Inventory of the Charles Koechlin manuscripts, 1905-1945

Processed by Robert Orledge; machine-readable finding aid created by Xiuzhi Zhou
Hargrove Music Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-2623
Email: music_reference@berkeley.edu
URL: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/music_library_archives
© 1999
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Inventory of the Charles Koechlin Manuscripts, 1905-1945

Collection number: ARCHIVES KOECHLIN 1

Contact Information

  • Hargrove Music Library
  • University of California, Berkeley
  • Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
  • Phone: (510) 642-2623
  • Email: music_reference@berkeley.edu
  • URL: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/music_library_archives
Processed by:
Robert Orledge
Date Completed:
ca. 1986
Encoded by:
Xiuzhi Zhou
© 1999 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Charles Koechlin Manuscripts
Date (inclusive): 1905-1945
Collection number: ARCHIVES KOECHLIN 1
Creator: Koechlin, Charles, 1867-1950
Extent: Number of containers: 6 boxes
Repository: The Music Library
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Shelf location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Language: English.

Administrative Information

Donor:

From the estate of Charles Shatto, received in the spring of 1983. See also the collections in this catalog under Charles Shatto and Catherine Urner.

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of the Music Library.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Charles Koechlin manuscripts, ARCHIVES KOECHLIN 1, The Music Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Inventory:

This inventory was compiled by Professor Robert Orledge, Department of Music,University of Liverpool, Liverpool, England. This inventory forms part of an unpublished article by Professor Orledge, and he retains full rights to this inventory. If publication of data from this inventory is contemplated, permisssion must be received directly from Professor Orledge. John A. Emerson, September 26, 1986.

Introduction

Following the death of Charles Shatto on New Year's Day 1983, the UCB inherited a large collection of manuscripts by Shatto himself, his wife Catherine Urner (1891-1942), and their principal composition teacher, Charles Koechlin (1867-1950). The manuscripts by Shatto and Urner were catalogued by David Zea in 1977, and it has been my privelege to be entrusted with the preparation of a full inventory of the Koechlin manuscripts, in which task I was greatly assisted by the preliminary classification made by John Emerson of the UCB Music Library.
Catherine Urner was recommended to Koechlin by her harmony teacher at Berkeley, William MacCoy, at a Christmas dinner in San Francisco on 19 December 1918 during Koechlin's first American tour (as the musical representative on a French cultural mission headed by Théodore Reinach). 1. During her postgraduate studies at UCB, Catherine had shown considerable promise as a composer, and she was the first person to win the coveted George Ladd Prix de Paris for 1920-1 which enabled her to travel to France and receive regular lessons from Koechlin. She returned to Paris to study with Koechlin for four futher periods: December 1922 to July 1923, June 1924 to June 1925, November 1928 to April 1929, and from August 1929 to June 1933, when she lived en famille as part of the Koechlin household. In the interim periods the lessons continued by post and Koechlin began sending Catherine examples of his work in progress (all hand-copied) which form the basis of this important archive.
In return, Catherine was instrumental in arranging Koechlin's three teaching visits to the USA: May to October 1928 (Berkeley), June to August 1929 (when Koechlin won the Hollywood Bowl prize for his symphonic poem La joie païenne (Op. 46 no. 5)), and late July to late September 1937 (when Koechlin gave lessons at Urner's studio in San Diego,wrote a great deal of music, and gave lectures in Montreal and Quebec on his way back to France). Shortly after this, with Koechlin's encouragement, Catherine married the young organist and composer Charles Shatto on 10 October 1937, both of them sharing a love of their teacher's music. However, their happiness was cut tragically short when Catherine was killed in a car crash in San Diego on 30 April 1942. Due to the vagaries of the wartime mail service, Koechlin only learnt the sad news in a letter from Darius Milhaud written on 21 March 1945, 2. and as a touching tribute to his favourite American pupil he orchestrated her Esquisses Normandes for piano (1929) in early November 1945 (see MSS ii and 134-5).
Koechlin and Catherine Urner were kindred spirits in their undogmatic approach to music, and their belief that true artisitic independence could only be acchieved in composition by maintaining the delicate balance between liberty and discipline. They shared a total devotion to their art in the face of a general lack of recognition and its concomitant state of financial hardship. Koechlin's solution to this situation after 1925 was to turn increasingly towards pedagogic and teaching activities, which accounts for the large numbers of chorale realisations in the UCB collection (see MSS 93-120), though he placed these on a par with ostensibly more significant compositions like the contemporaray symphonic poem La course de printemps (Op. 95). The overall direction taken by Koechlin's music in this period was towards textural clarification, order and increased contrapuntal strength, ultimately leading to the concentration of his musical thought into a single melodic line (or monody) in the 1940s. In this process Catherine Urner acted as a catalyst, for Koechlin recognised her melodic gift from the start and saw his role as developing her harmonic and contraptual skills. But what began as a teacher-pupil relationship, with Koechlin writing themes for Urner to harmonise (as well as doing so himself), soon developed into a beneficial artisitic cross-fertilisation founded in deep mutual respect. Indeed, between the summer of 1928 and February 1934, no less than 14 of Koechlin's compositions between Opp. 102 and 137 included themes by Catherine, and the process only ended with the fourth movement of Koechlin's Second Symphony, a Fugue modale (sur un sujet de Catherine Urner) in 1943-4 (op. 196). Whilst there are, surprisingly, no manuscripts of their first major collaboration, a symphonic poem based on a Hindu legend entitled The Bride of a God (Op. 106, 1929), both short and full scores of Sur les flots lointains (op. 130) of 1933 figure as important items in the UCB collection (MSS 12-13). As always, Catherine provided the thematic outline; Koechlin the remainder.

Note

1. For an excellent survey of Koechlin's visits to America, see Elise Kuhl Kirk: A Parisian in America: the lectures and legacies of Charles Koechlin,' Current Musicology, no. 25 (1978), 50-68.

Note

2. The extensive correspondence between Urner and Koechlin (1919-41), together with Milhaud's letters relating to them, can be consulted by contacting Madeline Li-Koechlin, the composer's daughter, at 121 rue de Chalias, 94240 L'Hay-les-Roses, France.

