Arthur Honegger

1 Biography

Honegger redirects here. For other uses, see Honegger

(surname).
Arthur Honegger (French: [aty n]; 10 March

Born Oscar-Arthur Honegger (the rst name was never

used) to Swiss parents in Le Havre, France, he initially
studied harmony and violin in Le Havre. After studying
for two years at the Zurich Conservatory (merged in 1999
into the School of Music, Drama, and Dance (HMT), itself merged in 2007 into the Zurich University of the Arts
(ZHdK)), he enrolled in the Paris Conservatoire from
1911 to 1918, studying with both Charles-Marie Widor
and Vincent d'Indy. He made his Paris compositional
debut in 1916 and in 1918 wrote the ballet Le dit des
jeux du monde, generally considered to be his rst characteristic work. In 1926 he married Andre Vaurabourg,
a pianist and fellow student at the Paris Conservatoire,
on the condition that they live in separate apartments.
They lived apart for the duration of their marriage, with
the exceptions of one year from 1935 to 1936 following
Vaurabourgs injury in a car accident, and the last year
of Honeggers life, when he was not well enough to live
alone. They had one daughter, Pascale, born in 1932.
Honegger also had a son, Jean-Claude (19262003), with
the singer Claire Croiza.
In the early 1920s, Honegger shot to fame with his dramatic psalm Le roi David (King David), which is
still in the choral repertoire. Between World War I and
World War II, Honegger was very prolic. He composed
the music for Abel Gances epic 1927 lm, Napolon.
He composed nine ballets and three vocal stage works,
amongst other works. One of those stage works, Jeanne
d'Arc au bcher (1935), a dramatic oratorio" (to words
by Paul Claudel), is thought of as one of his nest works.
In addition to his pieces written alone, he collaborated
with Jacques Ibert on both an opera, L'Aiglon (1937), and
an operetta. During this time period he also wrote Danse
de la chvre (1921), an essential piece of ute repertoire.
Dedicated to Ren Le Roy and written for ute alone, this
piece is lively and charming, but with the same directness
of all Honeggers work.

Honegger on the 1996 Swiss 20 franc note

Honegger had always remained in touch with Switzerland, his parents country of origin, but with the outbreak
of the war and the invasion of the Nazis, he found himself unable to leave Paris. He joined the French Resistance and was generally unaected by the Nazis themselves, who allowed him to continue his work without too
much interference. In parallel, he also taught composition at the cole Normale de Musique de Paris, where
among his students was Yves Ramette, future composer
of six symphonies. However, he was greatly depressed

1892 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer, who

was born in France and lived a large part of his life in
Paris. He was a member of Les Six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work
Pacic 231, which was inspired by the sound of a steam
locomotive.
1

3 NOTABLE COMPOSITIONS

by the war. Between its outbreak and his death, he wrote

his last four symphonies (numbers two to ve) which are
among the most powerful symphonic works of the 20th
century. Of these, the second, for strings, featuring a
solo trumpet which plays a chorale tune by Johann Sebastian Bach in the nal movement, and the third, subtitled
Symphonie Liturgique with its three movements evoking
the Requiem Mass (Dies Irae, De profundis clamavi and
Dona nobis pacem), are probably the best known. Written in 1946 just after the end of the war, it has parallels
with Benjamin Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem of 1940. In
complete contrast with this work is the lyrical, nostalgic
Symphony No. 4, subtitled Deliciae Basilienses (The
Delights of Basel) and written as a tribute to days of relaxation spent in that Swiss city during the war.

For a list of notable students, See: List of music students

by teacher: G to M#Arthur Honegger.

Honegger was widely known as a train enthusiast, and

once notably said: I have always loved locomotives passionately. For me they are living creatures and I love them
as others love women or horses. His mouvement symphonique Pacic 231 (a depiction of a steam locomotive)
gained him early notoriety in 1923.

1930 : H 75 First Symphony in C

1941 : H 153 Second Symphony for
strings and trumpet in D (Symphony
for Strings)
1946 : H 186 Third Symphony
(Symphonie Liturgique)
1946 : H 191 Fourth Symphony in
A (Deliciae basiliensis)
1950 : H 202 Fifth Symphony in D
(Di tre re)

Many of Honeggers works were championed by his longtime friend Georges Tzipine, who conducted the premiere recordings of some of them (Cris du Monde oratorio, Nicolas de Fle).[1]
In 1953 he wrote his last composition, A Christmas Cantata. After a protracted illness, he died at home in Paris
of a heart attack on 27 November 1955 and was interred
in the Saint-Vincent Cemetery in the Montmartre Quarter.
The principal elements of Honeggers style are: Bachian
counterpoint, driving rhythms, melodic amplitude, highly
coloristic harmonies, an impressionistic use of orchestral
sonorities, and a concern for formal architecture. His
style is weightier and more solemn than that of his colleagues in Les Six. Far from reacting against German romanticism as the other members of Les Six did, Honeggers mature works show evidence of a distinct inuence
by it. Despite the dierences in their styles, he and fellow Les Six member Darius Milhaud were close friends,
having studied together at the Paris Conservatoire. Milhaud dedicated his fourth string quintet to Honeggers
memory, while Francis Poulenc similarly dedicated his
Clarinet Sonata.

