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Douglas Todd Lockard
2001
This Treatise Committee for Douglas Todd Lockard Certifies that this is the approved version
Of the following treatise:
A STYLISTIC AND ANALYTICAL DISCUSSION
OF
JEAN RIVIER’S CONCERTO FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND TRUMPET
AND CONCERTO FOR TRUMPET
Committee:
_________________________ Carroll Gonzo, Co-Supervisor
__________________________ Raymond Crisara, Co-Supervisor
___________________________ Rebecca Baltzer
___________________________ Steven Bryant
___________________________ Wayne Barrington
___________________________ James Buckner
A STYLISTIC AND ANALYTICAL DISCUSSION
OF
JEAN RIVIER’S CONCERTO FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND TRUMPET
AND CONCERTO FOR TRUMPET
By
Douglas Todd Lockard, M.M.
Treatise
Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the
University of Texas at Austin
In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements
For the Degree of
Doctor of Musical Arts
The University of Texas at Austin
August, 2001
DEDICATION
This treatise is dedicated to my wife, Rachel, and my two sons, Andrew and
Benjamin, who have continually supported me throughout my educational career.
ACKOWLEDGMENTS
I wish to express appreciation to the members of my dissertation committee-
Carroll Gonzo, Raymond Crisara, Steven Bryant, Wayne Barrington, Rebecca
Baltzer, and James Buckner-for their guidance in the preparation of this treatise and
in the completion of my doctoral studies. I offer a special thanks to Carroll Gonzo
for his expedient and wise counsel and to Raymond Crisara for constant inspiration
as a musician, teacher, mentor, and gentleman.
v
A STYLISTIC AND ANALYTICAL DISCUSSION OF
JEAN RIVIER’S CONCERTO FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND TRUMPET
AND CONCERTO FOR TRUMPET
Publication No. ___________________
Douglas Todd Lockard, Doctor of Musical Arts The University of Texas at Austin, 2001
Supervisors: Carroll Gonzo
Raymond Crisara Jean Rivier (1896-1987) was an important French composer, pedagogue, and
leader in French musical life. He composed in a highly individual style that bridged
the two extremes of the twelve-tone writing of the Second Viennese School and the
Impressionism of his French contemporaries. Throughout his career, Rivier sought
to write music in a style that emphasized clarity, polytonality, humor, and economy
of means. Although he uses twentieth-century harmonic techniques, he avoids
harsh, unresolved dissonances and extended developments or recapitulations.
Among Rivier’s body of works are two concertos that feature the trumpet in a
primary role. The Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet (1954) and the
Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra (1971) are works featuring Rivier’s lyrical
melodies, angular lines, polychordal harmonies, and idiomatic writing for the
trumpet and are important additions to twentieth-century trumpet literature. As the
performances of these two concertos increase in number, a study to determine the
harmonic, rhythmic, melodic, and motivic elements that characterize Rivier’s
compositions in general and these two works in particular would be useful to
trumpeters.
This treatise addresses the issue of the concerto genre to determine if Rivier
followed the model of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century concerto or if he
vi
adapted the form to exploit his own compositional techniques of polytonality, bi-
modality, clarity of lines, and economy of means.
A general biography of Jean Rivier is presented, including his childhood,
professional career, an overview of his works, and composers who influenced his
compositional style.
A history of the concerto genre is presented in chapter two, followed by the
origins of Rivier’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet and Concerto for
Trumpet and Orchestra. Roger Delmotte, the trumpeter involved in the premieres of
both works, is profiled.
In chapters three and four the two concertos are analyzed, with analyses
centering on form, harmony, rhythm, and melodic content. Performance problems
are addressed with possible solutions provided.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x I. BIOGRAPHY AND COMPOSTIONAL STYLE OF JEAN RIVIER . . . 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Professional Career . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Compositional Style and Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Compositional Influences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Brief History of the Concerto Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Origins of Rivier’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet and Concerto for Trumpet and Strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 III. AN ANALYSIS OF CONCERTO FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND TRUMPET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 First Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Second Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Third Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Performances Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 IV. AN ANALYSIS OF CONCERTO FOR TRUMPET AND ORCHESTRA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 First Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Second Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
viii
Third Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Performance Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 VITA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
ix
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet Movement One Example Page 1. Measures 94-99 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 2. Measures 164-168 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 3. Measures 183-186 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 4. Measures 208-209 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 5. Measures 219-222 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 6. Measures 231-233 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 7. Measures 36-39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 8. Measures 40-43 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 9. Measures 94-99 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 10. Measures 231-233 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 11. Measure 26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 12. Measures 219-220 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Movement Two 13. Measures 3-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 14. Measures 7-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 15. Measures 12-15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 16. Measures 20-21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 17. Measures 28-31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
x
Movement Two 18. Measures 50-52 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 19. Measures 57-60 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 20. Measures 12-15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 21. Measures 42-45 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 22. Measures 20-21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Movement Three 23. Measures 1-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 24. Measure 9 . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 25. Measures 35-40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 26. Measures 78-82 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 27. Measures 145-149 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 28. Measures 157-160 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 29. Measures 198-203 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 30. Measures 207-209 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 31. Measures 227-228 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 32. Measures 118-120 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 33. Measures 206-209 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 34. Measures 227-228 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 35. Measures 1-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 36. Measures 10-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 37. Measures 18-21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
xi
Movement Three 38. Measures 35-40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 39. Measures 41-42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 40. Measures 45-48 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 41. Measures 104-107 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 42. Measures 108-109 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 43. Measures 14-17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 44. Measures 104-107 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 45. Measures 206-209 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra Movement One 46. Measures 1-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 47. Measures 5-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 48. Measures 15-18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 49. Measures 28-29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 50. Measures 31-32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 51. Measure 35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 52. Measures 53-56 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 53. Measures 57-62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 54. Measures 88-91 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 55. Measures 92-95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 56. Measures 102-105 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
xii
Movement One 57. Measures 108-113 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 58. Measures 152-157 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 59. Measure 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 60. Measures 26-27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 61. Measures 28-31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 62. Measures 57-58 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 63. Measures 140-141 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 64. Measures 156-157 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 65. Measures 11-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 66. Measures 17-19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 67. Measures 35, 37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 68. Measures 57-58 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 69. Measures 114-115 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 70. Measures 156-157 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Movement Two 71. Measures 1-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 72. Measures 25-28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 73. Measures 47-48 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 74. Measures 57-58 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 75. Measure 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 76. Measures 21-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
xiii
Movement Two 77. Measures 29-32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Movement Three 78. Measures 43-46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 79. Measures 53-56 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 80. Measures 106-109 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 81. Measures 152-166 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 82. Measures 221-228 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 83. Measures 257-260 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 84. Measures 287-295 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
xiv
CHAPTER I
BIOGRAPHY AND COMPOSITIONAL STYLE OF JEAN RIVIER
Introduction Jean Rivier was an important French composer, pedagogue, and leader in
French musical life. He composed in a highly individual style that bridged the two
extremes of the twelve-tone writing of the Second Viennese School and the vague
Impressionism of his contemporaries. Throughout his career Rivier sought to write
music in a style that emphasized clarity, polytonality, humor, and economy of means.
Although he used twentieth-century techniques, he avoided harsh, unresolved
dissonances and extended developments or recapitulations.