Scope and Content

In the following inventory, I have divided the manuscripts into three sections:
  • 1. 138 autograph manuscripts by Koechlin (1905-1945) plus one letter to Charles Shatto of 15 March 1946 (MS 139). Of these, only MSS 14 & 134-8 are not Koechlin's own compositions.
  • 2. Music by Koechlin copied by Catherine Urner. These compositions (dating form 1895 to 1935) are numbered from I to XII.
  • 3. Manuscripts by other composers (1929-35), notably Catherine Urner, Ernest Le Grand and Jeanne Herscher-Clément. These are numbered from i to xiv.
The original manuscripts in section 1 are fully representative of Koechlin's musical activities in the 1930s. They include film music compositions (like the Dances for Ginger Rogers (Op. 163, MSS 68-77) and the Épitaphe de Jean Harlow(Op. 164, MSS 78-9)); symphonic poems (like La méditation de Purun Bhagat at a critical stage in its evolution in mid-August 1936 (Op. 159, MS 54)); chamber music (like the Septuor à vent (Opp. 165 and 165bis, MSS 80-92)); as well as choral works (like Liberté (Op. 158, MS 53) and the Requiem des pauvres bougres (Op. 161, MSS 55, 62-6)) and many other smaller pieces. There are compositions that can be found in no other source, as with the complete Pastorale of 15 Dec 1924 (MS 7) - an unused movement intended for Koechlin's Trio d'anches (Op. 92), or the beautiful Chant du matin of 15 August 1939 (MS 124) - inspired by fine weather and the sound of bells from the church of St Étienne du Mont' near Koechlin's Paris home in the rue des Boulangers. This last is one of several important manuscripts (1924-32) from the wartime gap in Koechlin's opus numbers between Op. 176 (August 1939) and Op. 177 (November 1941), which alone would be sufficient to make the UCB collection one which no scholar of Koechlin's music could afford to ignore.
As well as full scores and piano reductons of major works sent to Catherine Urners in this remarkable display of artistic friendship, there are many final sketches for important compositions which contain unique evidence as to their gestation and intentions. For example, MS 11, thanks to Koechlin's copious dating, traces the evolution of the 12-movement piano suite L'ancienne maison de campagne (Op. 124) over a decade (1923-1933), 3. whilst MSS 23-4 and 29 are the only dated sources of three pieces within Koechlin's 1934 film score Les confidences d'un joueur de clarinette (Op. 141 nos 14-16), with no. 15 (MS 23) containing extra scenic directions found in no other score. The same is true of Le voyage chimérique (Op. 149 no. 5, MS 34), and the dedication to Catherine on the very first of Koechlin's 113 shorter film compositions ( Palmolive, Op. 139 no.1, MS 16) suggests that it was his reminiscences of American life in her company in 1928-9 which again sparked off an important aand fruitful chain of events in his compositional career.
Of equal importance is the way that one can trace every stage of Koechlin's complex compositional process by means of the UCB collection. Koechlin usually proceeded by what he described as a 'series of successive approximations', working on individual pieces over quite long periods, but keepng several pieces in train simultaneously. In the case of major symphonic works, he would begin with purely rythmic sketches - like those for Les bandar-log (Op. 176) in MS 123. Then, like Berlioz, he would write a complete melodic line (or chant) which remained unaltered as successive layers of the composition were added in various stages. In less complex pieces the process only involved two stages, chant and realisation (which involved the addition of harmonies and a textural accompaniment). The sketches for the 14 chants pour flûte et piano (Op. 157bis, MSS 47-52) show that these separate stages could be separated by as much as 17 months (in this case, April 1936 to September 1937). Then, again for more complex pieces, Koechlin kept recopying his earlier work and adding further details at each stage, often concentrating on the ending, which invariably caused him as much difficulty as the rest of the piece. The advanced sketch, mentioned earlier, for Op. 159 (MS 54) is complete apart from its ending, and the sort of problems he encountered can be seen in La danse sous les étoiles (Op. 163 no. 4, MSS 75-7), inspired by Ginger Rogers' performance in the film Swing Time(1936). Then Koechlin copied out a penultimate version ( dernier brouillon avant le net, or a manuscript which would serve as a piano reduction), to which he added details of the final instrumentation, often note by note, as in MS 4 for the Hymne à la vie (Op. 69). Then (sometimes) he made sketches in full score of difficult orchestral passages, again as in the Hymne à la vie(MS 5). Then finally, he prepared a defininitive orchestral score, as with Sur les flots lointains (Op. 130, MS 13). 4.
In general, I have classified Koechlin's manuscripts chronologically by their earliest dates, so that, by and large, they also follow a course of consecutive opus numbers. However, this does not mean that the ordering here always follows the dates at which each manuscript was writen out or recopied, as Koechlin meticulously recorded the dates of earlier compositional stages on each manuscript. But the actual dates of writing out can usually be ascertained from the final dates in columns 1 and 3 of the following list. Thus, column 1 gives the range of dates covered by each manuscript; column 2 gives the number of pages of music in each manuscript; 5. whilst column 3 identifies each work and gives a brief description of the contents of the manuscript, together with more detailed dates of composition and any other relevant information. Beause Koechlin worked on several pieces simultaneously, a particular problem arose in the prolific years 1936-7, and for reasons of clarity I have classifed the manuscripts of Opp. 160, 161, 163, 164, 165 and 165bis in groups by opus number (MSS 56-92), though even here (as in Op. 160 or Op. 165) it can easily be seen that Koechlin did not compose his larger works in their final performing orders.
As this inventory was intended for publication in Notes, I have kept it as succint as possible. For reasons of space, most of the very large number of teaching exercizes (without opus number) in the Shatto-Urner collection will need to be classified separately on a later occasion. As everything associated with Koechlin proliferates and complicates, there will doubtless be some omissions in such a concentrated list; for these I apologise in advance, and, as always, I welcome suggestions or corrections from interested readers.

Library sigla used below:

  • F-Pn Paris, Bibliothhque Nationale, Dipartment de la Musique
  • F-Peschig Paris, archives of Max Eschig et Cie, 48 rue de Rome,Paris 8
  • F-Pkoechlin Paris, private collection of Yves Koechlin, 26 rue des Boulangers, Paris 5
  • US-BE Berkeley, University of California, Music Library

General abbreviations:

  • orch. orchestrated
  • realis. realisation (harmonisation, addition of textural accompaniment)
  • recop. recopied
  • rev. revised
Other abbreviations are as in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (ed. Stanley Sadie), (London, Macmillan, 1980).

Note

3. This manuscript is especially valuable as the final printer's copy made for Éditions Oiseau-Lyre in 1937 has since disappeared (as far as is known).

Note

4. It need hardly be said that this process forms a fasciniating study in itself, and is one which I explore in detail in my forthcoming life and works study of Koechlin, due to appear in two volumes with Toccata Press, London in 1985-6. It is particularly interesting to trace the evolution of the Danses pour Ginger [Rogers] (Op. 163) from an idea jotted down in a square in Geneva on 13August 1936 (MS 68) through to the final sketches for each of the five dances nearly a year later (MSS 62, 69-77). Also, see MS 62 for an example of Koechlin's later practice of constructing smaller pieces from a series of numbered musical cells, and MS 67 (Note).

Note

5. This was the only method I could adopt in working from xerox copies of the original manuscripts in Liverpool, and it also meant that I was unfortunately unable to distinguish between the uses of ink, pencil and crayon in these manuscripts. Most, however seem to have been written in black ink, often with later additions and corrections in pencil.

Related Collections

Title: Charles Shatto collection
Identifier/Call Number: (ARCHIVES SHATTO 1)
Title: Catherine Murphy Urner collection
Identifier/Call Number: (ARCHIVES URNER 1)

Box 5 contains xerox copies of Mss. 1-57
Box 6 containe xerox copies of Mss. 58-163
 

Section 1. Autographed Manuscripts by Koechlin (1905-45)

Box 1. , Folder 1.

