Œuvres orchestrales

Description

Elsa Barraine (1910-1999) was clearly meant to be a musical prodigy. At 18, she placed second in the highly coveted Prix de Rome. At 19, she had it in the bag. While studying with Paul Dukas in the Eternal City, she composed, among other works, a first symphony of remarkable quality and individuality, unmistakably neoclassical. There is no doubt that this was not merely talent, but the manifestation of an exceptional figure. And she lived up to the high expectations placed on her: “L'illustration symphonique du poème Pogrom d'André Spire” proves to be a captivating symphonic poem, and the second symphony of 1938 unleashes a force one neither wants nor can resist. Then there is the Mise au tombeau du Titien from 1953, a passacaglia whose expressive power and intensity are breathtaking.