Among Rivier’s body of works are two concertos that feature the trumpet in a
primary role. The Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet (1954) and the
Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra (1971) are works that feature Rivier’s lyrical
melodies, angular lines, polychordal harmonies, and idiomatic writing for the trumpet
and are important additions to twentieth-century trumpet literature. As the number of
performances of these concertos increase, a study of the harmonic, rhythmic, melodic,
and motivic elements that characterize Rivier’s compositions in general and these two
concertos in particular would be useful to trumpeters.
Thesis
This treatise addresses the issue of the concerto genre to determine if Rivier
followed the model of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century concerto or if he
adapted the form to exploit his own compositional techniques.
Chapter one focuses on the life of Jean Rivier and his compositional style. A
general biography is presented, including his childhood, service in World War I,
education, and professional career. The next section focuses on the compositional
1
techniques employed by Rivier. An overview of his body of works is followed by a
discussion of the composers who influenced his compositional style, including Darius
Milhaud and Albert Roussel.
A history of the concerto genre is presented in chapter two. This overview is
followed by the origins of Rivier’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet and the
Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, with a biographical sketch of Roger Delmotte,
the trumpeter involved in the premiers of both works.
The two concertos are analyzed in terms of form, harmony, melody, and
rhythmic content in chapters three and four. Performance problems are addressed
with possible solutions provided. Chapter five contains a summary of the treatise.
Biography of Jean Rivier
Jean Alexis Fernand Felix Rivier was born in Villemomble, France on July
21, 1896 to parents who were active as amateur musicians. His father, a pharmacist
by trade, played the flute and his mother was a pianist.1
The Rivier family held education in high regard and the children were trained
in Greek, Latin and music. Jean began composing music in his youth while studying
the piano. Despite his passion for music, he received little formal training after his
early childhood years and was basically a self-taught musician capable of performing
not only on the piano but also the flute, cello, violin, and the double bass. The com-
positions from these early years have unfortunately been destroyed or lost.2
Rivier graduated from high school in 1914 and promptly joined the French
army and fought in World War I. Despite his demanding schedule, Rivier found time
1 Julie Anne Stone, The Life and Published Flute Compositions of Jean Rivier (1896-1987)
D.M.A. dissertation, University of Maryland College Park, 1992; Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms, 9315763), p. 3.
2 Ibid., p. 6.
2
to compose during the war. Two pieces, a string quartet and a cello sonata, were
considered by Rivier to be unworthy of publication.3
The Sonata pour violincelle et piano was apparently the strongest of the war
works, causing Rivier to seriously consider pursuing music as a profession. Rivier
described the work in war-like terms. “It was prolific or verbose as the war, and it
was also endless like the war and riddled with developments and with bomb holes,
bristling with barbed wire and with dissonance.”4
Rivier was poisoned by mustard gas in 1918 and left the front with damaged
lungs that were to plague him for the rest of his life. While recuperating at the sea-
side he met his future wife, Marie Peyrissac. She was a musician and proved to be a
supportive wife throughout the marriage.5
Rivier continued to compose after the war and studied with Jean Gallon and
Georges Caussade, both professors at the Paris Conservatory of Music. After
auditing classes at the Conservatory for several years, Rivier was accepted as a
student in 1922. In addition to composition, Rivier studied piano with Paul Braud
and cello with Paul Bazelaire. His classmates at the Paris Conservatory included a
young Oliver Messiaen and Daniel Lesur.6
The works that were composed by Rivier during his conservatory years show
a style of “. . . strongly marked contours; it discloses a keen understanding of the
structure of sound and a decided bent for neatness and conciseness so that his art is
that of an engraver.”7 He won several prizes while a student at the Paris Conserva-
tory, including Second Medaille d’Histoire de la Musique and the first and second
3 David Ewen, Composers Since 1900 (New York: H.W. Wilson, 1969), pp. 470-471.
4 Stone, op. cit., p. 9.
5 Ibid., p. 12.
6 Ibid., p. 18. 7 Ibid., p. 18.
3
prizes in the Concours du Conservatoire for counterpoint and fugue. Rivier
graduated at the age of thirty.8
Professional Career
Rivier composed in various styles and genres following his graduation. Since
his father was wealthy and financially assisted his son and his wife, Jean could con-
centrate on his compositions without having to obtain outside employment.9
Almost immediately, well-known conductors and performers were requesting
his works, including Albert Wolff, Walter Straram, and Pierre Monteux. The most
important works from his early career are three symphonies, Ouverture pour un Don
Quichotte, and Symphonie Exotique, a film score.
Paris was the center of several musical societies in the period between World
War I and World War II. Triton was one such society devoted to providing concert
venues for diverse contemporary composers. Although rejecting any particular creed,
Triton steered a course of moderation between the modern music of Messian and the
vagueness of Debussy’s Impressionism.
The active membership of Triton included most of the contemporary com-
posers working in Paris. In addition to Rivier, the members were Henri Tomasi,
Serge Prokofiev, Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger, Jacques Ibert, Francis Poulenc,
and Henry Barraud. Pierre-Octave Ferroud, the founder of Triton, was killed in an
auto accident in 1935, leaving Rivier and Barraud to take over as leaders of the
group.10
Government grants allowed Triton to stage many concerts that were not
particularly popular with the Parisian society members due to the contemporary
nature of the music that was programmed. Despite this apathetic attitude of the
8 Ibid., p. 20.
9 Ibid., p. 24. 10 Ibid., p. 33.
4
general public, Triton was active and such world-class composers as Bela Bartok
were featured on concerts.11
Barraud was an important ally for Rivier following World War II. After being
appointed Music Director at the Radiodiffusion Francaise, Barroud championed new
musical works and often featured Rivier’s pieces. This exposure allowed Rivier’s
music to become well-known throughout France.12
In 1948, Darius Milhaud asked Rivier to teach for him at the Paris Conserva-
tory every other year while Milhaud taught at Mills College in the United States.
Milhaud had fled Europe during World War II, ending in Berkeley, California where
he began his American teaching career. Upon returning to Paris, he made arrange-
ments to continue teaching at Mills every other year.13
Rivier accepted the post of deputy professor and alternated with Milhaud until
Milhaud’s retirement in 1962. Rivier continued in a full-time capacity until his own
retirement in 1966.
Rivier was devoted to teaching and exposed his students to many different
styles of composition, playing for them the music of contemporary composers. “A
liberal man, Rivier accepted every style, and, although he may not have embraced
each style, such as serialism, he allowed it in his classes.”14
Two composition classes existed at the Paris Conservatory during Rivier’s
tenure. One, taught by Tony Aubin, was considered more conservative than the
Milhaud/Rivier class. Aubin’s students traditionally won major awards at the school,
a fact possibly explained by the theory shared by several of Rivier’s students that the
judges ranked the more conservative works higher than the progressive pieces.
11 Stone, op. cit., pp. 31-34.
12 Ibid., p. 34. 13 Ibid., p. 42. 14 Ibid., p. 49.
5
Despite this, several of the Milhaud/Rivier students won prizes at the Conservatory.15
Rivier related in an interview conducted after his retirement that his students
had coined a pet name for their teacher.