Mss No: 1
1905-24 June 1907 Op. 31 no. 3: L'lle ancienne (Albert Samain). Vocal score (torn in half) for Mez or S and pf. A working MS (here described as Op. 31 no. 1) with many differences from the version pubd in Koechlin's 4th vol. of Mélodies (Paris, Philippo, n.d.), pp. 5-10. MS recop. 4 March 1907, rev. (in pencil) 24 June 1907.

Pages: 8
Folder 2.

Mss No: 2
28-9 Sept 1916 and 17 May 1931 (no. 4) Op. 56: Cinq mélodies sur des poèmes de Shéhérezade de Tristan Klingsor (1 ère serie). Vocal scores of complete cycle (advanced working MSS).

Pages: 29
 

no. 1: 'Chanson d'Engaddi', for T or S and pf. 6 pp., n.d.

 

no. 2: 'Paysage', for S, opt. cl and pf. 3 pp., recop. 28 Sept 1961.

 

no. 3: 'La rose du rameau sec', for B and pf. 5 pp., n.d.

 

no. 4: 'La niege', for T or S anf pf. 3 pp., recop. 29 Sept 1916, rev. ending dated 17 May 1931.

 

no. 5: 'Le ventre mereilleux', for T or S and pf. 12 pp., n.d.

Folder 3.

Mss No: 3
1918; [? recop. Dec 1933] Op. 68 no 1: Hymne à Vénus (Villiers de l'Isle-Adam). Vocal score (neat final version) for S and pf. See section 2, MS III. n.d., but probably recop. in Dec 1933.

Pages: 5
Folder 4.

Mss No: 4
[1918-19; ? recop. 1936] Op. 69: Hymne à la vie, as used in the final movt of the Symphonie d'hymnes (no op. no., 1936). Vocal score for contralto solo, double choir and pf red. (with orch. indications). For full score, see F-Pn MS 15507, or F-Peschig MS 1165. Also, see MSS 5 and 10.

Pages: 50 pages (Plus title page)

Note:

In 1918-19 the Hy mne à la vie was intended to be the finale of a suite Les saisons (Opp. 30, 47, 48 and 69). The S ymphonie d'hymnesof 1936 consisted of Opp. 127, 48 no. 1, 110, 148 and 69
Folder 5.

Mss No: 5
[1918-19; ? recop. 1936] Op. 69: Hymne à la vie, as used in the final movt of the Symphonie d'hymne (1936). Orch. sketch of difficult passages from figs. 6-9 (5 pp.), figs 26-7 (1 p.), 5 bars after fig. 35 to fig. 37 (3 pp.). See MS 4.

Pages: 9
Folder 6.

Mss No: 6
2-3 August 1923 Op. 84: Huit mélodies (2 de serie) sur la Shéhérazade (36) de Tristan Klingsor. Final version vocal scores of complete cycle.

Pages: 34
 

no. 1: 'Dédicace', fm for S or T and pf. 8 pp., n.d.

 

no. 2: 'Le voyage' for S and pf. 4 pp., n.d.

Note:

Stamped 'La Revue Musicale', this was probably the copy used when 'Le voyage' was printed as the musical supplement to the issue of April 1931. In the MS (p. 1) Koechlin indicates that 'This poem, in the book of Shéhérazade, follows 'Asie' which was aet to music by Ravel - the first bar here taking over where 'Asie' left off.'
 

no. 3: 'Le potier', for S or T and pf. 3 pp., n.d. Plus item 3a: vocal part. 2 pp., n.d.

 

no. 4: 'Chanson des beaux amants', for T and pf. 7 pp., rev. and recop. 3 Aug 1923

 

no. 5: 'Chanson de flûte', for S and pf. 2 pp., rev. and recop. 2-3 Aug 1923.

 

no. 6: 'L'oiseau en cage', for S or T and pf. 2 pp., recop. 2 Aug 1923.

 

no. 7: 'Offrande', for S or T and pf. 4 pp., n.d.

 

no. 8: 'La chanson d'Ishak de Mossoul', for S and pf. 4 pp., n.d. See Section 2, MS VII.

Folder 7

Mss No: 7
15 Dec 1924 No op. no. Pastorale for fl, cl and bn. Neat short score with instrumental indications. Rev. and recop. 15 Dec 1924.

Pages: 4

Note:

A complete (unused) movt in F major, probably intended for the Trio d'anches (Op. 92), either as an extra third movement, or as an alternative to the existing fugal finale
Folder 8.

Mss No: 8
21 July 1926 No on no. Choral (no. 96, Bach, Édit. Kufferath) Short score of Koechlin's harmonisation, dated Villers, 21 July 1926.

Pages: 2

Note:

Possibly intended to be classed with the 8 chorales (Op. 96) of 1925-6, although these all used melodies by Koechlin
Folder 9.

Mss No: 9
7-8 July 1928 Op. 103: Chorale in B flat major. Working MS, dated (p. 2): theme by Catherine Urner, 7 July 1928, realis. by Koechlin, 8 July 1928.

Pages: 2
Folder 10.

Mss No: 10
[Sept 1929; ? Aug 1932 or 1936] Op. 110: Hymne au jour, as used in the Symphonie d'hymnes (1936). Pf duet reduction with instrumental indications.

Pages: 10 pages (plus title page)

Note:

Op. 110 began as a Hymne for ondes martenot and orch. in 1929, and this MS may date from mid-Aug 1932 when Koechlin orchestrated it. However, the MS is headed 'no. II de la Symphonie d'hymnes', a work compiled in 1936 from Opp. 127, 48 no. 1, 110, 148 and 69 (showing Koechlin's typical later adjustment of the movt order). See MSS 4-5.
Folder 11.

Mss No: 11
1 Aug 1923 -26 Aug 1933 (mostly 1932-3 Op. 124: L'ancienne maison de campagne for pf. Advanced working MSS for the complete suite.

Pages: 60 pages (plus title page)
 

no. 1: 'L'accueil de la maison' (originally 'Bienvenue aux hôtes'), 3 pp. Theme 10 Sept 1932, realis. 11-12 Dec. 1932, recop. 15 Dec 1932.

 

no. 2: 'D'un vieil album'

 

(i) 'Les fiancés de 1830', 4 pp. First sketch 1 Aug 1923, rev. and realis. 24 Oct 1931, rev. 17 Nov 1931 and 2 June 1933, recop. and 3 June 1933.

 

(ii) 'Reliques de deuil', 2 pp. 17 Aug 1923, rev. and recop. 15 Dec 1932.

 

no. 3: 'Les collines, et la vie tranquille' (originally 'Les collines paisibles'), 2 pp. Oakland 10 June 1928 (evening), realis. 15 Dec 1932, rev. 10 Jan 1933.

 

no. 4: 'La leçon de piano', 2 pp. 15 Dec 1932, based on sketches from 9 Oct 1931, rev. 10 Jan 1933.

 

no. 5: 'La terrasse Louis XV, au dessus du lac', 2 pp. 15 Dec 1932, based on a sketch of 1926 originally written for no. 2 above.

