure to Bach's E Major Partita for Solo Violin (Lerner 7). The second theme is stated in the piano at rehearsal #11. A long cadenza connects back to the original theme and ends with rhythmic material in 7/8. There are traditional key centers in a flexible framework. The nontraditional elements include polychords, chords with added notes, clusters, and dissonance. The clarinet exhibits a freedom of key relationships and tonal centers. The second movement opens with a motive from the first movement. This introduction is followed with ternary form with return above an ostinato of Sicilian rhythm. The short development at rehearsal #10 is followed by a recapitulation at rehearsal #15. The virtuoso Scherzo finale is in a sonata rondo construction. A combination of meters is used: 4/4 12/8, 3/4 9/8, 2/4 6/8. The concerto comes to a blazing conclusion after the final statement of theme "A". Henri Tomasi wrote his own notes on the concerto in 1957 and they are printed on the Tomasi Association of France website. He says of the first movement, "of odd and burlesque pace, the principal topic must be interpreted like an improvisation, with some lyric and dark abandonments rather discrete. A significant rate of frightening difficulty will bring us back little by little to a tempo first more stressed, to lead to final giocoso…" He says of the Nocturne (Night): "Mysterious recalls of the first principal theme will be like a romantic daydream. The dialogue between soloist and orchestra will be increasingly pressing, to go towards a lyrical and impassioned exultation. The conclusion will be melancholy." He describes the Scherzo-finale, "Furious accents will disturb this quietude. Suddenly, it will be a romantic and fantastic escape; rides through landscapes of dream, continuations, etc. Then, a song of extreme softness, pointing out the atmosphere of night will rise out of this tumult to create an idyllic environment. The furious agreements of the beginning will bring back to reality soloist and orchestra for an increasingly disheveled final conclusion." (Tomasi assoc.)
There is other worthy chamber music by Tomasi utilizing the clarinet to explore. He composed two woodwind quintets (1925 and 1952) in addition to the 1963 reduction of the Cinq Danses Profanes et Sacrees. There are Trois Divertissements for four clarinets, a Corsican Song that may be performed on clarinet (the instrument is not specified), wind trios, and a piece for clarinet, flute and harp. The works for clarinet by Tomasi have been relegated to the background of this oeuvre but they deserve to be performed with more regularity.