In an interview on Radio France aired on July 27, 1971, Rivier laughingly
recalls that he was frequently referred to as coupe toujours or “always cutting,” and he relates that he received this nickname because of his desire for brevity in compositions. He was always stressing how pieces should not be too long, and at one point, a student, Antoine Tisne, brought him a 45- minute sonata which he cut to 20 minutes.16
Rivier enjoyed an active career following his retirement, composing at least
fifty-six known works after 1966. Tragedy struck in 1974 when Jacques, his only
son, died. Rivier wrote several pieces dedicated to his wife and son but he was less
prolific following the tragic event. In addition to his mourning, Rivier was plagued
with eye trouble that prevented his working for long periods; thus his last works were
shorter than his previous compositions.
Rivier received several awards in his later years, including the Legion of
Honor for his contributions to French life, the Prix Florent-Schmitt, Commandeur des
Arts et des Lettres, and Professear Honoraire de Composition musicale au Conserva-
toire de Paris. A final tribute was bestowed when Rivier’s birthplace, Villemomble,
France, dedicated its music and dance conservatory to the composer in 1986.17
As his health continued to deteriorate, Rivier composed less often and spent
much of his time in his apartment in Paris. He died on November 6, 1987 and was
buried in Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris.18
15 Ibid., pp. 45-46. 16 Ibid., p. 48. 17 Ibid., p. 62. 18 Ibid., p. 70.
6
An Overview of Style and Techniques in Rivier’s Works
Jean Rivier composed two-hundred and fifteen known works in several
genres. Among his oeuvre are several that have reached widespread and critical ac-
claim, including his Requiem, Psaume LVI, a saxophone quartet, and several sym-
phonies. He wrote music for voice as well as purely instrumental music.
Despite the many schools of composition that existed during his lifetime,
Rivier was a self-reliant composer. He was quoted as saying:
I am against manifestos. I compose as I think. I verify on the piano the chords I want to employ, and I listen to them attentively, but I never analyze them at the time I am writing them. I don’t believe in systems or if I believe in them it’s only insofar as the music which drives from them, touches me or interests me.19
Rivier’s music is neo-classic in that he favored the older forms of concerto,
symphony, and overture and in them he stressed clarity and brevity. Themes are pre-
sented in quick succession without extended developments.
Harmonically, Rivier employs polytonality, augmented chords, quartal and
quintal harmonies, and extreme dissonance, often offset by humor. Melodies tend to
be at times angular and disjunct and at times intensely lyrical and flowing. Dynamics
are often changed suddenly, creating a humorous effect in many cases.
It was through the use of humor and lyrical melodies that Rivier avoided the
harsh, unrelenting dissonance characteristic of other twentieth-century works. He
utilized instruments in their extreme ranges and tended to exploit their capabilities.
Brevity was a characteristic highly valued by Rivier. “He strongly believed that a
musical work should only by as long as its idea warrants-the shorter, the better.”20
19 Ibid., p. 79. 20 Ibid., p. 80.
7
In a personal correspondence with Julie Stone, Pierre-Max Dubois wrote:
‘The aesthetic of Jean Rivier’s music pleases me. Tonal composer, in love with successive fifths, with rhythms influenced by Roussel, he cer- tainly composed a number of masterpieces. For example-his Requiem, [is]
a strong and thought-out work and by opposition an Ouverture pour une operette imaginaire, a Jeanne a Doremi, a Concerto for trumpet and saxo- phone which has gone around the world! [There are] many others-certain symphonies are remarkable.’21 Anne Girardot writes the following:
Rivier’s music is characterized by solid and strong construction as much as by profound and sincere expression. His work contains nothing of the superficially pleasing or sensational; but equally, while using estab- lished forms and techniques, he avoids academicism. The triumphant grandness of his structures arises from a lack of decorative development and a concentration on a small number of thematic ideas.22
Rivier was inspired by nature, Catholicism, and ideas from books or poems.
He would also compose on commission, although this was unappealing to him and he
considered it to be an insincere reason to write music.23
Throughout his compositional career Rivier was devoted to expressing him-
self through his music without yeilding to public pressure or bourgeois tastes. He
stated, “The true artist must never make the least concession to the public’s taste: he
must express himself with an absolute sincerity, follow his own path and not pre-
occupy himself with anything else.”24
Serialism and other twentieth-century techniques interested Rivier, but he
tended to avoid using such contrivances in his own works. Instead, he relied on
21 Quoted in Ibid., p. 81. 22 Anne Girardot, “Rivier, Jean,” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 20
vols., ed. Stanley Sadie (London: Macmillan, 1980), XVI, p. 63. 23 Stone, op. cit., p. 82. 24 Ibid., p. 101.
8
inspiration and would lose tolerance with works that sounded academic to him. Ever
true to his beliefs, he resisted pressure from colleagues and family members to find
new ways of expressing himself. His canon of works stands as a testament to a
composer driven by a desire to “. . . find something new and to write music that no
one had ever written.”25
Rivier’s total collection of compositions includes one ballet, eight sym-
phonies, twenty-five smaller works for orchestra, eleven concertos for various
instruments, twenty-four works for instrumental soloists with piano or organ, one
opera, and thirty pieces for vocal soloists with piano or orchestra. Although Rivier
composed for the various orchestral instruments with skill and ease, he was most fond
of composing for the human voice. His large output of vocal woks stands as evidence
of this fact.26
As with many mid-century composers, Rivier realized that recordings were in-
valuable tools in the transmission of his music to the general public. Because of this,
a large number of his works have been recorded and his music continues to be pro-
grammed on recitals and concerts.27
Compositional Influences
Rivier studied composition at the Paris conservatory with Jean Gallon and
Georges Cassaude. While these teachers obviously had an influence on his compo-
sitional style, other French composers were to have an impact on Rivier’s music.
The quote by Pierre-Max Dubois cited above mentioned Albert Roussel, a
naval officer who turned to a professional composition career while in his twenties.
Like Rivier, Roussel chose to retain his identity and did not ascribe to any movements
or schools.
25 Ibid., p. 102. 26 Ibid., p. 86. 27 Ibid., p. 100.
9
Heavily influenced by Ravel’s Impressionism, Roussel preferred “. . . clearly
drawn lines and continuous rhythms to melodic and rhythmic flux.”28 In his works he
used dissonance in a tightly controlled manner and employed polytonality, most
notably in his Second Symphony of 1921.
The neo-classic movement that was popular in the 1920’s in Europe affected
Roussel, although he retained emotionalism in his works. In a 1924 letter to Nadia
Boulanger, Roussel wrote of his desire to
. . . return to clearer lines, more emphatic accents, more precise rhythms, a style more horizontal than vertical, a central brutality sometimes in the means of expression, contrasting with the subtle elegance and the misty atmosphere of the preceding period, an attentive and sympathetic glance toward the robust frankness of Bach or Handel, in short, and in spite of
appearances, a return to the classic tradition, in a language freer and some- what hesitant as yet. . . .29
Rivier was clearly influenced by this emotionalism, which is present in the second
movement of his Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet of 1954.
Rivier was also influenced by Roussel’s practice of repeatedly using certain
rhythmic figures throughout entire movements. Rivier employs this technique as a
unifying device in the first movement of his Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra.
The sixteenth-note pattern that appears in the first measure is present in measures
three, four, and throughout the movement in both orchestral and solo lines.
