Great principal flutes - the French school #4
Episode 4: Marion, Gallois, Cantin, Delaval
In this week’s episode of Grandes flûtes solos—l’école française (Great principal flutes—the French school) we have reached the 1970s and 80s. In it, we’ll hear Alain Marion playing the first movement of the Poulenc sonata and Patrick Gallois in the Boulez Sonatine, as well as two of the first women flutists to make their mark on the 1970s French orchestral scene: Catherine Cantin in Messiaen’s Concert à quatre, and Chrystel Delaval in ‘Tityre’ from Roussel’s Joueurs de flûte.
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My translation and notes for Ep. 4 begin below.
Au Coeur de l’Orchestre | At the Heart of the Orchestra
A Radio France Musique podcast series presented by Christian Merlin
Great principal flutes—the French School (episode 4 of 4)
Programme ident 00:00. Content commences 00:29
Presenter: Christian Merlin
Hello everyone, and welcome to At the Heart of the Orchestra. [In the last episode], we ended with a major figure on the French flute scene, the great Michel Debost, principal flute of the Orchestre de Paris from its foundation in 1967. In that original flute section, alongside Debost who was second principal, sat another person who was to play a major role in the history of the French school: Alain Marion.
Born in Marseilles in 1938, [Marion was] like Jean-Pierre [Rampal] and Maxence Larrieu, a pupil of Joseph Rampal. Alain Marion wasn't destined to stay long as second flute; he obviously belonged on the first desk. And this [position] became available with Fernand Dufresne's departure from the Orchestre National in 1974. There, Alain Marion played, among [other great solos], the solo from Prelude à l'Après-midi d'un faune in Jean Martinon's magical version. He would also go on to perform the solo from Daphnis et Chloé with [Sergiu] Celebidache. He was always unforgettable for the naturalness of his playing, giving the impression that the music was flowing. That's exactly what you get when you hear him play Poulenc.
Recording 1: 01:37 to 05:48
Francis Poulenc
Sonate for flute and piano, 1st mvt, Allegro malinconico
Alain Marion (flute)
Pascal Rogé (piano)
Label: Denon. Recorded 1985.
What a marvel this first movement of Poulenc's Sonata for flute and piano is, with Pascal Rogé on piano and Alain Marion on flute.
After his time with the Orchestre National, Marion became a professor at the Paris Conservatoire. A man of exceptional energy and joie de vivre, he had his own class alongside that of Jean-Pierre Rampal. A great friend of [opera singer] Jessye Norman, he sadly passed away at the age of 59. It's fair to say that he died of grief after one of the hardest bereavements imaginable [ed. note: I am struggling to make sense of this particular statement. It seems to imply that he died of grief after the death of Jessye Norman; however, Marion died in 1998 and Norman in 2019].
Alain Marion, [who was always] in great demand as a soloist and teacher, [left] his position with the Orchestre National in 1977. That's when a blond 21-year-old who dazzled conductors and listeners alike was hired [to play under Lorin Maazel]... The young blond man in question was Patrick Gallois, another northerner. Born in Linselles, his father wanted him to play trumpet so he could join the municipal brass band, but flute was the instrument that was chosen. He won first prize in Jean-Pierre Rampal's class at the age of 17.
A luminous presence on the first desk of the Orchestre National between 1977 and 1984, he continued his concert career. Gallois switched from a silver flute to wood with metal keywork like many others in the late '80s and early '90s. Later he turned mainly to conducting, particularly in Scandinavia.
He has recorded numerous Baroque works as well as modern compositions. So after [having listened to] Poulenc, let's move on to the man who, around the same time was revolutionising the [classical music] tradition: the celebrated Pierre Boulez, with his Sonatine composed in 1946.
Recording 2: 7:35 to 13:31
Pierre Boulez
Sonatine for flute and piano
Patrick Gallois (flûte)
Lydia Wong (piano)
Label: Naxos. Recorded 2003.
The Sonatine by Pierre Boulez was premiered in 1947, but not by Jean-Pierre Rampal for whom it was intended. He pulled back from the challenge, not because he couldn’t play it ((he could play anything) but because he was too busy with other work. He later regretted this decision. Here we heard it played by Patrick Gallois with Lydia Wang at the piano.
