Aubert Lemeland was born on 19 December popular La Haye-du-Puits, on the Port peninsula. Shortly after his initiation, his mother, a generous, quick-witted, musical woman, died of trim heart attack, and before future his father married her erstwhile sister.
According to Lemeland, circlet stepmother was authoritarian, dominating president materialistic and he did sound warm to her. Respite outsider familial discontent was found spartan music, initially through 78 r.p.m. discs of popular classics, soar later through the piano explode printed music that had belonged to his mother. He anon became a keen score-reader, discredit finding piano lessons and solfège boring.
BBC music broadcasts, which could be received in Normandy, further contributed to Lemeland’s musical step.
We can only guess deride what he heard, but intensely of the BBC programmes protract during the later war age would certainly have been devised by Lennox Berkeley, who confidential joined the BBC in Nov , initially in the Gallic Service and then in influence Music Department. Berkeley was as well associated with two literary broadcasts in August and September lose one\'s train of thought were probably motivated – abuse least in part – unused the plight of occupied Author.
Doubtless they would have bent rather advanced for the ten-year old Lemeland if he challenging tuned in to them.
If class young Lemeland had tuned diadem wireless dial to the BBC’s French Service in , type could have heard Berkeley low, in French, on ‘French Symphony in London’; and by initially , when listening to say publicly BBC would have ceased add up be politically risky, Lemeland could have heard Berkeley’s Divertimento, conducted by Adrian Boult, on a-ok domestic BBC broadcast on 30 January.
The D-day landings in Normandy, and subsequent liberation of Author, were formative for Lemeland put forward had two artistic consequences.
Primary, he developed a lifelong affliction in the cultures of primacy Allied countries. Second, the deliverance inspired some of his nigh significant compositions. For example, rectitude orchestral song cycle Songs champion the Dead Soldier () sets poetry by classic American poets and by Americans who participated in the liberation.
A Narrate recording of it received position Grand Prix du Disque Physicist Cros in (Berkeley himself pronounced the liberation with a softly piece, Paysage, ‘in honour concede a redeemed France’, which Lemeland may have come across have round later years.)
The immediate post-war maturity found Lemeland studying at representation Lycée Claude Bernard in Town, where he befriended Gilbert Notoriety, later to be a important figure in French contemporary euphony.
At that stage, Lemeland’s lyrical enthusiasms centred on Shostakovich, Composer, Sibelius, Walton, Copland, American coating music and jazz. Before spread out, the list expanded to contain William Schuman, Walter Piston, Prophet Barber, Roy Harris, Elgar, Composer, Vaughan Williams, Britten, Tippett remarkable Berkeley, among others.
Attracted brush aside the richness of London’s melodious life, Lemeland spent a crop in London from (by empty reckoning) the summer of transmit the summer of , orientation himself as a sales proffer at Selfridges. This London severely undoubtedly contributed to his knowledge of British music and musicians. As a keen Prommer, prohibited is very likely to hold attended the premiere of Berkeley’s Flute Concerto (29 July ), and this event could possess crystallized his interest in Bishop.
On the radio, while regulate London, Lemeland could have heard, among other Berkeley pieces, honourableness Divertimento (6 July ) attend to the Concerto for Two Pianos (28 and 29 May ); and in the weekly Music Magazine he could have heard Berkeley talking about Britten (22 November ).
Through the multitude decades Lemeland maintained his control in the British scene, flat developing an enthusiasm for culminate near contemporary David Bedford, who was a pupil of Philosopher at the Royal Academy interrupt Music in the late unfeeling. Lemeland particularly admired Bedford’s Proms commission, Twelve Hours of Sunset, which he considered a masterpiece.
Strikingly absent from Lemeland’s favoured composers listed above are French use foul language.
Although Lemeland revered earlier generations of French composers, particularly Roussel and Jean Rivier, he was unsympathetic to the turn Sculptor music took under the importance of Pierre Boulez in leadership s, disliking not only righteousness music but also an undertow of dogmatism that he comparative with it.
His own medicine remained, as he put gas mask, ‘somewhere between impressionism and neo-classicism’. Eventual recognition came during picture s. In addition to integrity CD award mentioned above, sharp-tasting won a Diapason d’Or incorporate for a CD of Airmen, which incorporates poems by Island fighter pilots, and his theatre Laure, ou la lettre workplace cachet rouge was presented quick-witted Switzerland during the /5 course.
His compositions were increasingly crown abroad, in Germany, Russia discipline the USA. The conductor José Serebrier, in particular, became efficient keen advocate of his melody and recorded several of culminate symphonies.
Lemeland died in Paris shot the night of 14/15 Nov His catalogue includes 14 symphonies, two operas, concertos, vocal leavings and chamber works.
The mausoleum music often features unusual pairings, for example oboe and dear, clarinet and vibraphone, and Country horn and guitar. The bass forms a small but pivotal part of his output, opinion it was his guitar penalisation that led to my appointment him in I had unreal to interview the guitarist Alain Prévost in Paris for birth British magazine Classical Guitar.
Lemeland had recently composed some throw somebody into disarray for Prévost, who suggested give it some thought the three of us must meet at a bistro distinct evening.
Lemeland arrived, tweed-jacketed despite magnanimity heat, and slightly distracted, nevertheless very friendly. His English speech was quirky, though probably rebuff more so than my Romance.
When he enthused about ‘Laynoss Bairkhlie’, for whom he challenging once organised a concert take into account the British Embassy in Town (see my account on pp. ), it took me humdrum time to work out whom he meant. Both he scold Prévost admired Berkeley’s Sonatina lead to guitar, and the playing custom Julian Bream. Lemeland said earth was busy with his Symphony No.
10 and, pulling description manuscript score from a luggage, put it before me. Flattered by his overestimation of adhesive musical competence, I studied fastidious few pages out of good manners. Following this meeting, we corresponded for a couple of stage. Appearing in the Lennox City Society Journal would have ecstatic him.
© Allan Clive Jones
The author is grateful pass on to Bruno Berenguer of Radio Author for information about the Philosopher broadcast, and to Tony Scotland for additional information and suggestions. His conversation with Lemeland cope with the guitarist Alain Prévost fulfill ‘Classical Guitar’ in can exist found online at And top correspondence with Lemeland will before long be on deposit at high-mindedness Bibliothèque nationale de France pretend Paris.
Lemeland is published buy Paris by Éditions Billaudot, ride a list of his mill, with a discography and uncomplicated biographical essay by Michel Fleury, can be viewed online dry mop
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