Roussel’s melodies are at times lyrical and at times disjunct. Basil Deane
wrote of Roussel’s music: “The melodic idiom embraces wide-ranging angular
themes in the opening movements, short epigrammatic (and often diatonic) motifs in
28 Basil Deane, “Roussel, Albert,” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 20
vols., ed. Stanley Sadie (London: Macmillan, 1980), XVI, p. 274.
29 William W. Austin, Music in the 20th Century from Debussy through Stravinsky (New
York: W.W. Norton, 1966), p. 419.
10
the scherzos and long-breathed oscillatory, chromatic themes in the slow move-
ments.”30 Jean Rivier followed this maxim in both concertos discussed in this
treatise. Movement two of the Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet is almost
tragic in its emotionally-charged melodic content while the outer movements contain
melodies fraught with wide jumps, chromaticism, and a sense of dry wit.
Finally, Roussel concentrated on small forms but did not “. . . follow the
Gallic trend towards a lighter, more popular idiom.”31 Rivier, likewise, never em-
braced the comic style of Satie and certain members of Les Six in his works. Wit is
evident but with an inherent sense of weight and importance.
Darius Milhaud (1892-1974), Jean Rivier’s colleague at the Paris Conserva-
tory, composed music in which polytonality is a hallmark. His use of bi-tonal and
polytonal music always supports diatonic melodies. Donald Grout wrote “. . . that
he used such chords only to support diatonic melody-an important qualification.”32
Milhaud offers a simple explanation of his use of polytonal chords: “’The sound of
them satisfied my ear; a polytonal chord when soft is more subtly sweet and when
forceful is more violent than the normal kind.’”33
Polytonality is clearly present in Rivier’s music. The final measures of the
second movement of the Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra contain a sustained
chord in both G major and G-sharp minor.
From Milhaud, Rivier adopted the practice of using ragtime rhythms and
syncopations. Milhaud had heard authentic jazz during a 1920 visit to London. He
used the syncopated rhythms and the lowered third of the blues scale in La Creation
du Monde, a ballet composed in 1924.
30 Deane, op. cit., p. 275. 31 Ibid., p. 275. 32 Donald Jay Grout, A History of Western Music (New York: W.W. Norton, 1980), p. 702. 33 Quoted in Ibid., p. 702.
11
Rivier was noted as an admirer of jazz, being especially fond of Duke
Ellington. He makes use of syncopated rhythms in all three movements of both the
Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra and the Concerto for Alto Saxophone and
Trumpet. Although these rhythms clearly were derived from jazz, Rivier expressed
the view to his colleagues and students that he was not interested in mixing certain
elements of jazz with classical music, such as improvisation.34
As Rivier matured, he began to compose music with more traditional chord
types. Due in part to the tragedy of his son’s death and in part to his failing eye-
sight, these works are generally shorter and more reflective than his earlier works.
Aria, published first in 1973 for organ and trumpet or oboe, is typical of the
types of works from Rivier’s mature period. The one-movement work is arranged in
the da capo aria format. Although Rivier uses the same augmented quartal harmonies
he employed in his earlier works, Aria contains more traditional tertian harmony than
do his compositions from earlier periods.
It is also interesting to note that Rivier indicates that Aria could be performed
on either trumpet or oboe with organ. This is similar to Paul Hindemith’s gebrauchs-
musik, or music for use by amateurs, playable on whatever instrument happened to be
handy.35 This is to be expected since Rivier was a self-taught musician on several
instruments and was influenced by his parents’ amateur musical activities.
Music for woodwind instruments, especially the flute, constitutes a major por-
tion of Rivier’s output. He composed sixteen works featuring the flute in a primary
role, his interest due in part to his father’s level of proficiency on the instrument.36
The concertos and other shorter works for flute are, in many respects, not unlike the
music he composed for brass and string instruments. Polytonality, augmented chords,
34 Stone, op. cit., p. 99. 35 Willi Apel, “Getrauchsmusik,” Harvard Dictionary of Music (Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap
Press, 1972), pp. 341-342. 36 Stone, op. cit., p. 104.
12
and quartal harmonies are typical of these works and in them he continues his neo-
classic tendencies of following standard forms and avoiding complex mixed meters
and frequent meter changes.
A reviewer, describing Rivier’s Piano Concerto No. 1, used language that
characterizes many of the composer’s three-movement works.
It is conceived on a large scale, and is particuarly remarkable for its use of block harmonies moving in similar motion, often against a unison bass- line. The three movements are admirably contrasted, however, the first
being predominantly dramatic, the second lyrical with an impassioned middle section, while the last is a brilliant vivace which alternates with more melodic episodes handed to and fro between the soloist and orchestra.37
In all of his music, Rivier composed melodies that exhibit lyricism and musi-
cality, regardless of style. Brillances, a brass septet published in 1971, combines
marcato fanfares and legato melodies that exploit all styles of brass performance.
The harmonies in this three-movement work feature the polytonality, augmented
chords, and quartal chords common to Rivier’s music.
In addition to his other French contemporaries, Rivier had a particular affinity
for the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev. Rivier stated,
Never repeat oneself. That is one of the reasons which above all makes me like Stravinsky. Like him, I try to be concise without being rhetorical, with- out patching up. Prokofiev is one of the only musicians of today that has never bored me during one measure.38
Inspiration from Roussel and Milhaud, as well as other composers, is evident
in Rivier’s works, but in all of his music he remains ever the individual, composing as
he willed without strict analyzation of specific chords. In this respect he was truly a
twentieth-century composer who held to no specific creed or manifesto.
37 Ibid., p. 114. 38 Ibid., p. 95.
13
Summary
Jean Rivier’s compositions are highly individual, marked by polytonality, bi-
modality, quartal and quintal harmonies, and augmented chords. Despite the rather
dissonant harmonic content of his works, Rivier is considered neo-classic in his use of
the older forms of concerto, overture, and symphony in his instrumental works.
Rivier’s melodies are at times playful and light and at times lyrical and tragic.
Although often disjunct, the melodies are always musical and logical in construction.
The melodies he uses in the slow movements of instrumental works are lyrical and
highly emotional, typically utilizing step-wise motion and small leaps.
Humor is a trait common to the music of Rivier. His third movements are
especially light and witty, with rhythmic augmentation of melodies, abrupt style
changes, and dynamic contrast contributing to the humorous mood.
14
CHAPTER II
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Brief History of the Concerto Form
The concerto genre has been generally defined as “. . . an instrumental work
that maintains contrast between an orchestral ensemble and a smaller group or a solo
instrument, or among various groups of an undivided orchestra.”39 This definition
came into use in the eighteenth century, although the term was used to describe music
for a wide variety of media and in several forms.
The term “concerto” came from either the Latin concertare meaning “to con-
tend, dispute, debate” or from the Latin conserere, meaning “to join together” or “to
unite.”40 Thus the first known musical application, ‘un concerto di voci in musica’
(Rome, 1519) clearly refers to a vocal ensemble, a ‘getting together’ or voices.”41
The earliest concertos were composed for vocal ensembles accompanied by instru-
mentalists. The Concerti di Andrea, et di Gio. Gabrieli of 1587 is the earliest known
publication of a musical work with the concerto denotation.42
The first instrumental works employing the concerto principle of divided
forces were the sonatas and sinfonias of the early to middle Baroque period. Dating
back to 1675, Qual prodigio e chi’io miri by Alexandro Stradella (1644-1682) calls
for two contrasting forces, the concerto grosso (large ensemble) and the concertino
(little ensemble). In this serenata the small and large groups perform in alternation,
creating an echo effect. The music of the concertino is more soloistic than that of the
concerto grosso in this work. Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) utilized the divided
39 Arthur Hutchings, “Concerto,” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 20
vols., ed. Stanley Sadie (London: Macmillan, 1980), III, p. 626. 40 Ibid., p. 627. 41 Ibid., p. 627. 42 Ibid., p. 627.
