Today’s Music by Today’s Composers.
The only composition that Jean Barraqué wrote in response to a commission.
Music for percussion
When Jean Barraqué received the commission from the Strasbourg Festival in 1964 to compose a piece for the famous ensemble Les Percussions de Strassbourg, he started by delving into the techniques that Luciano Berio used four years earlier in his percussion piece Circles.
This resulted one year later in Chant après chant, in which Barraqué uses a female voice, like Berio. The composition was played at a concert with Et exspecto from Olivier Messiaen, who didn’t add a female voice to the percussion, but a large wind section.
Programme
Jean Barraqué – Chant après chant (Klangforum Wien conducted by Peter Rundel; with Claudia Barainsky)
Luciano Berio – Circles (Christine Schadeberg, Musicians’ Accord)
Olivier Messiaen – Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (Concertgebouw orchestra conducted by Haitink)