 

no. 6: 'La vieille fontaine', 4 pp. 4 Jan 1933, rev. 10 Jan 1933, rev. and recop. 3 June 1933.

 

no. 6: Second version with revised ending (as in Oiseau- Lyre printed version, 1937) to make a better lead into no. 7, 4 pp. recop. 6 July 1933, ending rev. 25-6 Aug 1933.

 

no. 6: Rough preliminary sketch, n.d., but perhaps 4 Jan 1933. 1 p. (recto). On verso is a copy of bars 1-9 of Albert Roussel's song Le bachelier de Salamanque (Op. 20 no. 1, 1919). Words by René Chalupt.

 

no. 7: 'Jeux' (based on a theme by Koechlin's son Yves of 23 July 1926), 5 pp. 4 Jan 1933, rev. 10 Jan 1933, rev. and recop. 2-3 June 1933.

 

no. 8: 'En ramant, sur le lac' (originally 'En bateau, sur le lac'), 4 pp. 4 Jan 1933, rev. 2 June, recop. 3 June 1933.

 

no. 8: Second version, 5 pp. Recop. 6 July 1933.

 

no. 9: 'Matin dans le bois - Courses dans la jungle', 6 pp. Sketched 4 Jan 1933, rev. 2 June, completed 1 July 1933.

 

no. 9: Second version, 6 pp. [1 July 1933].

 

no. 10: 'La veille du départ', 5 pp. 3 Jan 1933, rev. 10 Jan 1933.

 

no. 11: 'Au Parc Monceaux (Octobre 1882)' (originally 'Promenade au Parc Monceaux (Novembre)', final printed title 'Promenade d'automne'), 3 pp. Sketched 15 Dec 1932. Sketched 15 Dec 1932 and 3 Jan 1933, recop. 4 Jan 1933, rev. 1 July 1933, recop. 6 July 1933.

 

no. 12: 'La jeunesse vue du seuil de la vieillesse' (originally ' Salut a la jeunesse - vue du seuil de la vieillesse'), 1 p. 1 Aug 1923 (material originally intended for no. 1 above), rev. and recop. 13-15 Dec 1932.

Note:

The alternative titles come from the cover page, which shows that the original order (in terms of the above) was 1, 6, 4, 2, 3, 5, 7-12
Folder 12.

Mss No: 12
2 July -6 Aug 4 [Op. 130: Sur les flots lointains], neat short score. Theme written by Catherine Urner on board the City of Baltimore, 2 July 1933. Realis. by Koechlin 27-8 July 1933, recop. 6 Aug 1933.

Pages: 1933
Folder 13.

Mss No: 13
2 July 1933 -9 Feb 1934 Op. 130: Sur les flots lointains, orch. score, final copy. Based on a theme by Catherine Urner of 2 July 1933, realis. 27-8 July, 6 Aug 1933, orch. 1 Nov. 1933, recop. 9 Feb 1934.

Pages: 13 pages (plus title page)

Note:

On the cover, Koechlin writes: 'This symphonic poem can be considered as a commentary on Dissolution from La Connaissance de l'est by Paul Claudel, and its text should be quoted on programmes.' Koechlin set Dissolution as a song (Op. 68 no. 2) in April 1918.
Folder 14.

Mss No: 14
30 Aug-22 Oct No op. no. 'Sujets de fugue de Catherine Urner 1933 (qu'elle m'a envoyés de Californie)'. 9 subjects, the first only has a (tonal) answer and is marked 'difficult for pupils due to its modulations'. Koechlin wrote a fugue for strings on this subject of 30 Aug 1933 as his Op. 1933 no. 2 (see F-Pn MS 16133, 10ff., 17 Sept-22 Nov 1933).

Pages: 2

Note:

This MS (apart from the first subject seems to have been copied from Section 2, MS IX by Urner, dated 22 Oct [1933]
Folder 15.

Mss No: 15
2-7 Jan 1934 Op. 136: 12 chorals sur des thèmes anciens

Pages: 5
 

p. 1: no. 2 'Sur un thème traité par Bach', 2 Jan 1934 (theme in F minor in soprano). Pubd in Dix chorals et un prélude for org (Paris, Procuré de Clergé, 1961), p. 1.

 

p. 2: no. 9. Same theme as no. 2 but in the bass, 6 Jan 1934.

 

p. 3: no. 12. Chorale in E minor with theme in bass, 7 Jan 1934. Pubd in Dix chorals et un prélude, p. 2.

Folder 16.

Mss No: 16
7 June 1934 Op. 139: 1 er album de Lilian (Suite inspired mostly by the films of Lilian Harvey). no. 1: 'Gardez ce teint de jeune fille', otherwise known as 'Palmolive', '(pour rappeler à Catherine Urner les affiches d'Oakland et de Berkeley [1928-9], celle de la lucky girl, celle de la Schoolgirl Complexion etc.)' Neat vocal score for S or T and pf.

Pages: 4

Note:

Koechlin kept the advertising brochure ('Keep that Schoolgirl Complexion with Palmolive') from which he translated the text for his unusual artistic soap commercial. The original is now in the colletion of Madeleine Li-Koechlin (see Introduction, note 2)
Folder 17.

Mss No: 17
7-8 Aug 1934 Op. 139: 1 er album de Lilian. no. 9: 'Tout va bien', neat vocal score for S and of in B major (first version is in C major), 7-8 Aug 1934. Words by Koechlin.

Pages: 5
Folder 18.

Mss No: 18
18 Sept-17 Nov 1934 Op. 140: Le portrait de Daisy Hamliton (Suite of 89 pieces for an imaginary film with scenario by Koechlin, starring himself and Lilian Harvey). no. 32: 'La mer étincelante aux bruits sans nombre'. Complete short score, no instruments specified. Theme 18 Sept 1934, realis. 14, 16, 17 Nov 1934.

Pages: 4
Folder 19.

Mss No: 19
27 Sept-22 Nov 1934 Op. 140: Le portrait de Daisy Hamilton, no. 41: 'Douleur (choral)'. Neat copy of complete piece for 'pf or org or strings'. Theme 27 Sept 1934, realis. 21-22 Nov 1934.

Pages: 2
Box 2. , Folder 20.

Mss No: 20
28 Sept-19 Dec 1934 Op. 140: Le potrait de Daisy Hamilton, no. 15: 'La course'. Neat copy of complete piece, no instruments specified. Theme 28 Sept 1934, realis. 11 Nov, ending 19 Dec 1934.

Pages: 3
Folder 21.

Mss No: 21
29 Sept-22 Nov 1934 Op. 140: Le portait de Daisy Hamilton, no. 45: 'Le jardin du cottage d'Amérique (dans l'espirit d'une ancienne chanson d'Ecosse)'. Neat copy of complete piece for cl or sax with pf or string accomp. Theme 29 Sept 1934, realis. 22 Nov 1934.

Pages: 2
Folder 22.