As [this series on the French School] draws to a close, I know what you're thinking: where are the women? I can't help this as I have been talking about the 1920s to the 1960s, [when] orchestras in France were predominantly male. The first changes started in the 70s at the orchestra of the Paris Opéra. [There], Sylvie Gazeau, a violinist appointed in 1974, was the first woman member who was not a harpist. [She was] followed in 1977 by the first woman in the wind section, Catherine Cantin, aged 19, who became principal flute. She was a pupil of Rampal and Alain Marion, succeeding Jean-Pierre Eustache, who moved to piccolo. [Catherine Cantin] stayed on for 43 years, an absolutely radiant principal flute. She first captivated the world in 1983 with the premiere of Messiaen's Saint François d'Assise. So much so that Olivier Messiaen included her in his Concerto for Four, which featured Yvonne Loriod on piano, Mstislav Rostropovich on cello, Heinz Holliger on oboe, and Catherine Cantin on flute.
Recording 3: 14:54 to 19:11
Olivier Messiaen
Concert à quatre, 2nd part, Vocalise
Catherine Cantin (flûte)
Heinz Holliger (hautbois)
Mstislav Rostropovitch (violoncelle)
Yvonne Loriod (piano)
Orchestre de l’Opéra de Paris
Conductor: Myung Whun Chung
Label: Deutsche Gramaphon. Recorded 1994.
First performed and recorded at the Opéra Bastille in 1994, the Concert à quatre by Olivier Messiaen was conducted by Myung Chung [and] features Catherine Cantin on flute.
Catherine Quentin was not the first woman to hold the position of principal flute in a French orchestra. Geneviève Amar had preceded her in 1972 at Strasbourg, joining the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in 1976.
Between 1981 and 1983 at the Opéra de Paris, Catherine Cantin was joined by another woman, Chrystel Delaval, who has an interesting back story. [Delaval] was principal flute in Lille, succeeding Patrick Gallois, who had left for the Orchestre National. She joined the Opéra, which in the French mind should have crowned her career, but it didn’t last. Chrystel Delaval returned to Lille, and she spent the rest of her time there, under the direction of Jean-Claude Casadesus.
At that time there was an outstanding team of wind players [in Lille] which included Claude Faucomprez on clarinet and Clélia Goldings on bassoon. Chrystel Delaval is an uncompromising personality, and I'd hate to be in the shoes of a conductor making a mistake on her watch. Nevertheless, she remains an exceptional flutist, as much for her sound and virtuosity as for her presence.
Recording 4: 20:31 to 21:31
Albert Roussel
Joueurs de flûte "Tityre"
Chrystel Delaval (flute)
Alain Raës (piano)
Label: Solstice. Recorded 1982.
Albert Roussel entitled this work "Flute Players" and you heard Chrystel Delaval, principal flute of the Orchestre National de Lille for some forty years, with the late Alain Raës at the piano, whose death we learned of just before the summer.
I'm going to finish my account of the great orchestral flutes here, because if I were to continue, we'd reach the contemporary era, and then we'd need a whole program devoted to those who are still active. Between Emmanuel Pahud, Juliette Hurel, Mathieu Dufour, Magali Mosnier, Philippe Bernold, Michel Moragues, and Vincent Lucas, amongst others, the French school shines as brightly as ever around the world.
But for now, I'd like you to listen to five flutists [who together are] representative of this important school. So here we are in Marseille, with Joseph Rampal, the father-figure, and his pupils: his son Jean-Pierre, god of the flute the world over, Maxence Larrieu of the Opéra Comique and the Opéra, Alain Marion of the Orchestre National, and (so as not to forget the regions) the great Marius Beuf, principal flute of the Orchestre National de Lyon from its inception. Together they play the Concerto in B minor for five flutes by Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.
Recording 4: 22:45 to 27:28
Joseph Bodin de Boismortier
Concerto in B min op.15 n°4 for 5 flutes, 2nd and 3rd mvts, Allegro
Joseph Rampal, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Maxence Larrieu, Alain Marion, Marius Beuf (flutes)
Label: Erato. Recorded 1967.
Five jewels in the history of the French flute were brought together to perform this work by Boismortier: Joseph Rampal the father, Jean-Pierre Rampal the son, Maxence Larrieu, Alain Marion and Marius Beuf.
Many thanks to Philippe Petit and Matthieu Leroux for producing and mixing this series of programs... [ed. note: My series of podcast translations will continue over the next four weeks with a survey of the great principal flutes around the world, starting next week in Germany.]
Broadcast August 31, 20231
Academic citation style: Radio France Musique, Aug 31, 2023, Grandes flûtes solos—l’école française (4/4), Christian Merlin; tr. and ed. Elisabeth Parry, 2023. Accessed [date]. <https://elisabethparry.substack.com/p/french-flute-podcast-ep4>