Choral varié

Halfway through the writing of this post, I learned that Jean-Marie Londeix had passed away at the age of ninety-two. I was deep into two resources which I regard as saxophone encyclopedias; trustworthy tomes that I find myself drawn back to again and again. The first is Londeix’s 2003 version of A Comprehensive Guide to the Saxophone Repertoire (JML). The second is James Umble’s Jean-Marie Londeix: Master of the Modern Saxophone (JU). Both are published by Roncorp.

If saxophonists were a people—a nation state—then surely Jean-Marie Londeix would have been one of our greatest prime ministers. Churchillian in his resolve and open to the world like Pierre Trudeau, boldly he went where no one had gone before.

Londeix had an excellent practical education through the French conservatory system. He was not trained as an academic and was not required to do so, for top jobs at European conservatories focus on performance and instruction. And yet, he is one of, if not THE most prolific scholar of the saxophone. No one in the field, yesterday or today, can hold a candle to his work in this area.

He showed us how to be saxophonists, modelling how to perform, teach, research, and above all, think more expansively about the possibilities of the instrument. We shall continue his work, carrying his legacy forward. Merci, Monsieur Londeix.

“All-righty,” smiles Ebullient Teacher, rubbing her hands together, “for RCM Level Eight you are required to play three pieces.”

“Yeah,” yawns Bored Student, “I remember. One piece from List A, one from List B and one from List C. You show me some options and I pick the easiest piece from each list.”

“Di-Di-DID youactuallysaythat…OUT LOUD?” sputters Startled Teacher with Bulging Eyes.

“Are you admitting that you always select the easiest pieces?”

Sheepish Student smiles down, looks sideways; then glances at Dismayed Teacher and shrugs, “I’m thinking strategically.”

Little lightening bolts of irritation zap around the room. Brooding Teacher purses her lips and narrows her eyes. The temperature drops. A mysterious breeze pushes some music off the piano…

“Ahhhhh,” starts Nervous Student…

All of a sudden, a ray of sunshine sweeps across the stand. Twinkly Teacher does a little pirouette and smiles. “This must be your lucky day. I’ll save you the trouble of selecting the easiest piece on List A. Instead, I’ll simply assign it to you. It’s the Choral varié by Vincent d’Indy. No sixteenth notes!”

“OK. Great. I’ll do it.” breathes a Relieved Student.

Wink.

As the Relieved Student is about to discover, the Choral varié is not, in fact, an easy piece. Technically speaking, and I do mean technically, the difficulty level is more in the range of RCM Levels Two-Four. There are no fast passages, no extended techniques. (Roll Over, Leo P.) But there is also nowhere to hide. The saxophone part is exposed, making it impossible to cheat. We are forced to confront sloppy habits and weak fundamentals. It’s the ultimate pièce de concours, separating those who can from those who can’t. Students who sweat over this piece earn my respect. Taking on the Choral varié means wrestling with the true nature of the saxophone.

Beauty, Truth and Pure Ideals

The Choral varié is exquisite. Its beauty, austere. The simplicity, the lack of artifice is a clarion call to the heart.

Composed for American saxophonist Elise Hall, the Choral varié, opus 55, pour saxophone solo (ou alto, ou violoncelle) & orchestre was published by A. Durand & Fils in 1903. There are four known performances by Hall, two in 1904 (Boston and Paris), one in 1905 (Paris) and one in 1908 (Boston). Durand Editions Musicales continues to hold the copyright and the piece is most commonly heard today with the piano reduction.

It was composed by Vincent d’Indy (1851-1931) whose style is nicely summarized as follows:

“Both as teacher and creative artist d’Indy continued the traditions of C. Franck. Although he cultivated almost every form of composition, his special talent seemed to be in the field of the larger instrumental forms. His style rests on Bach and Beethoven; however, his deep study of Gregorian chant and the early contrapuntal style added an element of severity, and not rarely of complexity that renders approach somewhat difficult, and has prompted the charge that his music is lacking in emotional force.” (Baker in JML, page 183)

Well now. I must disagree with the last sentence. At least when it comes to the Choral varié which is drenched in emotional force.