Mss No: 22
3 Oct-29 Dec 1934 Op. 140: Le portrait de Daisy Hamilton, no. 50: 'Dans la forêt des nymphes'. Working MS, no instruments specified. Theme and realis. 3 Oct 1934, recop. and rev. 14 Dec, rev. further 29 Dec 1934.

Pages: 2
Folder 23.

Mss No: 23
23 Oct-6 Dec 1934 Op. 141: Les confidences d'un joueur de clarinette (Music for a film based on the romance of the same title by Erckmann-Chatrian. Scenario by Koechlin). no. 15: 'Nocturne, dans le jardin de Conrad Stavolo (le soir de la lutte à la fête d'Eckerswir)'. Working short score with numerous scenic directions and instrumental indications. Dated 23-24 Oct 1934, recop. and editing added 6 Dec 1934.

Pages: 5

Note:

This is one of Koechlin's most imaginative and dramatic compositions. In it, Margrédel and her betrothed, the gunner Yéri-hans, walk arm in arm by moonlight through the garden of Margrédel's father, Conrad Stavolo. Kasper, the clarinettest of the title, who has been rejected by Margrédel, has previously hidden in the garden and jealously watches the lovers. At the end of the Nocturne, as Yéri-Hans and Margrédel are about to embrace, Kasper plays a phrase on his clarinet which startles them and causes them to return to the house.
Folder 23

Mss No: 24
28 Oct 1934 Op. 141: Les Confidences d'un joueur de clarinette, no. 16: 'Rage de Kasper (à la fin du bal [d'Eckerswir])' First sketch for cl solo (with opt. background percussion).

Pages: 1

Note:

Koechlin adds the direction (found in no other source): 'ici il ne jouera pas - il entendra ces sons de clarinette dans la tête-ses sentiments se manifestent par des mélodies pour clarinette'.
Folder 24.

Mss No: 25
29 Oct 1934 Op. 141: Les confidences d'un joueur de clarinette, no. 3: 'Le bouquet de fleurs des champs pour Margrédel' (originally 'Kasper cueille des fleurs'). Sketch for cl solo.

Pages: 1

Note:

At this stage in the film Kasper still has hopes of marrying Margrédel. Page 2 of MS 26 is on the verso of this MS.)
Folder 24.

Mss No: 26
29-30 Oct 1934 Op. 141: Les confidences d'un joueur de clarinette, no. 4: 'Fanfare d'appel pour 4 cors (pour le fête d'Eckerswir)'. Working sketch for 4 natural hn in D. Dated (p. 1) 29 Oct 1934, with p. 2 on the verso of MS 25, dated '30 Oct 1933 [1934].

Pages: 2
Folder 25.

Mss No: 27
2 Nov 1934 Op. 141: Les confidences d'un joueur de clarinette, no. 17: 'Lamento (quand Kasper lit le lettre de l'oncle Stavolo à la fin du film'. Working sketch for hn and cl, with MS 28 on verso.

Pages: 1
Folder 25.

Mss No: 28
6 Nov 1934 Op. 141: Les Confidences d'un joueur de clarinette, no. 5: 'Réveil'. Working sketch for hn in D, on the verso of MS 27.

Pages: 1
Folder 26.

Mss No: 29
24 Oct-9 Dec 1934 Op. 141: Les confidences d'un joueur de clarinette, no. 14: 'Grande valse du bal (de la fete d'Eckerswir)'. Complete short score for cl and small orch. Theme (pp. 1-3), 24 Oct 1934, realis. 5-9 Dec 1934.

Pages: 7

Note:

In this, the most extended and humourous piece in Koechlin's film score, Kasper leads his little band (cl, hn, strings, pf) a merry dance, throwing them into confusion with his irregular phrasing and unexpected modulations. Koechlin makes the most of the passage in Erckmann-Chatrian's story, where he describes Kasper as playing a semitone above or below the melodic line. Even though the little band are also made to play faster and faster in bitonal havoc, they somehow all end together in the tonic (A major)
Folder 27.

Mss No: 30
20-22 May 1935 Op. 147a: 24 Chorals sur des thèmes anciens (thèmes traités par Bach), part 1, no. 7. Chorale in B minor in 5 parts (theme in soprano, with the bass moving in contrary motion to it). Dated 20 May 1935 (p. 1), 21-22 May 1935 (p. 3).

Pages: 3
Folder 28.

Mss No: 31
29-31 May 1935 Op. 147a: 24 chorals sur des thèmes anciens, part 1, no. 13. Chorale in F major in 4 parts (theme by Bach in soprano). Dated 29 May 1935 (p. 1), with 4 variants for middle phrases and end of 31 May 1935 (pp. 1-2).

Pages: 2
Folder 29.

Mss No: 32
13 June-5 July 1935 Op. 149: 2 d album de Lilian (see MS 16), no. 1: 'Sérénade à l'Etoile errante' for fl or ondes martenot and pf or chamber orch. Dedicated 'à L[ilian] H[arvey]'. Advanced working MS made on 4-5 July 1935 from earlier sketches of 13-14, 25 and 29 June. See also MS 40.

Pages: 6
Folder 30.

Mss No: 33
20 June-12 Aug 1935 Op. 149: 2 d album de Lilian, no. 6: 'Sicilienne de rêve' for ondes martenot and hpd (or for pf solo). Final sketch rev. and recop. 3-5 July 1935, based on sketches of 20, 22 and 29 June 1935. Later p. 3 was crossed out and a new ending (p. 4) substituted on 12 Aug 1935.

Pages: 4

Note:

This piece is dedicated to 'Her Royal Highness, Princess Marie-Christine', Lilian Harvey's role in the film Princesse à vos ordres (Koechlin's favourite)
Folder 31.

Mss No: 34
23 June-18 Aug 1935 Op. 149: 2 d album de Lilian, no. 5: 'Le voyage chimérique (d'après Un rêve blond)'. Dedicated 'à Jou- Jou, artiste' (Lilian Harvey's role in the film Un rêve blond).

Advanced working sketch for fl (doubling pic) and pf. First sketches 23 June 1935, expanded and rev. 15-18 Aug 1935. As with MS 33, this MS was then copied as the printer's MS, now in F-Peschig.

Pages: 14

Note:

This is one of Koechlin's most extraordinary pieces depicting an imaginary journey across America in a dream, over rooftops, through snow, across the sea-bed and the Arizona desert to Hollywood (replete with Koechlin's very individual harmonisation of The Star-Spangled Banner (pp. 12-13 and pealing bells). The refernces to the bells and the alternative ending for flute (elsewhere on piccolo) as Jou-Jou wakes from her dream are not found anywhere in any other source.
Folder 32.

Mss No: 35
30 June-13 Aug 1935 Op. 149: 2 d album de Lilian, no. 7: 'Les jeux du clown (les gambades de Quick)'. Dedicated 'à Mrs d'Awson' (Lilian Harvey's role in the film Quick was that of Christine Dawson, lover of the clown - see MS 38). Begun on 30 June 1935 at '11 pm on returning from Quick', continued on 28 July, with this advanced sketch for fl and pf completed on 13 Aug 1935 (copied into the final draft, now at F-Peschig on 15 Aug 1935). See MS 67.

