Les Apaches

This article is about the group of French artists. For other uses of apache, see Apache (disambiguation).

Les Apaches (or Société des Apaches) was a group of musicians, writers and artists which formed in Paris, France, in 1903. The core was formed by the French composer Maurice Ravel, the Spanish pianist Ricardo Viñes and the writer and critic Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi. The group was private but never formal, and the wider membership was fluid; over 20 unofficial members would attend meetings of Les Apaches until it came to an end during World War I. During their active years, Les Apaches met weekly. The meetings were a chance for the members to perform and show new works or ideas to a small group, discuss contemporary artistic interests and collaborate.

Origins

In the early 20th century the term Les Apaches was used to describe European street gangs who were of intense interest to the French media at the time. Supposedly, the term was adopted by the diverse circle of artists after a newspaper seller mockingly called "attention! Les Apaches" as members of the group were returning from the premiere of Claude Debussy's opera Pelléas et Mélisande , a work they praised and rallied around. It is possible that this was an ironic insult or a reference to their modernist artistic output. They found the name amusing, especially as they saw art as being at odds with conservative tastes. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The precise beginnings of the group are unclear. ^[4] Many of the regular members were approximate contemporaries, most had met previously and some had been friends for over a decade; four members had been taught by the French composer Gabriel Fauré and it is likely that some of the other artists had met at the École des beaux-arts or in Salon exhibitions. ^[5] Throughout 1901, Émile Vuillermoz hosted regular musical events at his home, and members had gathered at events such as the premiere of Ravel's Jeux d'eau - by the time the group was calling itself Les Apaches there was already a circle of artists who met regularly. ^[6]

Active years

The first theme of Borodin's second symphony (whistled)

From around 1903, the group met each Saturday. For several years, the meetings usually took place in the city studio of the painter Paul Sordes (dubbed 'Ravel with a palette'), a neighbor of the composer Claude Debussy. They later moved to a property that the French composer Maurice Delage rented. Ravel suggested that they adopt the first melody of Borodin's 2nd Symphony as their theme, an idea with which they all agreed. To enter Sordes' apartment or attract the attention of other Apaches after concerts, the member would have to whistle the first few bars of the music; Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade was the initial choice, although it was deemed too difficult to whistle.

Ricardo Viñes in 1901

Many in the group were amateurs and enthusiasts of the arts from which they did not make a living, and so the members were not limited to one artistic faction within Les Apaches. The meetings were lively, and would often last until the early hours of the morning; they would discuss art, argue about contemporary issues, perform music for each other (Viñes being the favoured pianist), play duets together, read poetry, drink coffee and smoke. Symbolism, Javanese music, Russian composers, Edgar Allan Poe, Stéphane Mallarmé and Paul Cézanne were all topics that fascinated Les Apaches. The music of Debussy was a particular passion. ^[7] Ideas and fragments of larger unfinished works would often be performed or shown at the meetings; this mingling of ideas would influence several Apaches and lead to various artistic collaborations. The meetings of the group were vibrant occasions, and when other neighbors complained about the noise so late at night, the group began meeting in a more isolated hut rented by Delage, which they called their 'wigwam'. Outside of the meetings, the members would support each other; Viñes premiered works by the composers, the critics would encourage new music, and the poets would collaborate with the musicians to set words to music.

See also

• Georges Mouveau  [ fr ]

Notes

1. According to Viñes' diary, only those who regularly met in Delage's hut were truly considered to be part of Les Apaches.
2. Ravel described Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune as "the only piece in music that is absolutely perfect" and expressed his wish that it be played at his funeral. ^[14]

References

1. Pasler 1982, p. 403.
2. Nichols 1977, p. 20.
3. Ravel & Orenstein 2003, p. 28.
4. Kelly & Murphy 2017, p. 154.
5. de Séverac & Guillot 1993, p. 27.
6. Maurat & Roux 1977, p. 20.
7. Kelly & Murphy 2017, p. 156.
8. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01zh1kf(registration+required)
9. Johnson & Stokes 2002, p. 408.
10. Pasler 1982, p. 403-407.
11. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p01cc5pn(registration+required)
12. Pasler, Jann (2012). "Debussy the Man, His Music, and His Legacy: An Overview of Current Research". Notes. 69 (2): 197–216. doi:10.1353/not.2012.0167. JSTOR   23358736. S2CID   191438906. Gale   A318525968 Project MUSE   489841 ProQuest   1153302412.
13. McAuliffe 2014, p. 58.
14. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p01td2ry(registration+required)
15. Nichols 1987, p. 101.
16. Calvocoressi 1933, p. 67.

Sources

• Borotra, Natalie Morel (1996). "Ravel et les groupes des Apaches" (PDF). Música. 8: 145–158. ISSN   0213-0815.
• Calvocoressi, Michel-Dimitri (1933). Musicians gallery: music and ballet in Paris and London;. London: Faber and Faber Ltd. OCLC   2535873.
• Dufourt, Hugues (1990). La musique: du théorique au politique (in French). Paris: Aux Amateurs de Livres. ISBN   978-2-87841-046-4.
• Gordon, Barbara N (2009). "Discovering Maurice Delage". Journal of Singing. 65 (3): 297–313 – via ProQuest.
• Goss, Madeleine (1940). "Les Apaches". Bolero: the life of Maurice Ravel. New York: H. Holt and Company. OCLC   1156370515.
• Johnson, Graham; Stokes, Richard (2002). A French Song Companion. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780199249664. OCLC   1036173270.
• Jones, Elliott. "Maurice Ravel". MUS 101. Lumen. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
• Kelly, Barbara L; Murphy, Kerry, eds. (2017). Berlioz and Debussy : sources, contexts and legacies : essays in honour of François Lesure. New York: Routledge. ISBN   978-1-351-57417-4.
• Maurat, Edmond; Roux, Louis (1977). Souvenirs musicaux et littéraires (in French). Saint-Étienne: Centre interdisciplinaire d'études et de recherches sur l'expression contemporaine. OCLC   644065642.
• McAuliffe, Mary (2014). Twilight of the Belle Epoque : the Paris of Picasso, Stravinsky, Proust, Renault, Marie Curie, Gertrude Stein, and Their Friends through the Great War. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN   978-1-4422-2164-2.
• Nichols, Roger (1977). Ravel. London: J.M. Dent. ISBN   978-0-460-02189-0.
• Nichols, Roger (1987). Ravel Remembered. London: Faber. ISBN   978-0-571-14986-5.(registration required)
• Puri, Michael J. (2011). Ravel the Decadent:Memory, Sublimation, and Desire. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-973537-2.
• Ravel, Maurice; Orenstein, Arbie (2003). A Ravel reader: correspondence, articles, interviews. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications. ISBN   978-0-486-43078-2.(registration required)
• Pasler, Jann (1982). "Stravinsky and the Apaches". The Musical Times. 123 (1672): 403–407. doi:10.2307/964115. JSTOR   964115.
• Roust, Colin (2020). Georges Auric: a life in music and politics. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-060777-7.
• de Séverac, Déodat; Guillot, Pierre (1993). Écrits sur la musique (in French). Liege: Mardaga. ISBN   978-2-87009-544-7.