15
orchestra in his Concerti grossi, Op. 6. The concertino was used to echo the
statements made by the concerto grosso, resulting in symmetrical phrases.
The next step in concerto development took place with the publication of a
collection of concertos by Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709). With Op. 8 collection,
Torelli established the characteristics of the concerto that were to remain constant
throughout the next two hundred years. The primary traits of the Torelli concertos
were the fast-slow-fast arrangement of the movements, the ritornello form, and the
virtuostic writing for the soloist.
The ritornello concept of repetition of material was adapted from the vocal
refrain form of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. The same musical
material is presented by the larger ensemble (tutti) interrupted by soloistic passages.
The tutti sections make up the ritonello, usually offered in different keys between the
soloistic passages.
The Torelli concertos grew from the works written for trumpet and accompa-
niment performed at the basilica of Saint Petronio in Bologna, Italy. These works,
dating from 1665, “. . . were characterized by repeated-note patterns, triadic melodic
figurations and a generally homophonic texture. . . .”43 It was Torelli who was most
influential in adapting this style to the string concerto, and it is in his works that one
finds the earliest examples of what was to become the classic Venetian design.
The most prolific composer of concertos in the Baroque period was Antonio
Vivaldi (c. 1669-1714). In his over 450 concertos Vivaldi continued the principle of
form and structure introduced by Torelli. Vivaldi added to the genre an elaboration
of the ritornellos, which often included contrasting material. His concertos usually
feature alternating tutti and solo sections with the entire ritornello being presented
only at the beginning and the end of a movement. The slow movements are usually
scored for smaller numbers of players and are generally highly emotional. The final
43 Ibid., p. 630.
16
movements are often cast in dance forms and are generally lighter in mood than the
opening movements.
Vivaldi’s concertos were admired by German composers, most notably
J. S. Bach, Johann Quantz, and Georg Telemann. Quantz related in Bersuch einer
Anweisung die Flote traversiere zu spielen (1752) the following instruction:
There should be a magnificent ritornello. . . with regular sequences. Its best ideas should be broken for use between the solos, and since the second section recurs after the shake in the dominant at the end of the first big concertato section as well as at the end of the movement it should be clothed with the finest ideas.44
Regarding the slow movements, Quantz advised the composer to write music to
“. . . appeal to listeners who lack musical training.”45
J. S. Bach’s most important contribution to the concerto genre was the
monumental cycle of six concertos dedicated to the margrave of Brandenburg. Three
of the works are ripieno concertos in which contrast is achieved through timbral
changes among various instruments.
The other three works in the Brandenburg cycle are of the concerto grosso
type, each employing a concertino and a ripieno. The second of these concertos calls
for a concertino consisting of a trumpet, recorder, oboe, and violin. Composed for the
virtuoso court trumpeter Gottfried Reiche, Bach’s music is highly demanding for the
trumpeter in terms of technique and range.
Bach’s sons continued the tradition of concerto writing into the Pre-Classical
period. W. F., C. P. E., and J. C. Bach composed concertos chiefly for keyboard
instruments or for two soloists and orchestra. In the compositions of these and other
Pre-Classical composers, the concerto was undergoing a stylistic metamorphosis from
44 Hutchings, op. cit., p. 631. 45 Ibid., p. 631.
17
the motivic writing of the Baroque period to the phrase structure that was fully
developed in the Classical period.46
The Pre-Classical composers turned away from the ritornello form favored by
their Baroque predecessors. Bach’s sons composed first movements in three defined
sections: exposition, development, and recapitulation. This early appearance of the
Classical sonata form featured and orchestral exposition followed by a presentation of
the same material by the soloist.
As the Classical period emerged, composers abandoned the concerto grosso
form in favor of the solo concerto. The soloist in such a concerto was often the com-
poser and virtuosity was an important drawing card for large audiences, and thus a
larger fee was paid to the artist. The most important Classical concertos were com-
posed by Mozart and Beethoven, with the violin or the piano often featured as solo
instruments. Haydn also composed a number of concertos for diverse instruments,
including the keyed bugle.
The Classical concerto retained the three-movement scheme from the Baroque
period. The first movement begins with an orchestral exposition featuring two
themes presented in the tonic. The solo exposition follows an orchestral cadence,
presenting either the first theme or a new theme. The development follows the
exposition, often with modulations to various keys and a flexible relationship between
orchestra and soloist. Mozart often wrote developments featuring the soloist in an
accompanying role, with the orchestra presenting the main melodic content.
The recapitulation follows the development and emphasizes the tonic. The
music leads to a cadential tonic chord in second inversion, which is held briefly for
dramatic effect. The soloist then performs a cadenza, usually with virtuostic displays
of scales and melodic material heard earlier in the movement. Originally improvised,
cadenzas that were written or at least planned out ahead of time became more
common in the Classical period. Cadenzas were featured in all three movements in
46 Ibid., p. 632.
18
the early Classical period, but became relegated to the conclusion of the first
movement by the early nineteenth century.
The middle movement of the Classical concerto is slow and in various forms,
including a slow rondo (ABABA), theme and variations, and two- or three-part song
forms. Finales are frequently fast rondos to provide the desirable happy ending.
The concerto composers of the Romantic period continued in the tradition of
Mozart and Beethoven with three movements containing ever more emotional
melodies and even programmatic tendencies. Virtuosity was celebrated to a high
degree and brilliant soloists, including Paganini and Lizst, satisfied the public’s
demand for transcendental technique.
In opposition to the pyrotechnics of the hyper virtuoso, Brahms and other
more conservative composers wrote in a somewhat more subdued style. These
musicians wrote concertos with demanding music that avoided virtuosity.
Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor of 1844 departs from the
standard structure in several ways. The concerto begins with a short orchestral intro-
duction of only four measures, after which the soloist enters with the solo exposition.
Following the development, the soloist performs the notated cadenza that flows
directly into the recapitulation. The cadenza itself becomes an integral part of the
movement, not just a virtuostic display of technical prowess.
Composers in the twentieth century have continued to write concertos that
follow the Romantic and Classical models but that are individually adapted to the
composers themselves or to specific performers. Notable concertos written for
specified artists include Profofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante for cellist Milos
Rostropovich and Stravinsky’s Ebony Concerto for jazz clarinetist Woody Herman.
Stravinsky and others returned to the Baroque concerto grosso form after it
had been virtually abandoned in the previous periods. Ripieno, or orchestral,
concertos were also composed by Stravinsky along with Webern and Bartok, whose
Concerto for Orchestra (1943) stands as a masterpiece in the genre.
