Louis Durey |

Louis Durey

In 1910-14 he studied in Paris with L. Saint-Rekier (harmony, counterpoint, fugue). He was a member of the “Six” group. Member of the French Communist Party since 1936. Since 1938 General Secretary of the National Musical Federation, since 1951 its president. In 1939-45, he was an active member of the Resistance (headed the underground organization “National Committee of Musicians”, which was part of the National Resistance Front). The choral compositions he created during these years (“The Song of the Freedom Fighters”, “On the Wings of a Dove”, etc.) were popular among the French partisans. Since 1945 one of the organizers of the French Association of Progressive Musicians. Member of the French Peace Committee. Since 1950 he has been a permanent music critic of the newspaper L’Humanite.

At the beginning of his creative activity, he was influenced by A. Schoenberg, then by K. Debussy, E. Satie and I. F. Stravinsky; together with other members of the “Six” he was looking for “constructive simplicity in art” [strings. quartet (1917), song cycle “Images a Crusoe”, lyrics by Saint-John Perca, 1918), strings. trio (1919), 2 pieces for piano. in 4 hands – “Bells” and “Snow”]. Later, he acts as a supporter of the democratization of musical creativity, created a number of popular songs and cantatas on socio-political topics, in which he refers to the poetry of BB Mayakovsky, H. Hikmet, and others. Zhaneken, as well as about the folk song.

Cit.: Opera – Chance (L’occasion, based on the comedy Mérimée, 1928); cantatas on the next B. Mayakovsky (all 1949) – War and Peace (La guerre et la paix), Long March (La longue marche), Peace to millions (Paix aux hommes par millions); for orc. – Ile-de-France overture (1955), conc. fantasy for wolves and orc. (1947); chamber-instr. ensembles – 2 strings. trio, 3 strings. quartet, concertino (for piano, wind instruments, double bass and timpani, 1969), Obsession (Obsession, for wind instruments, harp, double bass and percussion, 1970); for fp. — 3 sonatinas, pieces; romances and songs based on poems by E. D. de Forge Parny, G. Apollinaire, J. Cocteau, H. Hikmet, L. Hughes, G. Lorca, Xo Shi Ming, P. Tagore, epigrams of Theocritus and 3 poems. Petronia (1918); choirs with orchestra and c fp.; music for drama. t-pa and cinema. Lit. cit.: Music and musicians of France, “CM”, 1952, No 8; Popular Musical Federation of France, “CM”, 1957, No 6.