The beginning is deceptively plain. The simple four note theme has an inward quality. Right away we hear, as Baker suggests, “an element of severity”. However, there are more than a few German storm clouds, “Bach and Beethoven” hovering over this passacaglia. By the thirteenth measure of rehearsal number seven there is a tortured intensity, especially in the push and pull of the septuplet and the nonuplet. The most dramatic measure is one before rehearsal number eight with what might be the most forceful triplet in the entire saxophone repertoire. It’s all Sturm und Drang during rehearsal number eight with the saxophone periodically interjecting two-measure lightening bolts. The storm ends and Très lent brings us back to the calm and the controlled. It feels as though the sun is peeking through on the final high E.

Spectacular.

Vincent d’Indy’s own words suggest his sincerity of purpose:

“La flamme créatrice ne trouve son véritable aliment que dans l’amour, et dans le fervent enthousiasme pour la beauté, la vérité et le pur idéal.” (JML, page 183)

The creative flame is only authentically fed with love, and with a fervent enthusiasm for beauty, the truth and pure ideals.

La touche française

What makes French music sound so different, and well, so French?

The balance between the emotional and the intellectual:

“Generally, neither quality dominates; the beautiful or emotionally moving aspect is not undermined by an overly intellectual quality, and neither is the rational quest for perfection and balance weakened by an over-reaching sentimentality.” (JU, page 70)

The elevation of natural perception:

“The French were often captivated by the beauty and vitality of life, and sought to convey this sensual aspect of their perception in their artwork and performances.” (JU, page 70)

Craftsmanship by filtration:

“As the superfluous, the overly sentimental, and the accidental are all removed by careful elimination, only a very refined expression remains.” (JU, page 71)

Persuasion through simplicity:

“…French music as it is known around the world is generally erudite, clear, lively, energetic and rapid. Its most famous composers consider simplicity to be a fundamental virtue. This music is reasoned, sharp, refined, and subtle, and the French composers often avoid large proportions and the larger forms. Primarily using grace and discretion, this music expresses profundity through the use of simple, easily understood means.” (Londeix in JU, page 170)

The Choral varié is all of these things.

Practical Suggestions

Here are my tips for a Londeixian approach to studying the Choral varié.

Use the original score published by Durand to respect the vision of d’Indy who completed the parts for the alto saxophone and piano reduction, and to honour the legacy of Elise Hall.

Étoile Music of Saint Louis, Missouri has published versions for both alto and tenor saxophone and piano, edited by Harry Gee. I don’t recommend these scores for two reasons.

The first is simply that the piece was not composed for tenor sax. Gee notes, “Along with the original version, Durand published various arrangements for viola, cello, clarinet and piano four hands.” This may be his rationale for including a version for tenor, a voice in the saxophone family that lacks solo repertoire from this period. But Elise Hall played the alto and there is no indication that d’Indy himself envisioned this possibility.

The second reason is the inappropriate addition of notes to the saxophone part. Gee correctly states that, “The variations build to a high dynamic climax at measure 70.” To give the saxophone a starring role when the music gets exciting, Gee takes notes from the accompaniment and reconstructs a melody of sorts from measure sixty to eighty-seven. He does bracket these measures explaining, “Notes within brackets have been added for this transcription.” He characterizes this change as an enhancement.

However, scholars on the Elise Hall file know that she was keen to have the saxophone included as a team player. The sax part is constantly weaving in and out of the musical text and, while prominent, is never solely responsible for the melody line. Vincent d’Indy didn’t compose these notes for the sax. Hall didn’t perform them. If you are wondering what Jean-Marie Londeix would do, James Umble explains that:

“Such Romantic concepts of “adding one’s own ideas” to a piece or calling attention to one’s own virtuosity during a performance would not typically have had a place in Londeix’s approach to presenting a piece of music.” (JU, page 71)

Respecting the text is how we respect the composer. There are plenty of opportunities to highlight the saxophone in the original published version.

