le groupe des six
ltm catalogue...

Mentored by Erik Satie and Jean Cocteau between 1917 to 1923, the celebrated group of young French composers known as Les Six comprised Georges Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc and Germaine Taillefaire. The artful relationship between Les Six and their mentors formed an important cornerstone of the inter-war avant garde. To read detailed biography click here. To read Jean Cocteau's introduction to Les Six in English translation click here. To purchase CDs click here.


COCTEAU, SATIE & LES SIX LTMCD 2402 £10.00
The celebrated L'Album des Six of 1920 is now recognised as a landmark in 20th Century modern music. This 74 minute anthology also includes music composed by Satie and Les Six for spectacles staged by Cocteau between 1917 and 1920, including Parade and Cocardes, as well as Arthur Honegger's futuristic Pacific 231, and music by Georges Auric for five Cocteau films made between 1930 and 1959: Le Sang d'un Poete, La Belle et la Bete, L'Aigle a Deux Tetes, Orphee, Le Testament D'Orphee. All selections have been digitally remastered. The deluxe booklet features many rare images, as well as detailed historical notes by James Hayward. To read sleevenote click here. Full tracklist: Jean Cocteau introduces Les Six (1953); L'Album des Six (1920) Georges Auric Prelude Louis Durey Romance sans paroles Arthur Honegger Sarabande Darius Milhaud Mazurka Francis Poulenc Valse Germaine Tailleferre Pastorale; Francis Poulenc Cocardes; Erik Satie Parade; Darius Milhaud Le Boeuf sur le toit; Arthur Honegger Pacific 231; Jean Cocteau La Toison D'or and Les Voleurs d'Enfants; Georges Auric Le Sang d'un Poete, La Belle et la Bete, L'Aigle a Deux Tetes, Orphee, Le Testament D'Orphee

Reviews: 'All of them to some extent took fire from Stravinsky. A few, at least temporarily, also found inspiration in the music of Satie. This seems to have been the link with Jean Cocteau as well, who had advocated a new art that, among other things, drew from popular sources. Satie had raised the parlor piece to serious status and had in Parade mined various popular forms, including an Irving Berlin rag, so it's easy to see the attraction he exercised on Cocteau. For composers like Poulenc, Milhaud, and Auric, Satie represented an alternative for French music to the Impressionism of turn-of-the-century Debussy and Ravel. Our century is one of the few where a significant number have acted as if pop meant unclean. Consequently, Cocteau had set forth a rather radical program, which most members of Les Six followed at one time or another' (www.classical.net)


LE GROUPE DES SIX: SELECTED WORKS 1915-1945 LTMCD 2533 £12.00
This 160 minute remastered 2xCD set features selected piano and orchestral works by Les Six composed between 1915 and 1945, including collaborations with Jean Cocteau, Guillaume Apollinaire, Max Jacob, Marcelle Meyer and Denise Duval. Highlights include a full cast recording of the Surrealistic opera Les Mamelles de Tirésias, co-created by Francis Poulenc and Guillaume Apollinaire, and new recordings of Dada-related works performed by Peter Beijersbergen van Henegouwen. All selections were recorded between 1928 and 2007, including some personally performed or conducted by the composers themselves. The booklet includes archive images and detailed historical notes by James Hayward. To read full sleevenote click here. Full tracklist: disc one: L'Album des Six; Francis Poulenc Mouvements perpétuels; Arthur Honegger Trois pièces pour piano; Darius Milhaud Caramel mou (Shimmy); Georges Auric Adieu, New York; Francis Poulenc Les Biches; Le Bestiaire; Huit nocturnes; Quinze improvisations pour piano; Caprice (Le Bal masqué); Darius Milhaud Scaramouche; Germaine Tailleferre Ouverture; Louis Durey Le printemps au fond de la mer; disc two: Darius Milhaud La Création du monde; Arthur Honegger Prélude, Fugue et Postlude; Francis Poulenc Les Mamelles de Tirésias

Reviews: 'Another wonderful Les Six collection from LTM, combining contemporary performances of the group members' compositions as well as far earlier documents, with some renditions dating back to the 1920s' (Boomkat, 05/2009)

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