19
Some concertos composed following World War II feature the soloist and
orchestra in a dramatic relationship. Elliot Carter, in his Piano Concerto (1964-’65),
casts the soloist as a “. . . capricious individual whom the orchestra and a concertino
group attempt to influence.”47
The concerto genre became very flexible in the twentieth century. The
Concerto pour Trompette et orchestre (1948) by Henri Tomasi begins with a
cadenza-like opening statement presented by the soloist with only an eighth-note
as an introduction. Throughout the first movement the trumpet is the focus of
attention, being provided with technically demanding music. The first movement
ends with a notated cadenza for the trumpet soloist, accompanied briefly by a snare
drum. The final two movements follow in the usual slow-fast structure typical of the
concerto form.
Origins of Rivier’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet and Concerto for
Trumpet and Orchestra
Jean Rivier composed the Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet in 1954.
It was published by Gerard Billaudot and premiered by Marcel Mule (alto saxophone)
and Roger Delmotte (trumpet).48 The Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra was
published in 1971 by Gerard Billaudot. It was premiered in 1972 with trumpet soloist
Antoine Logroce and the Orchestre de Limoges. It was performed on television the
same year by Roger Delmotte and the Orchestre de Chambre de la Radio.49
Roger Delmotte, the trumpeter involved with the premieres of both of Rivier’s
concertos, is a native of Roubaix, France and studied with Eugene Foveau at the
Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris. After performing in dance
halls in Paris and winning first prize at the Second Geneva International Competition,
47 Ibid., p. 639. 48 Stone, op. cit., p. 366. 49 Ibid., p. 366.
20
Delmotte was appointed trumpet professor at the Versailles Conservatory at age 25.
He also auditioned for and won the position of solo trumpet at l’Opera de Paris.50
Delmotte developed a reputation for artistic integrity and musicianship that
led the leading French composers of the mid-twentieth century to compose trumpet
works for him, including Florent Schmitt, Henry Barraud, and Georges Delerue.
Andre Jolivet collaborated with Delmotte on several occasions and the trumpeter
recorded Jolivet’s Concertino in 1951 for the Philips recording label. As Michel
Laplace wrote of the recording,
Its impact was great, even into Russia where it became a model of this work’s interpretation for the students at the Moscow Academy. Years later, on a radio show, Andre Jolivet stated that it was due to such artists
as Roger Delmotte and Maurice Andre that he pushed his works for trumpet to greater and greater complexity.51
50 Michel Laplace, “Masters of the Twentieth Century,” translated by David Hoyt,
International Trumpet Guild Journal VII/4 (May, 1984), pp. 12-15. 51 Ibid., p.12.
21
CHAPTER III
AN ANALYSIS OF CONCERTO FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND TRUMPET
Rivier’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet is composed in three
movements and totals just over seventeen minutes in duration. The movements are
arranged in the typical fast/slow/fast structure typical of the concerto genre.
Originally composed for soloists and string orchestra, this analysis is based on the
reduction for soloists and piano. The elements of each movement are analyzed in the
following order: form, harmony, melody, and rhythm.
First Movement
Form
Movement one, labeled Allegro burlesco, is composed in a repeated ternary
form and is diagrammed as follows: A B A’ A B A. The repetition of the form is
shorter than the initial presentation, but all three sections are present in the latter
statement.
The initial A section begins in E-flat and then modulates to E for theme two
(measure 36). The B sections begin in D, but the tonality is much more ambiguous
than in the A sections.
The A’ theme (measure 164) is transposed to E for the restatement of theme
one. Theme three (measure 183) is pitched in F-sharp, but, as with the B theme,
modulates often before returning to F-sharp in measure 209.
The second appearance of the B theme is in the key of D, although this section
is abbreviated, lasting only eight measures. The final A section begins in E and
moves to E-flat by the movement’s end in measure 233.
Harmony
The harmony for the first movement features bi-modality, polytonality, and
augmented quartal chords. Rivier abandons traditional tonic/dominant relationships
in this movement, relying on melodic repetitions to provide structure.
22
The initial nine measures of the movement contain an ostinato pattern in the
piano that alternates between E-flat major and E-flat minor. The tonality is further
obscured by the alto saxophone melody, which contains the intervals of the perfect
and augmented fourth, otatonic scalar runs, and many accidentals.
Quartal and quintal harmonies are featured under the trumpet melody,
beginning in measure 14. The quartal chords contain augmented and perfect fourths,
and the quintal chords have intervals of both perfect and diminished fifths. These
chord types continue throughout the A section, which ends in measure 58.
Bi-modality and polytonality are the hallmarks of the B section, beginning in
measure 70. This slower section contains chords with split members, separated by
one half-step. Thus, the resulting chord contains both major and minor thirds or per-
fect and diminished fifths simultaneously.
Beginning in bi-modal D, the harmony moves in fourths, suggesting a
dominant-to-tonic relationship for three measures before beginning a descent in major
and minor seconds from A minor to G-flat, F-flat, E-double flat, and D-flat. All of
the chords are bi-modal, with the exception of the G-flat chord in measure 74.
The second phrase of the B theme contains polytonal harmony. The chords
that are simultaneously sounded are separated by the interval of a half-step, adding a
dissonant quality to the harmony under the lyrical saxophone melody.
With the entrance of the trumpet in measure 94, the harmony becomes more
static, with phrases of six, two, and four measures containing only one chord. The bi-
modal harmony begins in A-flat, an augmented fourth above the beginning of the B
section.
23
The saxophone soloist must be able to play in a virtuostic manner to perform
this concerto at an artistic level. Non-traditional passages, including octatonic and
modal scales, are frequent, elevating the music for the saxophone to a higher degree
of difficulty than the music for the trumpet.
In measures 40 through 44 of the first movement the trumpeter is required to
insert a straight mute in only three beats at quarter note=138 and then remove the
mute in only two and one-half beats in measure 44. As a solution, the soloist must
take care not to insert the mute too far into the bell of the instrument and to keep the
left hand on the mute for rapid extraction.
Ensemble between soloists is not a factor in most of the concerto. One
passage, measures 197 through 209 in the first movement, requires the two soloists to
play together while performing rhythmically diverse music. Through conscientious
adherence to the metronomic marking, the soloists and pianist will end the passage
together.
Summary
The three movements of Rivier’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet
are similar in harmonic and melodic content. All feature bi-modality, augmented
quartal harmonies, augmented chords, and polytonality.
The melodic writing in the outer two movements often contains awkward
leaps of augmented fourths and major sevenths, usually in the music for saxophone.
The music for the trumpet soloist is less disjunct, with a combination of legato and
marcato styles.
Humor can be found in the music for both soloists in the outer two move-
ments. The third movement is notable for its lighthearted melodies and witty use of
trumpet timbre changes through the addition of a Wa-Wa mute.
The second movement is melodically and stylistically different from the outer
two. Marked tragico e violento, the mood of this movement is much darker and more
48
serious than movements one and two. The melody moves primarily in step-wise
motion, differing from the disjunct melodies of the fast movements.
49
CHAPTER IV
AN ANALYSIS OF CONCERTO FOR TRUMPET AND ORCHESTRA
Jean Rivier’s Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra is composed in three
movements with a duration of just over fifteen minutes. The composer applies the
instruction enchainez avec le 2e Mouvt and enchainez avec le 3e Mouvt, literally
instructing the performers to link or join the movements without stopping. The range
encompassed by the music for the trumpet soloist is from a-flat to c```. Although
composed for trumpet and string orchestra, this analysis is based on the version of the
concerto for trumpet and piano reduction. The elements of each movement are
analyzed in the following order: form, harmony, melody, and rhythm.
