Jean Roger-Ducasse

Roger-Ducasse wrote music in nearly all classical forms, and was particularly known for his operatic stage works and orchestral compositions. These include: • Au Jardin de Marguerite, 1901–05 Based on an episode in Goethe's Faust • Sarabande, 1907 Symphonic poem with chorus. • Suite française, Concerts Calonne, Paris, 1907 • Pastorale pour orgue, 1909 • Marche française, 1914 • Nocturne de printemps, 1920 • Nocturne d'hiver, 1921 • Epithalame for orchestra, 1923 • Orphée mimodrame lyrique, Opéra Garnier, 1912–13, staged in June 1926. Based on his own libretto, closely following the Greek myth. The production was mounted by Ida Rubinstein. • Cantegril, comédie lyrique, Paris Opéra-Comique, 6 February 1931. His most ambitious work, with thirty-two demanding roles, was directed by Masson and Ricou with Roger Bourdin as Cantegril. • Petite Suite • Variations plaisantes sur un thème grave ("Pleasant Variations on a Serious Theme") for harp and orchestra. • Ulysse et les sirènes ("Odysseus and the Sirens"), 1937 His piano pieces and chamber music are also noteworthy. He composed a piano quartet, a Romance for cello and piano, and two string quartets; the second, his swan song, debuted 24 May 1953, at the Château de la Brède. Piano pieces include etudes, barcarolles and arabesques. Roger-Ducasse wrote only one work for organ, entitled Pastorale, a masterpiece that has remained popular with performers in the United States, although it is rarely played in France. Written in 1909 and published by Éditions Durand, it is a challenging virtuoso showpiece. The work has been eclipsed by more recent compositional styles. A Romance for organ and string orchestra was performed by Marie Schumacher in New York City in 1947; it's possible this is an arrangement of the piano Romance or the cello Romance. Like Paul Dukas and Maurice Duruflé, Roger-Ducasse was severely self-critical, destroying music that did not meet his exacting standards.