3 Notable compositions
Opus numbers originate from the complete catalogue by
Harry Halbreich. For a longer list of compositions, see
List of compositions by Arthur Honegger. For a list of
select recordings, see Arthur Honegger discography.
Orchestral Music :
Symphonies :

Symphonic Movements :
1923 : H 53 Pacic 231 (Symphonic Movement No. 1)
1928 : H 67 Rugby (Symphonic
Movement No. 2)
1933 : H 83 Symphonic Movement
No. 3
Concerti :
1924 : H 55 Concertino for piano
and orchestra in E major
1929 : H 72 Concerto for cello and
orchestra in C major (Cello Concerto)
1948 : H 196 Concerto da camera,
for ute, English horn and strings
Others :

Legacy

Honegger is currently featured on the Swiss twenty franc

banknote.
Honeggers symphonic movement Rugby was recorded
with him conducting the Paris Symphony Orchestra in
a 1929 electrical recording, which can be heard on
YouTube.[2] Many of Honeggers recordings as conductor of his music have been reissued on CD by Pearl and
Dutton.[3]

1917 :
1920 :
1923 :
Joy)
1951 :

H 16 Le chant de Nigamon
H 31 Pastorale d't
H 47 Chant de joie (Song of
H 204 Monopartita

Oratorios :
1921 : H 37 Le roi David (King David) libretto
by Ren Morax, version for orchestra in 1923

3
1935 : H 99 Jeanne d'Arc au bcher, libretto
by Paul Claudel, version with prologue in 1941
1938 : H 131 La danse des morts, (The Dance
of the Dead) libretto by Paul Claudel
1953 : H 212 Une cantate de Nol (A Christmas Cantata)
Operas :
1903 : Philippa, not orchestrated, performed,
or published
1904 : Sigismond, lost
1907 : La Esmeralda, after Victor Hugo's
Notre-Dame de Paris, unnished and unpublished
1918 : La mort de sainte Almenne, libretto by
M. Jacob, unpublished and only Interlude orchestrated
1925 : Judith, libretto by Ren Morax, premiered at the Opra de Monte-Carlo on 13
February 1925
1927 : H 65 Antigone, libretto by Jean Cocteau
based on Sophocles, premiered at La Monnaie
on 28 December 1927
1925 : L'Aiglon, co-written with Jacques Ibert;
libretto for acts 24 by H. Cain, after E. Rostand, libretto for acts 1 and 5 by Ibert, Opra
de Monte-Carlo, 10 March 1937
Operettas :
1930 : H Les aventures du roi Pausole, libretto
by A. Willemetz, after P. Lous, premiered 12
December 1930, Paris, Boues-Parisiens
1931 : H La belle de Moudon, libretto by Ren
Morax, , Mzires, Jorat, Switzerland, 30 May
1931, unpublished
1937 : H Les petites cardinal, libretto by
Willemetz and P. Brach, after L. Halvy, Paris,
Boues-Parisiens, 13 February 1938
Ballets :
1918 : H 19 Le dit des jeux du monde
1921 : H 38 Horace victorieux, symphonie
mime
Chamber music :
1917 : H 15 String Quartet No. 1 in C minor
1935 : H 103 String Quartet No. 2 in D
1937 : H 114 String Quartet No. 3 in E
1945 : H 181 Paduana for Cello solo
1947 : H 193 Intrada for C trumpet and piano

4 References
[1]
[2] Arthur Honegger, Rugby (Mouvement symphonique No
2) rec.1929. YouTube. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
[3] honegger conducts: CDs & Vinyl. Amazon.com. 200909-09. Retrieved 2014-06-14.

5 Further reading
Honeggers biographer was Marcel Landowski, the
French composer and arts administrator, who was
greatly inuenced by Honegger. His biography appeared in 1978 (ISBN 2-02000227-2) although it
has yet to be translated into English.
Arthur Honegger by Harry Halbreich, translated into
English by Roger Nichols. Considers both Honeggers life and works. With the cooperation of
Honeggers daughter Pascale, Halbreich has fully
documented Honeggers life since childhood. All
works are treated, more signicant ones analyzed in
detail. ISBN 1-57467-041-7 (1999).
Geory Spratt. Honegger, Arthur. Grove Music
Online.

6 External links
Publications by and about Arthur Honegger in the
catalogue Helveticat of the Swiss National Library
Free scores by Arthur Honegger at the International
Music Score Library Project
Site Arthur Honegger The ocial site on the composer; bilingual (French and English)
Unlocking the Mystery of Honegger
Holocaust Music - discusses the controversy of
Honeggers role in the Resistance
Cello Concerto Review
Drama lrico Bblico, Judith (audio online y
descarga).
Arthur Honegger biography of the composer
Frantiek Slma Archive. More on the history of
the Czech Philharmonic between the 1940s and the
1980s: Conductors

7 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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