Andr?Jolivet ― Music, Art and Literature

This first book in English on the French composer André Jolivet (1905-1974) investigates his music, influences and activities against a background of the main trends in twentieth-century French music. A pupil of Varèse and colleague of Messiaen in La Jeune France, Jolivet is recognised as a major figure in French music of the last century. His music is characterised by its innovative language and deep spirituality, summarised in his self-declared axiom to 'restore music's ancient original meaning when it was the magic and incantatory expression of the sacred in human communities'. Following a contextual introduction, the contributors, including the composer's daughter Christine Jolivet-Erlih, assess Jolivet's contribution from his early so-called 'magic' period of the 1930s up to and including his late works. These rich and balanced chapters, edited by Caroline Rae, investigate Jolivet's style and compositional process, his relationship with the exotic as well as influences from the visual arts and literature, and examine, for the first time, the significance of his activities as conductor, teacher and critic. A chronology of Jolivet's life and works is presented in English in addition to a list of works. This fascinating and comprehensive volume is a definitive source that will shape the direction of further research into this seminal French composer of the twentieth century.

Caroline Rae is a Senior Lecturer in Music at Cardiff University. She is the author of The Music of Maurice Ohana (Ashgate, 2000) and has published numerous scholarly articles on twentieth-century French music in English, French and German. A pianist and former pupil of Dame Fanny Waterman and Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen, Caroline has performed in Europe as well as the UK and maintained a two-piano duo with the late Robert Sherlaw Johnson for many years, their repertoire focusing on twentieth century French music. She remains active as a performer giving lecture-recitals relating to her research interests, recent performances including at Adelaide University, Birmingham Conservatoire, York University, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre.