en français
by Bernardo Silva, Vice-President, International Horn Society
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| Hervé Joulain and Georges Barboteu |
JBS: At a time when we celebrate the centenary of the birth of Georges Barboteu, this is for you a very personal project. How did it come about? Could you give us a brief introduction?
HJ: First of all, in France every horn player has an unlimited admiration for Georges Barboteu, even the ones who never took lessons with him, and even the young generation who had no chance to meet him. It probably has to do with the strong personality and multi-disciplinary artistry of Mr. Barboteu. During his studies, he learned the horn with his father (himself principal horn at Algiers Radio), but also the double bass, in case of a sports accident! He studied harmony and counterpoint as well, and he discovered Jazz music next to pianist Martial Solal (96 years old and still living). When moving to France where he lived his whole life (between Paris and his beloved land of Corsica), he started sharing his time among many different activities. Playing in the orchestra in the best French phalanges, teaching in different conservatories and summer academies, writing music (and not just for horn), playing studio sessions for movies or tv programs (including whistling), playing in the Ars Nova brass quintet and a wind ensemble (sometimes conducting this group), and, of course, a solo career across Europe (concerts and recordings). Obviously, this intensive presence in the musical world established Georges Barboteu as a prime figure in France. It is also clear that his compositions made him become forever a complete and legendary artist.
How important was Georges Barboteu to the French school of horn playing and to your career in particular?
Excepting the typical French vibrato, I would insist that we consider his musical qualities. Probably due to his eclectic and rich musical studies, he has developed a unique way of finding an elegant freedom when singing into the horn. By the way, he loved to sing or to whistle, a clear sign that he was looking for ease in his playing. It is difficult to perfectly know the early years (arriving in Paris around 1940), but I guess that playing the piston horn—definitely not the easiest for virtuosity—Georges Barboteu had to develop his own way to make the instrument special, as interesting as the piano or the flute or the violin.
Personally, during my childhood, I was ashamed to walk with a horn case in the street. Suffice it to say that in my region the horn was quite unknown, and I was too shy to present a brass instrument looking like that—and it was chosen for me by my grandfather! After discovering some solo vinyls (Ferenc Tarjány, Alan Civil, Dennis Brain, Hermann Baumann, Barry Tuckwell), I had the great joy to observe through Barboteu that a solo career was possible with the horn. Developing and successfully defending the status of soloist, he has opened to me a grand way for believing in my future solo life with the horn. In forty years, I have played concertos with 140 different orchestras, so I am so grateful to my dear teacher!
Historically in France there have been great horn players/pedagogues/composers. Do you think that Georges Barboteu has a place of similar importance to Dauprat or Gallay?
Of course, and he has the advantage to come later, integrating what he learned from those important figures you are mentioning, like Louis François Dauprat (1781-1868), Jacques François Gallay (1795-1864), but also François Brémond (1844-1925) who is an amazing composer for the horn. Georges Barboteu is perhaps even more interested in writing chamber music rather than writing just for the horn. I put in a different category the numerous technical studies he created; I think he genuinely wanted to help his current and future students.
As a teacher, what was Barboteu like? How would you characterize his style and his priorities in pedagogy?
My first lesson was very impressive, joining a summer course in the Cité Universitaire de Paris, next to 15 or 20 students that Barboteu knew already. So, of course, he asked me to play first! What a stressful situation when you have no idea about the level around you. Despite my bad low register, my unstable trills, and my slow single staccato, it went quite well, and he invited me to join his studio the following September. Sometimes, we had the chance to come early in the morning to participate in a technique session; these were so marvelously practical. Most of the time, strangely, we were playing the exercises all together, which is not ideal to help every player; but I think that he wanted us to learn a maximum number of melodies and patterns. Concerning the regular lessons, we were, certainly, playing individually and always with piano accompaniment. Regarding the Mozart concertos specifically (essential for any audition), Georges Barboteu was a bit directional, asking us to write with a pen all his dynamics and indications, insisting that such things are enduring. It can seem a bit authoritative today, but I think he just wanted us to turn to a basic and polished version with nothing either too typical or too bizarre. He was also fond of saying, “One wrong note and you are fired!”
What about his composition style? Was it difficult to select the repertoire for this recording project?
Since I am working on his 100th anniversary tribute, I wanted to provide a place for so many different works that I am actually considering a second recording project. My interest is in promoting good works and recording others which are not well-known. For now, I have chosen more horn quartets or horn with string quartet. Another album might bring more of the studies but, especially, more chamber music for brass or woodwinds, or more eclectic groups like oboe, horn and piano, or flute, horn and harp. If the present CD finds a good audience, I will definitely proceed in sharing some of his unpublished music. Barboteu’s compositional style changed through the years, starting with a jazz influence, although not necessarily with the freedom we might prefer—and with more percussion and rhythmic elements as the ornate details (such as in Noël). Later, he wrote typical horn music in the hunting style (Quartetto No. 1, Quartetto No. 2, Sologne, Flutacoranne, Saisons). Most of his music for winds is very easy-listening, mixing traditional tunes or folkloric light songs with the 20th century (Esquisse, Chansonnerie, Prélude et Divertissement, Caricatures, Fresque). After some time in Darmstadt with Stockhausen, he had a period more inclined to contemporary music (Trio pour un Colloque, Formule 6, Formule 7, Pièce pour Quentin). Last, he wrote more deeply, with intense feeling, maybe because of his health troubles (Medium, Triptyque). However, his Mediterranean roots makes his music full of spirit, joy, gaiety, humor, playfulness, and self-deprecation. I can personally confirm that Barboteu was always in a good mood, pleasant and very polite and gentle.
For those who are less familiar with Barboteu's compositions and would like to discover more or even purchase some, which companies have published his compositions?
Most of his published music is represented by the French editor Choudens (founded in 1845 by Antoine de Choudens). Today, this brand belongs to Wise Music Group based in the UK and who also manages Chester Music (Francis Poulenc, Igor Stravinsky). Those interested can find and order most of Barboteu’s titles at the French branch of Wise Music.
How do you currently see Barboteu’s legacy, and how do you see it for the future?
Definitely, with his unique way of reading a horn score, by exploring opportunities to sing, Barboteu opened our eyes to the unlimited power of expression in music. This heritage will last because it is based on good taste, not doing something just to do it. Here, we encounter the great chance for classical music to be maintained and developed on stylistic traditions. Only with good roots can a tree grow and secure a future in its environment. The Japanese are publishing the old recordings of legendary flutist Marcel Moyse (1889-1984), for example, and I welcome this initiative. This is a prerequisite to the desire to become a professional musician: knowing any school or geographic style. That is why I feel a responsibility to promote at least the music of this one immense artist. I encourage every horn player to try to listen to some of Barboteu’s recordings which are always so deeply personal. He offers us a great lesson on what it means to be a performer.
This recording project has some peculiarities and technical specificities, first, because you recorded all the horn parts. What kind of challenges did this pose for you?
It has given me such excitement and joy to work on a recording with the goal of reaching a high level of quality but also, and especially, a natural and organic musical result. Nothing is more enjoyable than making music with friends and colleagues! But the fact is that I couldn’t bring three other horn players to Germany for a week to work with me. So, it became important to find a technical way to imitate a regular horn quartet. We started with positioning in the hall (Engelbert Schmid’s Mindelsaal Concert Hall in Bavaria), placing the mics so as to create real stereophony in the environment. Then came the order of recording the parts, knowing first where you should stop, whether or not to play the first sound of the next section, how long to hold a fermata, and so on. Other issues included whether or not you want the breaths to be heard, and the question of finding when a click track is most useful (in the piece called Noël, for example, which has many stops and starts). Facing these realities was sometimes a challenge that I would discuss intently with sound engineer Hans Lorenzen; but honestly, I have to say that switching parts was so refreshing that I never felt tired or exhausted by playing them all. It was also very convincing to listen, track-by-track, to the similarity of phrasing. We were mounting the tracks on site, so I had lots of time to rest. I am already looking forward to recording the Barboteu sextet in the near future.
Is there anything else you would like to mention or highlight? Are there already new projects for the future?
Speaking about Barboteu specifically, the next project is another tribute CD, featuring more chamber music—as I had mentioned—and perhaps one or two works without horn. For the ones who desire to know more about Georges Barboteu, I encourage you to purchase my recording because it includes a nice booklet in English, German, and French where you can read about his life (by Pascal Lagrange), and about every single piece on the album (by me). I will add that the trademarked name Centenaire Georges Barboteu has been registered by myself, not to own anything, but just to feel protected. I won’t see the bicentenary of his birth, but I am sure that this 100th anniversary is going to be of interest for at least another decade. In my recording, I am proud of two things: having the idea to ask a composer to harmonize 2 studies for horn with piano (discovering later that Barboteu improvised a piano part one day while teaching) and having the idea of the bonus track (inspired by his hobby) which is a surprise, so I won’t give away anything about that but leave it for you to discover. I feel so well paid-back by Maestro Barboteu, through his kindness and the fantastic Triptyque for horn and string quartet he wrote for me. As a note of interest, the first time I met him was at the summer academy I mentioned earlier when I was 15 years old, and my grandfather was with me. After this meeting, Barboteu never failed to ask about my grandfather and how he was faring. What an amazing memory! My grandfather died at age 96, so I had the chance to update him on many things.
Admiring important horn players of the past is not turning us to the past: in doing so, we can honor and promote their unique spirits for our own benefit—and this makes the future so exciting.
March 20, 2024