Pages: 5
Folder 33.

Mss No: 36
5-14 July 1935 Op. 149: 2 d album de Lilian, no. 2: 'Chanson de matelot en forme de Habanera créole' (inspired by the 'Berceuse créole' from Le plumet du colonel by Henri Sauguet (1924)). Dedicated 'à la petite marchande des fruits de Quand tu voudras donner ton coeur' (Lilian Harvey's role in this early silent film of 1929). Advanced sketch for pf solo made on 14 July 1935, for earlier drafts of 5, 8-9 and 13 July 1935. The final draft of 12 Aug 1935 is now at F-Peschig.

Pages: 5
Folder 34.

Mss No: 37
26-30 July 1935 Op. 149: 2 d album de Lilian, no. 4: 'Barcarolle monégasque pour Let's Live Tonight'. Dedicated 'à Miss Kay Routledge' [Lilian Harvey], and headed 'Kay, seule, la nuit, à bord du yacht de Nicky [Tullio Carminati], dans la rade de Monte Carlo (du film Let's Live Tonight)'. First sketches 26 July 1935, this advanced working sketch recop. 28-9 July, rev. 30 July 1935. Final version (11 Aug 1935) now at F-Peschig.

Pages: 4
Folder 35.

Mss No: 38
26-9 July 1935 Op. 149: 2 d album de Lilian, no. 8: 'La prière de l'Homme (en commentaire de Quick)'. Dedicated 'à Christine [Dawson], l'amante du clown' (see MS 35). A Satiean chorale for pf solo 'grave et tendre dans le caractère de Mon rêve familier' (a Verlaine setting of 1900, Op. 22 no. 3). First sketch 26 July, rev. and recop. 28-9 July 1935. Final version (12 Aug 1935) now at F-Peschig.

Pages: 2
Folder 36.

Mss No: 39
13 Aug 1935 Op. 149: 2 d album de Lilian, no. 3: 'Swimming (pour le film Calais-Douvres)'. Dedicated 'à Miss Gladys Allauran [O'Halloran]' (Lilian Harvey). This piece for fl and pf was the last to be composed of Op. 149. Again this is a penultimate version, withthe final version (14 Aug 1935) now at F-Peschig.

Pages: 6
Folder 37.

Mss No: 40
13-14 Aug 1935 No op. no., Exposition de fugue symétrique (sujet de Charles Koechlin). p. 1 : 12 bars exposition, dated 13-14 Aug 1935. p. 2: 2 lines (crossed out) from Op. 149 no. 1 (see MS 32, pp. 2-3), together with more sketches for the fugue on p. 1, dated 13 Aug 1935. See also MS 41.

Pages: 2 pages

Note:

The symmetrical fugue was a type suggested by Général Emile Duchêne, whose article 'Essai sur la fugue symétrique' had appeared in Le monde musical on 31 Oct 1934, pp. 271-2 (following Koechlin's article on 'Le problème de la musique de cinéma' (pp. 269-71)). In MS 40 the subject modulates from C minor to F sharp minor, with an answer at the augmented fourth above returning from F sharp minor to C minor. Duchêne, like Koechlin, studied at the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, and came to Koechlin for lessons in 1935.)
Folder 38.

Mss No: 41
14 Aug 1935 No op. no., Exposition de fugue symétrique (sujet de Charles Koechlin). This takes the fugal answer of MS 40 and treats it as the subject, beginning in F sharp minor. Again the fugue only goes as far as bar 11.

Pages: 2
Folder 39.

Mss No: 42
15 Aug 1935 No op. no., MS 41 worked as a double fugue (12 bars of exposition only).

Pages: 2
Folder 40.

Mss No: 43
21-2 Aug 1935 No op. no., Exposition d'une fugue pour quatuor à cordes (based on an earlier subject and counter-subject). 20 bars in C minor.

Pages: 2
Folder 41.

Mss No: 44
22 Aug 1935 Op. 150: Quelques choers réligieux a capella, de style modal, no. 1: Kyrie. This MS clearly shows the piece as being composed in 10 sections growing from one to six parts, then returning to two parts by the end.

Pages: 2
Folder 42.

Mss No: 45
23-4 Aug 1935 Op. 150: Quelques choers réligieux, Page 1 (23 Aug) contains no. 7: Gloria (monodic); no. 5: Sanctus (monodic) and no. 10: Benedictus (first monodic phrases only, a major third higher than the final verson). Page 2 (24 Aug) has the complete Benedictus (no. 10) in 1-3 parts, as pubd by Salabert, Paris in 1951.

Pages: 2
Folder 43.

Mss No: 46
late Nov 1935 'Pour un choeur la chorale populaire' (p. 1). melody line in G major, perhaps considered for addition to Op. 153: Quelques chorals pour des fêtes populaires (Aug-Sept 1935). Page 2 adds another (undated) melody in C minor.

Pages: 2 oblong half pages
Folder 44.

Mss No: 47
13 April 1936-11 Sept 1937 Op. 157bis: 14 chants pour flûte et piano, no. 4: Andante con moto (1 p., theme 13 April 1936, realis. 11 Sept 1937); no. 6: Andante quasi adagio (1 p., theme 13 April 1936, recop. and rev. 28 April 1936, realis. 11 Sept 1937).

Pages: 2
Folder 45.

Mss No: 48
13 April 1936-9 Sept 1937 Op. 157bi s: Quatorze chants pour flûte et piano, no. 10: Allegretto quasi andantino (1 p., theme 13 April 1936, rev. 18 April 1936, realis, 9 Sept 1937); no. 14: Allegro moderato (1 p., theme 13 April 1936, rev. 28 April 1936, realis. 8-9 Sept 1937).

Pages: 2
Folder 46.

Mss No: 49
13 April 1936-9 Sept 1937 Op. 157bis: Quatorze chants pour flûte et piano, no. 13: 'Marche funèbre' (1 p., theme 13 April 1936, rev. and recop. 28 April 1936, realis. 8-9 Sept 1937); p. 2: no. 2: Gai, assez animé (1/2 p., 14 April 1936); no. 5: Allegro moderato (1/2 p., theme 26-7 April 1936, realis. 8 Sept 1937).

Pages: 2
Folder 47.

Mss No: 50
13 April 1936-11 Sept 1937 Op. 157bis: Quatorze chants pour flûte et piano, no. 12: 'Danse pritanière' (1 p., theme 13 April 1936, realis. 11 Sept 1937); no. 9: Allegretto [con moto] (1 p., theme 20-21 April 1936, realis. 11 Sept 1937).

Pages: 2
Folder 48.

Mss No: 51
14 April 1936-11 Sept 1937 Op. 157bis: Quatorze chants pour flûte et piano

Pages: 2
 

p. 1: no. 1: 'Andante, comme une vieille chanson' (1/2 p., theme 14 April 1936, realis. 9 Sept 1937); no. 8: Andantino sans trainer (1/2 p., theme 14 April 1936, realis. 9 Sept 1937)

 

p. 2: no. 3: Andante espress[ivo], sans lenteur (1 p., theme 14 April 1936, realis. 11 Sept 1937).

