Jolivet as Teacher: Programme, Method and Philosophy
Résumé
This first book in English on the French composer André Jolivet investigates his music, life and influence as a major figure in French music of the twentieth century. His music combines innovative language with spirituality, summarised in his self-declared axiom to restore music’s ancient original meaning when it was the magic and incantatory expression of the sacred in human communities’. Following a chronology of his life and works, and a contextual introduction, the chapters by leading French and British scholars, as well as the composer’s daughter, assess Jolivet’s output and activities from the 1920s through to his last works, exploring creative process, aesthetic, his relationship with the exotic and influences from literature and the visual arts. This fascinating and comprehensive volume is an indispensable source for research into French music and culture of the twentieth century.