First Movement
Form
Rivier departs from the standard concerto first movement form by arranging it
in an ABA` ternary form instead of the sonata form so often found in other concertos.
The movement is united through tempo, rhythmic motives, and melodic intervals
rather than through traditional melodic and harmonic relationships.
Harmony
Harmonically, the first movement cannot be placed in a specific key area.
Measures one through four feature the piano alone with parallel open fifths in the left
hand. The harmony is achieved by the music for the right hand, which consists of
parallel major and minor thirds. The resulting effect is one of polytonality and chords
with split members one half-step apart.
50
Labeled molto vivace, the music for the third movement is in 6/8 meter with a
metronomic marking of dotted-quarter note = 168. Rivier remained true to the
standard concerto third movement form by arranging the structure in a modified
rondo. The form can be diagrammed A B C B D A B A Coda.
Harmony
The harmony for the third movement is similar to the preceding two with bi-
tonality, bi-modality, augmented quartal and quintal harmonies, and augmented major
seventh chords present throughout. Tonally ambiguous for much of the movement,
Rivier relies more on a playful melody combined with chord types that by this point
in the concerto have become familiar to the listener’s ear to provide unity.
The first A section begins in measure 1 and continues through measure 46.
An opening series of eighth notes descending by half steps is followed by parallel
descending A minor and F minor scales.
A pedal G-sharp is present form measures 9 to 19, which is harmonized with
augmented quartal chords whose roots ascend by half steps from F to B-flat and then
by whole step to C. Bi-tonality is evident in measure 22 with presence of A minor
and A-flat minor chords on beat two.
The harmonic landscape shifts with the entrance of the trumpet in measure 23.
Bi-modality becomes common with the trumpet melody frequently containing notes
that function as minor thirds over major chords in the accompaniment. This
dissonance occurs in each instance on beat two in measures 24-28.
The harmony for the remainder of the first A section consists of augmented
chords and augmented quartal harmony. The section ends with a one-measure pattern
that is sequentially treated in measures 43 through 46, with the trumpet and piano in a
dialogue separated by the interval of a minor ninth.
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measures 291 through 295. Although these features are found in the first and second
movements they are more prevalent in this final rondo.
The melodic line, whether for trumpet or piano, contains constant tonal and
modal shifts and a continued emphasis on the interval leaps of the major seventh and
the augmented fourth. The penultimate measure contains the leap of a major seventh
from b` to a-sharp``, placing a final emphatic stamp on the importance of this interval.
The melodic style alternates between legato and staccato throughout the
movement with the exception of the D section. The D melody is quite legato with
many leaps covering the intervals of the sixth, seventh, and the augmented fourth.
Rhythm
Rhythmically, the third movement adheres to the normal triplets and dotted
quarter-note patterns found in 6/8 meter. Interesting deviations do occur, as in
measures 9 through 21 in the piano’s music where the insertion of a duple pattern
tends to make the meter ambiguous until the triplet returns in measure 22. The duple
eighth-note pattern occurs in the music for trumpet in measures 146 and 149 and in
measures 291 through 294.
The most striking rhythmical contrast appears in the D section of the third
movement. The meter changes from 6/8 to 3/2, but then shifts to 2/2. Syncopation is
used throughout this section, as in the earlier movements.
Performance Considerations
Jean Rivier’s Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra is within the reach of the
college undergraduate, but it is a serious work. A part for C trumpet is included with
the piano score, but the soloist could perform the concerto on a B-flat instrument.
The ability to double tongue is required, as several passages would be difficult
to articulate with a single “tu” attack. Multiple articulation is imperative in the third
movement if the performer takes the indicated tempo.
Two factors that must be considered before attempting Rivier’s Concerto for
Trumpet and Orchestra are endurance and range. The first and third movements 78
require the soloist to produce a c``` at a forte dynamic level, and in both cases the
notes must be performed following several measures of continuous playing in a high
tessitura.
Endurance is a factor in all three movements of this concerto, but especially in
the second. Nineteen measures of continuous playing at quarter note = 50 is required,
with the musical line ascending to an a-sharp``. Rivier also indicates that the move-
ments should be played without pause, adding to the problem of fatigue.
On logistical problem exists in the third movement. The soloist is asked to
remove the straight mute in only three and one-half beats at a vivace tempo. It is
possible, but the soloist must be ready to quickly set the mute aside in order to resume
playing on the open trumpet.
Summary
Rivier’s Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra contains similar harmonic,
melodic, and rhythmic writing in its three movements. All feature polytonality,
augmented quartal harmonies, bi-modality, and augmented chords.
The outer two movements have melodies with leaps of augmented fourths and
major sevenths, intervals traditionally considered disjunct and too awkward for
melodic composition. The melodies frequently contain notes that function as split
chord members, creating bi-modality.
The faster outer movements contain humor in their melodies and harmonies.
The third movement, with its 6/8 meter, vivacissimo tempo indication, and unusual
melodic construction is especially witty and filled with levity.
As with his Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet, Rivier composed the
second movement of his Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra with a lyrical and
serious melody. The octave is the most common interval found in the writing for
trumpet. By contrast, the music for the accompaniment is highly chromatic.
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CHAPTER V
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Jean Rivier, a composer of music in many genres, has contributed two worthy
concertos featuring the trumpet in a primary role to the repertoire. Although neither
the Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet nor the Concerto for Trumpet and
Orchestra have reached the popularity of other twentieth-century trumpet concertos
by Arutunian, Tomasi, Jolivet, Chaynes, or Planel, both have musical merit and are
worthy of performance.
As the number of performances of these two concertos increase, a study of the
harmonic, rhythmic, melodic, and motivic elements of Rivier’s works in general and
these two compositions in particular would be useful to trumpeters. This treatise
provides a biography of Jean Rivier along with a history of the concerto genre,
including the origins of Rivier’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet and
Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra. A complete analysis of each concerto is
conducted and performance problems are addressed with possible solutions provided.
The Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet is the more traditional of the
two works in terms of its harmonic content and its adherence to traditional chord pro-
gressions. The final movement contains a tonal pull to E-flat that appears with each
recurrence of the A theme.
Both solo instruments are featured prominently in the Concerto for Alto
Saxophone and Trumpet, but the music for saxophone is much more technically
demanding than the music for the trumpet. Rapid scales, complicated rhythms, and
extremes in range are found in the saxophonist’s music, requiring a virtuoso
performer.
The music for the trumpet soloist contains less demanding rhythms and
technical writing, but the trumpeter must be able to play not only in a singing, lyrical
style, but also be able to navigate wide leaps of an octave or more. Endurance is also
80
a factor in the first movement, as the trumpet soloist must play continuously for
twenty-seven measures, covering a span of two octaves.
Both the Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet and the Concerto for
Trumpet and Orchestra are composed in the traditional three-movement structure
common to the concerto form. Rivier arranged them in the standard fast/slow/fast
order, but he deviated from the Classical concerto model by linking the three move-
ments of the Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra.