Folder 49.

Mss No: 52
14 April 1936-10 Sept 1937 2 Op. 157bis: Quatorze chants pour flûte et piano, no. 7: 'Beau soir' (1 p., theme 14 April 1936, realis. 10 Sept 1937); no. 11: Allegretto (1 p., theme 14 April 1936, rev. 28 April 1936, realis. 9 Sept 1937).

Note:

For neat copies of MSS 47-52 in performing order, see F-Pn MS 14383, or the pubd version by Salabert (1948)
Folder 50.

Mss No: 53
[Early June 1936] Op. 158: Musique de scène pour le final du 2d Acte du drame de Romain Rolland 'Le Quatorze Juillet' (ou 'Liberté). Complete vocal score for chorus, actors (Camille and Lucile), orch. (pf reduction).

Pages: 33

Note:

Koechlin collaborated with Ibert, Auric, Milhaud, Roussel, Honegger and Daniel Lazarus to provide a complete score for Romain Rolland's play. Their scores were first performed on 14 July 1936 at the Arènes de Lutèce, Paris (cond. Roger Désormière) and on the following days (in conjunction with Rolland's play) at the Théàtre de l'Alhambra, Paris, for which Koechlin prepared a reduced orch. of Liberté when it was discovered that th Alhambra pit could not accommodate his original 57 players.
Folder 51.

Mss No: 54
12-22 Aug 1936 Op. 159: La méditation de Perun Bhagat, symphonic poem for orch., inspired by the story 'The Miraccle of Purun Bhagat' from the Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. Wporking short score entitled: 'Pour la meditation de Preun Bhagat [sic]' written at a crucial stage in the work's development, mostly between 18 and 20 August 1936. Incomplete in that the ending (an example of vertical atonlity with 12 superposed perfect fifths covering 7 octaves) had not yet been thought of, or is missing from MS 54. Most of the work's original melodic outline (chant) can be clearly traced here, and the final orch. score can be found in F-Pn MS 16162, or F-Peschig MS 1195.

Pages: 16
Folder 52.

Mss No: 55
28 Aug 1936 and 10 July 1937 Op. 161: Requiem des pauvres bougres, no. 6: Final chorale for org. Theme 'Villers, 28 Aug 1936', realis. 10 July 1937. See MSS 62-6 for the other sketches for Op. 161.

Pages: 2
Folder 53-

Mss No: 56-61
11-24 Nov 1936 Sketches for Op. 160: Les eaux vives. Written to accompany the Fetes de la lumiere at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1937. The score consists of the following carefully timed sections:

 

1. Prologue (les fumees) Three 1 1/2 minute sections.

 

2. First episode (la valse des eaux). 3 1/2 minutes.

 

3. First interlude. 30 seconds.

 

4. Second episode. 3 1/2 minutes.

 

5. Second interlude. 30 seconds.

 

6. Third episode (Scherzo de la lumière). 3 1/2 minutes.

 

7. Third interlude. 1 1/2 minutes together.

 

8. Coda. 1 1/2 minutes together.

 

The five MSS below are a series of early working drafts for most of Les eaux vives, some of which have instrumental indications added.

Folder 53.

Mss No: 56
22 Nov 1936 Section 1: 'Prélude: les Fumées. 3 périodes de 1m chaque'. Period 1: pp. 1-2; Period 2: pp. 3-5; Period 3: pp. 6-10. Page 8 is dated 2 Nov [1936].

Pages: 10
Folder 54.

Mss No: 57
14-15 Nov 1936 First episode: 'La valse [des eaux]', with several pages of variants and some earlier sketches. Mostly 14-15 Nov 1936 (though the sketch on p. 15 is dated 2 Nov (crossed out)).

Pages: 17
Folder 55.

Mss No: 58
16-19 Nov 1936 First interlude (pp. 1-2); Second interlude (p. 3, dated 16 and 19 Nov); Third interlude (pp. 4-5, sketches unused in MS 60 below).

Pages: 5
Folder 56.

Mss No: 59
16-22 Nov 1936 Second episode. Page 3 is dated 22 Nov. Sketches for the Second interlude (16 Nov) on p. 10 are crossed out.

Pages: 10
Folder 57.

Mss No: 60
16-24 Nov 1936 Third episode [Scherzo de la lumière]. Page 1: 17 Nov; p. 2: realis. 24 Nov; p. 3: themes 22 Sept, realis. 17 Nov; p. 7: 16 Nov, recop. 18 Nov; p. 13: 18-20 Nov; p. 15: 19, 20 and 24 Nov.

Pages: 16
Folder 58.

Mss No: 61
11-20 Nov 1936 Third interlude (pp. 1-3) and Coda (pp. 4-7). Page 7: 11 Nov, rev. and recop. 19-20 [Nov].

Pages: 7
Folder 58.

Mss No: 62-66
Feb-3 July 1937 (see also MS 55) 59. Sketches for Op. 161: Requiem des pauvres bougres

Pages: 25

Additional Note

For chorus, pf and org or orch. in 6 continuous movts. Movts 1, 3 and 5 are musically linked settings of the text 'Requiem aeternam, dona eis requiem', and movts 2, 4 and 6 are calm instrumental pieces ( a 'Nocturne for pf - which has stylistic links with Koechlin's Conservatoire teacher Gabriel Fauré; a piece for org or orch (Très calme'), and a chorale in canon for org. or orch., whose theme dates from Aug 1936 (MS 55)
Folder 59.

Mss No: 62
25 Feb-19 June 1937 no. 2: 'Nocturne'. Preliminary sketches, some following Koechlin's later practice of constructing a piece from a series of numbered musical cells (25 Feb, rev. 19 June 1937). The versos contain crossed out sketches for an alternative (unused) Nocturne, dated 26-7 Feb 1937. Page 5 contains a sketch for the start of the 'Danse lente' for Ginger Rogers (Op. 163 no. 2), also crossed out (25 Feb 1937). See MS 70.

Pages: 6
Folder 60.

Mss No: 63
16 May-24 June 1937 no. 2: 'Nocturne'. Complete rough draft, based on MS 62 (Feb 1937), realis. and recop. Mostly between 21 and 24 June 1937, but with dated intermediate work on 16 May, 13-21 June (pp. 3-5). See MS 64.

Pages: 5
Folder 61.

Mss No: 64
22-9 June 1937

Pages: 4
 

Page 1: no. 2: 'Nocturne'. Sketch of ending (1/2 p.), rev. and recop. 22 June 1937 (a revision of MS 63, p. 5). Start of no. 1: 'Requiem aeternam' for unacc. choir (1/2 p.), realis. 24 June 1937. See MS 66.

 

Page 2: no. 4: [Très calme' for org or orch.] Start, 26-7 June 1937. See MS 65. This runs on into p. 3 (no. 4) of 24 June, rev. 29 June 1937.

 

Page 4: Early sketches for the start of no. 2: 'Nocturne'. Crossed out, n.d.

Folder 62.

