Paul Émile Ladmirault | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1877-12-08)8 December 1877 Nantes, France |
| Died | 30 October 1944(1944-10-30) (aged 66) Camoël, France |
| Alma mater | Conservatoire de Paris |
| Occupation(s) | Composer,critic |
| Movement | Breton nationalism |
Paul Émile Ladmirault (8 December 1877 – 30 October 1944)[1] was aFrenchcomposer andmusic critic whosemusic expressed his devotion toBrittany.Claude Debussy wrote that his work possessed a "fine dreamy musicality", commenting on its characteristically hesitant character by suggesting that it sounded as if it was "afraid of expressing itself too much".[2]Florent Schmitt said of him: "Of all the musicians of his generation, he was perhaps the most talented, most original, but also the most modest".Peter Warlock dedicated hisCapriol Suite to him andSwan Hennessy his Trio, Op. 54.
Ladmirault was born inNantes. A child prodigy, he learnedpiano,organ andviolin from an early age. At the age of eight, he composed asonata forviolin andpiano. At the age of fifteen, when still a student of the NantesHigh School, he wrote a three-actoperaGilles de Retz. It was first performed on 18 May 1893.
He was admitted to theParis Conservatoire to study underGabriel Fauré, learningharmony underAntoine Taudou andcounterpoint fromAndré Gedalge. He orchestrated a few works by Fauré. Like fellow studentsMaurice Ravel,Florent Schmitt,Louis Aubert,Jean Roger-Ducasse andGeorges Enesco, he had become well known before he left the Conservatory. In 1903, he wrote aBreton Suite in three movements and then theBrocéliande de matin. These two works were orchestral extracts from his second operaMyrdhin (Merlin), an epic work which he worked on from 1902 to 1909, and continued to revise until 1921, but which has never been performed.
He also wroteYoung Cervantes for small orchestra,Valse triste andÉpousailles for piano and orchestra. TheballetLa Prêtesse de Korydwenn (The Priestess ofCeridwen) was first performed at theParis Opéra Garnier on 17 December 1926.
In the field ofreligious music, he wrote a brief mass for organ and choir and aTantum ergo for voice, organ and orchestra.
He also wrote articles on music in various periodicals. Appointed professor of harmony and counterpoint at the Nantes conservatoire, Ladmirault rarely left the Nantes region, calling himself a "homebody" who disliked to travel.[2]
He died in Kerbili en Kamoel, St. Nagoire, France.[1]
All Ladmirault's music is imbued with his attachment to Brittany. It is found throughout hisGaelic Rhapsody,Briere,Forest and a symphony (1909). He was also closely associated withBreton nationalism. He advocated cultural autonomy for Brittany in the face of the centralisation of French culture in Paris and became a subscriber of the Breton fascist paperBreiz da Zont, an offshoot of theBreton Autonomist Party. He also joined the artistic groupSeiz Breur. He was initiated into the Celtic esotericist movement led byFrançois Jaffrenou. In 1908, theGorsedd of Brittany nominated him as a Druid, and he took up the bardic name 'Oriav'.[3] In 1912, Ladmirault was one of the founding members of the short-livedAssociation des Compositeurs Breton. He composed music on Celtic themes, such as the balletLa Prêtesse de Korydwenn and the symphonic poem he wrote as musical accompaniment for the filmLa Brière. He worked on translations of ancient Gallic texts.
In 1928, Ladmirault published a manifesto of Breton music in the first issue of the Celticist journalKornog. He argued that Breton composers should follow the example of theMighty Handful, the Russian nationalist musical group, by rejecting German and Italian musical models and relying on folk traditions andpentatonic scales.[3] Nevertheless, he took the view that Breton folk music was cruder than its "civilised" Irish and Scottish counterparts. He justified his use of only Irish musical sources in his Celtic balletLa Prêtesse de Korydwenn, writing "several themes, jigs, war dances are Irish. You would find no borrowings from Breton folk music".[2]
In 1929, he helped to found theNantes Celtic Circle.