Following the pattern of double concertos by other composers, Rivier omitted
the cadenza in his Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet. The cadenza is also
dropped from the first movement of the Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, but the
section featuring the unaccompanied trumpet soloist in the third movement could be
considered a short, subdued cadenza. This section is also remarkable for its relaxed
nature following the rapid tempo of the preceding material.
Rivier departs from the standard practice of setting the concerto’s first move-
ment in a modified sonata-allegro form in the first movements of both concertos. He
arranged movement one of Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet in a repeated
ternary form (A B A` A B A) and the first movement of Concerto for Trumpet and
Orchestra in ternary form (A B A`).
Rivier utilizes similar harmonic writing in the two concertos discussed in this
treatise. His harmonic language is amazingly consistent in the two works, despite the
seventeen-year separation in their publication dates. Augmented chords, augmented
quartal and quintal harmonies, and polytonality are featured in both concertos.
Rivier’s use of polytonality is most effective in the closing measures of the second
movement of the Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, where G-sharp minor and G
major chords are simultaneously written.
Despite the non-traditional harmonic background, the music for the soloists is
often lyrical, humorous, and technically demanding. Rivier’s use of humor is most
apparent in the Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet. The third movement is
especially witty in its treatment of melodic material, with augmentation of the A 81
theme occurring in two sections. The trumpet’s use of the Wa-Wa mute also creates a
humorous timbre.
Rivier composed the two concertos without extensive development of themes.
As a result of his adherence to brevity, the Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet
lasts just over seventeen minutes and the Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra is just
over fifteen minutes in duration.
The Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra is notably sparse in its thematic
development and its recurrence of themes. Sectional repetition often involves only
tempo and style rather than melodic reappearance. The Concerto for Alto Saxophone
and Trumpet is more traditional in terms of theme repetition, most obviously in the
third movement. The A and C themes are quoted in transposed and rhythmically
augmented forms.
Although in the Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra Rivier abandons the
traditional tonic/dominant key relationship, the work is not harsh or without unifying
elements. One such element is the use of the major seventh, major ninth, and the
augmented fourth intervals in the melodic and harmonic material throughout each
movement. The entire concerto is based on these intervals, producing bi-modal
chords as a result of the half-step intervals in the melodies and harmonies.
The use of certain chord types throughout the concerto provides a sense of
continuity. The tonally ambiguous augmented major seventh chord is used quite
often, masking the tonality. Augmented quartal harmony, perhaps the most prevalent
type of chord structure in the concerto, is also used to achieve a tonal ambiguity.
Despite the non-traditional harmonic background, the music for the trumpet
soloist is often lyrical, humorous, and at times requires virtuosity. In all of the
movements the trumpeter must play music that is angular with wide leaps juxtaposed
with a conjunct melody of supreme lyricism and beauty.
In both concertos, Rivier composed idiomatic music for the trumpet soloist
and accompanist. The extreme ranges of the trumpet are explored, but not to excess.
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The lyrical and technical aspects of performance are required, with results often
haunting, often dazzling, but always musically sound.
Rivier’s lines are always clear and the harmony chosen for its sound, not to
follow any formula or tonal progression in the traditional sense. In this respect,
Rivier deviates from the models of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century concerto
forms, which adhere to a strong tonic/dominant key relationship.
The two concertos by Rivier featuring the trumpet are playable by college
undergraduates and are quite effective on recital programs. Both are technically and
musically challenging, demanding from the trumpet soloist the ability not only to
manipulate intricate arpeggios but also to perform long, lyrical melodies.
The Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra is challenging in terms of
endurance, with its three connected movements. Long passages of uninterrupted
playing are found in the second movements of both works discussed, similar to the
slow movements of trumpet concertos by Henri Tomasi and Robert Planel.
Rapid articulation is required of the trumpet soloist in the Concerto for
Trumpet and Orchestra. Double and triple tonguing must be mastered by the soloist
if the indicated tempo is to be followed in the first and third movements of this
concerto.
Filled with lyricism, with, technical challenges, dissonance, and tragic beauty,
Rivier’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Trumpet and Concerto for Trumpet and
Orchestra are important works in which the composer exhibited his compositional
techniques of polytonality, quartal harmony, and economy of means. Both works
contain his characteristic humor, found in the melodies that often stress the awkward
intervals of the augmented fourth and the major seventh and in the non-traditional
harmonies that are tonally ambiguous. It is a tribute to Rivier’s craftsmanship as a
composer that both works are pleasing to prepare and perform as trumpeters and to
enjoy as audience members.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Apel, Willi. “Concerto,” Harvard Dictionary of Music, 2nd. ed. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1972, 192-195.
Austin, William W. Music in the Twentieth Century from Debussy through
Stravinsky. New York: W. W. Norton, 1966. Bolcom, William. “Reminiscences of Darius Milhaud,” Musical Newsletter VII/3 (Summer 1977): 3-16. Brown, Royal S. “French Music Since Debussy and Ravel,” High Fidelity Magazine XXIII/9 (September 1973): 50-65. Carnovale, Norbert A. and Paul F. Doerksen. Twentieth Century Music for Trumpet and Orchestra, Second Revised Edition. The Brass Press, 1994. Deane, Basil. “Albert Roussel,” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 20 vols., ed. Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan, 1980, XVI, 273-276. Ewen, David. Composers Since 1900. New York: H. W. Wilson Company, 1969. Giradot, Anne. “Jean Rivier,” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 20 vols., ed. Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan, 1980, XLI, 63. Grout, Donald Jay. A History of Western Music, Third Edition. New York: W. W. Norton, 1980. Hutchings, Arthur. “Concerto,” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 20 vols., ed. Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan, 1980, IV, 625-640. Kostka, Stefan. Materials and Techniques of Twentieth-Century Music. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1990. Laplace, Michel. “Masters of the Twentieth Century: Roger Delmotte,” translated by David Hoyt, International Trumpet Guild Journal VIII/4 (May 1984): 12-15. Mortenson, Gary C. “Ten Selected Duets Featuring Trumpet and Various
Instruments,” International Trumpet Guild Journal XVIII/4 (May 1994): 37-43.
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Palmer, Christopher. “Darius Milhaud,” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 20 vols., ed. Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan, 1980, XII, 305-310. Rogers, Michael. Teaching Approaches in Music Theory. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1984. Stone, Julie Anne. The Life and Published Flute Compositions of Jean Rivier (1896-1987). D.M.A. Dissertation, University of Maryland College Park, Ann Arbor: UMI Dissertation Services, 1992. 85
VITA
Douglas Todd Lockard was born in Hope, Arkansas on February 14, 1965, the
son of Lana Kay Lockard and Richard Harrell Lockard. After completing his work at
Hope High School in 1983, he entered Henderson State University in Arkadelphia,
Arkansas. He received the Bachelor of Music Education degree in May, 1987. He
taught instrumental music in the public schools of Hope, Arkansas for two years
before entering the University of North Texas, majoring in Trumpet Performance. He
received the Master of Music degree in May, 1991. Following four years of teaching
in the Texas school districts of Quitman and Community, he entered the Graduate
School of the University of Texas at Austin in September, 1995. He served as an
Instructor of Music at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas from
1996 to 2001 and is currently an Assistant Professor of Music at East Texas Baptist
University in Marshall, Texas.
Permanent Address: 405 South Oak Street, Hallsville, Texas 75650
This treatise was typed by the author.
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