by Caiti Beth McKinney
Hello everyone!
This month, I want to share with you just a little about the outstanding compositions of an incredibly accomplished but seldom remembered French composer, Elsa Barraine (1910-1999). In addition to her music, Barraine was also a fierce anti-Nazi activist during the German occupation of France in World War II. Of Jewish heritage herself, Barraine used her music and her skills with the written word to resist the atrocities occurring in her country and abroad.
Barraine was born to a musical family. Her father was the principal cellist of the Parisian Orchestre de l’Opéra until he was ousted by the Nazi regime in 1943, and her mother was a skilled pianist and chorus member of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. Elsa enrolled at the Paris Conservatoire at the very young age of nine. There, she studied with famous composer Paul Dukas alongside other notables of her generation, including Yvonne Desportes, Claude Arrieu, and Olivier Messiaen. In 1929, when she was only 19 years old, Barraine won the prestigious Prix de Rome for her cantata about Joan of Arc entitled La vierge guerrière, making her only the fourth woman in history to win the award.
There is so much more to say about Barraine’s life and career that is beyond the scope of this column, but I would strongly encourage all readers to learn more about her outstanding achievements and her dedication to making a difference in the world. When it comes to the horn, Barraine wrote several excellent works for orchestra, including a tone poem entitled Pogromes she wrote while residing in Mussolini’s Italy. In addition to these larger scale works, Barraine composed a short piece for horn and piano, Crépuscules and Fanfare, which is becoming increasingly popular as a recital piece. This short, four-minute work is evocative of the “twilight” after which it is named. The lyrical and melancholy melody of the first movement is richly chromatic while remaining firmly within the world of tonality. The fanfare is joyful and technically challenging. It moves through the full register of the horn and showcases the performer’s ability to perform a repeated high B!