Learn the piano part for a seamless continuity and a more confident navigation.

Of course, this is true for any composition. But there are two reasons we need to be familiar with the entire score. The first is that the piano is often the dominant voice. As with almost all of the music in the Elise Hall collection, the role of the saxophone is unique; a restrained and dignified approach is required. Traditional ideas about the role of the soloist must be set aside. Being able to hold the melody in your mind—no matter who is sounding it—will facilitate smooth transitions.

Secondly, the tempo is constantly changing. There are four clearly stated tempos:

Mouvement de Passacaille, quarter note = 66

Un peu plus animé, quarter note = 80

Modéré, quarter note = 72

Très lent, quarter note = 56

Within this framework there are seven indications to slow down using terms such as assez retenu, en retenant, un peu retenu, retenu. And there are four indications to speed up with the terms en animant, un peu plus vite, en accelerando and plus vite. Counting and singing through this ebb and flow is much easier when you know the entire score, making re-entries less stressful and more precise.

Practise some scales using Articulation 0 to establish the correct approach to breath support.

“Each lesson began with a scale in Articulation “0” from his book Les Gammes (Lemoine): a half-note, half-rest articulation that required maintaining a constant air pressure throughout, even during the rest. This formed the basis for his concept of breath support as well as for facilitating immediate, musical response and articulation in the low register. He emphasized that while playing the scales one must maintain such support consistently throughout the entire range of the instrument.” (JU, page 116)

Learning to tighten the abdominal muscles to establish, “a constant air pressure” prepares the saxophonist for the seven gentle entries at a piano dynamic, and entries on low E and C-sharp during rehearsal number six and on low B and low C-sharp during rehearsal number eight.

Ballet dancers look light and ethereal. Their physical strength and stamina hide in the background. Something similar should happen when we perform the Choral varié. We must impress through the quality of our exhalation. Maximum physical effort is required, supporting, as Londeix suggests, an unflagging air pressure, so that every note gets its due. None of this is visible, but is most certainly felt by the saxophonist. Articulation 0 helps us to switch on the air pressure and allows us to use stronger reeds. Don’t be tempted to go down half a strength to make it easier on yourself; your tone quality will suffer.

Use alternative fingerings to improve intonation and reduce key noise.

When the music is slow and the notes are long, our sound is naked. When we hold a sustained pitch, even if everything else is correct—dynamic level, duration—the only thing the listener hears is how in or out of tune the note is. Nothing else matters at this point; your entire credibility as a musician is based on your ability to play in tune.

“Londeix placed great emphasis on intonation studies. As his career developed this became a primary pedagogical concern, occupying a more central role in his work than teaching timbre. He regularly brought a small electronic organ to class, and students tuned over the drone. He found that as intonation problems were solved, many issues regarding tone color were solved as well. He of course continued to address issues of tonal control, but placed the accuracy of intonation at a higher priority in the ordering of his comments.” (JU, page 82)

Use C2 for middle D in the:

• second and fourth measures of rehearsal number (RN) one
• last measure before RN two
• eighth, seventeenth and twenty-first measures of RN four
• fourteenth and seventeenth measures of RN nine

To lower the pitch on the final high E, try dropping C1 and just use C2 and C3. If this is still too sharp, drop C2 and use C1 and C3.

Adieu

It’s hard to believe he is gone. I thought he would make it to 100, like Marcel Mule. I enjoyed working with him at the Domaine Forget. I was thrilled when a young student of mine played Scaramouche for him during a master class. He was sturdy. He was serious. Although his influence remains a powerful force—we all know it—it’s the end of an era.

A special thank you to James Umble, for his marvellously detailed, wide-ranging and practical biography of Jean-Marie Londeix. This book explains Londeix’s pedagogy, how it developed, and acts as a resource and guide for all serious teachers.