SAUGUET Henri (1901-1989). - Lot 67

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Lot n° 67
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4000 - 5000 EUR
SAUGUET Henri (1901-1989). - Lot 67
SAUGUET Henri (1901-1989). MUSICAL MANUSCRIPT autograph signed "Henri Sauguet", La Rencontre (1948); 87 pages in-fol. in one bound volume. Orchestral score for the ballet La Rencontre. Sauguet composed in the summer of 1948 the music for his ballet La Rencontre ou Œdipe et le Sphinx, in one act, on a libretto by Boris KOCHNO, who had just taken over the direction of the Ballets des Champs-Élysées after the resignation of Roland Petit. It transposed the episode of Oedipus' encounter with the Sphinx into the atmosphere of an open-air circus: on the ring, like acrobats, the two protagonists confronted each other; at the end, while the Sphinx, defeated, swayed sadly on his trapeze, Oedipus walked away to his fate. The premiere took place at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, on November 8, 1948, with a marvelous set and costumes by Christian BÉRARD (whose last premiere it was), and choreography by David LICHINE, with Jean BABILÉE and the young Leslie CARON, under the musical direction of André Girard. The score, 22 minutes long, was published by Heugel, and dedicated " to Boris Kochno and Christian Bérard ". Henri Sauguet recorded it with the USSR State Orchestra. "The Sphinx was the very young Leslie Caron - whose revelation it was - white tights, serpentine silhouette; Oedipus - the bouncing Babilée, serious face, wildcat body. The choreography evoked the game of questions and answers through a series of essentially plastic poses. [The music evokes, by certain repetitive aspects, the march of Oedipus towards his destiny in the manner of a "moving force", like a quasi-infernal machine; the alternation of questions and answers opposes to the sinuous, interrogative curves of the violin the triumphant mass of the orchestra. At the end, the orchestra begins to vibrate, to evoke the tremors of the Sphinx, while the flute marks the march of Oedipus, delivered. The whole is perhaps the masterpiece of Sauguet's ballet music" (André Hofmann). "M. Henri Sauguet's score is one of his best. Expressive and well-paced, colored by an orchestration that highlights the themes, it transmits in the field of sounds the decor of Christian Berard and the choreography of Lichine, and agrees with them to form a harmonious show" (René Dumesnil). Roland-Manuel judged the score as one of the "best, the best conceived, the best written, the most clearly arranged and the most poetically allusive that we owe to this musician who has the taste and sense of ballet. Sauguet excels in finding the musical sign representative of the choreographic image and idea ". The manuscript is in black ink on 32-line paper; it is signed and dated at the end "Coutras, 12 Oct. 1948"; it was used as a conductor and bears numerous annotations in red or blue pencil. The orchestra includes: flute (and piccolo), oboe (and English horn), clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, and strings.
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