Mss No: 65
26 June-3 July 1937 no. 4: 'Très calme'. Complete rough draft of 26 June, rev. and recop. 2-3 July 1937. See MS 64.

Pages: 4
Folder 63.

Mss No: 66
30 June-2 July 1937

Pages: 2 pages.
 

Page 1: no. 1: 'Requiem aeternam', with lead into no. 2: 'Noctune' indicated. Recop. 30 June 1937.

 

Page 2: no. 3: a varied reprise of no. 1, a major third higher, dated 2 July 1937.

Folder 64.

Mss No: 67
21 June 1937 and 7 Aug 1939 No op. no. (nut possibly intended for use in Op. 174bis: Course au soleil or Op. 176: Les bandar- log). Titled 'Soleil du matin sur la jungle'. Monody (over long-held chords) dated 21 June 1937, rev. 7 Aug 1937.

Pages: 2 pages (small format)

Note:

Koechlin indicates that the piece would be better a semitone higher (p. 1), and this is carried out in the next stage of composition (MS at F-Pkoechlin, 2 pp., 12 Aug 1939). The practice of transposing sections of pieces up or down a semitone or tone is quite common in Koechlin's works of the 1930'a and 1940's. 'Les jeux du clown' (Op. 149 no. 7) has a transposed recapitulation, for instance, although this is not evident from MS 35, by which later stage Koechlin had covered his compositional tracks.
Folder 64.

Mss No: 68-77
[13 Aug 1936]-2 Sept 1937 Sketches for Op. 163: Danses pour Ginger: en homage à Ginger Rogers

Additional Note

The now-forgotten film star Lilian Harvey inspired most of Koechlin's film music netween 1933 and 1936, but when she refused to even acknowledge the receipt of a series of these pieces that Koechlin sent her in Antibes in 1936, he switched his interest to Ginger Rogers, whse dancing, in Swing Time in particular, entranced him and inspired the 'Danse sous les étoiles' (Op. 163 no. 4). As with his other film pieces, Koechlin intended to orchestrate the Danses pour Ginger, but never did so. Only the 'Danse lente' (no. 2) is playable as a piano piece, and is also perhaps a tribute to Erik Satie -a sort of 4th Gymnopédie (like the fourth movt of Ravel's suite Ma mére l'Oye).
Folder 65.

Mss No: 68
13 Aug 1936 'Thèmes de fugue, écrits   Genève [13 Aug 1936] dans la jardin où' il y a le sévère monument de la Réformation'.

Pages: 1 page (oblong)
 

First subject: 'Andante: Grave et pesant: L'austérité protestant de Calvin'. In F minor.

 

Second subject (as a reaction against the first): 'Mouvt de Valse, animé et souple: Pour Ginger Rogers'. This contains the idea used as the basis for 'L'élan' (Op. 163 no. 1) in the same key of E flat major.

Folder 66.

Mss No: 69
[4 July 1937] no. 1: 'L'élan'. Complete sketch, entitled 'Suite de danses' only. n.d., but probably 4 July 1937.

Pages: 4
Folder 67.

Mss No: 70
4-8 July 1937 no. 2: 'Danse lente'. Complete rough sketch (pp. 1-4) dated 4 July 1937. Page 5 contains material to be inserted into p. 4 (numbered '4 bis') composed on 8 July 1937. See MS 62.

Pages: 5
Folder 68.

Mss No: 71
5 July-2 Sept 1937 no. 5: Final ['Apothéose de la danse']. Complete rough draft, 5 July, rev. 17 and 20 Aug, and 1-2 Sept 1937.

Pages: 4
Folder 69.

Mss No: 72
18-19 Aug 1937 no. 3: ['Les tourbillons']. Sketches for the second half, dated 18-19 Aug [1937]. Page 1 crossed out.

Pages: 2
Folder 70.

Mss No: 73
19 Aug 1937 no. 3: ['Les tourbillons']. Second version of MS 72, dated 19 Aug 1937.

Pages: 2
Folder 71.

Mss No: 74
19 Aug 1937 no. 3: ['Les tourbillons']. First complete draft, dated at end 19 Aug 1937, but using sketches dating back to June 1937 (p. 1).

Pages: 4
Box 3. , Folder 72.

Mss No: 75
June 1937-20 Aug 1937 no. 3: 'Les tourbillons'. Second complete draft, 6 1/2 pp. (numbered '9-15'). Page 15 marked: sketches of 1, 4 and 5 July, 19 Aug 1937, recop. 20 Aug [1937]. pp. 6-7 (numbered '15-16') show the start of no. 4: 'La danse sous les étoiles (de Swing-Time)' which follows on without a break. Incomplete late sketch, 1 1/2 pp., probably 20 Aug 1937.

Pages: 8
Folder 73.

Mss No: 76
[? 20 Aug 1937 or earlier] no. 4: 'La danse sous les étoiles'. Rough sketch of final section, n.d.

Pages: 1
Folder 74.

Mss No: 77
[? 20 Aug 1937 or earlier] no. 4: 'La danse sous les étoiles'. Rough sketch of first part (pp. 1-3), with a sketch for the end (crosed out) on p. 4. Pages 3-4 also include sketches for the start of no. 3 (crossed out).

Pages: 4

Note:

MSS 76-7 are undated, but are almost certainly earlier than MS 75.
Folder 74.

Mss No: 78-9
25 Feb-4 Aug 1937 Op. 164: Épitaphe de Jean Harlow for fl, alto sax and pf.

Additional Note

This 'Romance' may originally have been inspired by Lilian Harvey, for it is identical in mood and key to the sicilienne 'Skating-Smiling' from the 1 er album de Lilian (Op. 139 no. 6, 1934). It was actually begun before Jean Harlow's death at the age of 26 (during the filming of Saratoga with Clark Gable), but Koechlin thought that the melody so suited her screen image that he had no hesitation in dedicating it to her as a sort of obituary. This is the last of the shorter film pieces, and MS 79 p. 2 shows that Koechlin had his earlier song Épiphanie (Op. 17 no. 3, 1899-1900) in mind during its composition. The text of the passage he cites is: 'When a furtive breeze lightly ruffles her blond hair It is as if a cloud of indescribable ashes inundates her shoulders': the reference to Jean Harlow is obvious.
Folder 75.

Mss No: 78
25 Feb-3 Aug 1937 Sketches (without instrumental indications). First version of Op. 164 dated 25 Feb 1937 (p. 1); 25, 27 Feb, reworked and completed 7-8 July 1937 (p. 4); recop. 8 July 1937, rev. 3 Aug 1937 at S[an] Diego. (p. 5)

Pages: 5
Folder 76.

Mss No: 79
25 Feb-4 Aug 1937 Final sketch with instrumental indications for fl, alto sax and pf. Dated (p. 4): first version 25 Feb 1937, reworked and completed 7-8 July, rev. 3 Aug S[an] Diego, recop. 3-4 Aug 1937.

Pages: 4
Folder 76.

Mss No: 80-87
23 June-Aug 1937 Op. 165: Septuor à vent for fl, ob, cl, cor a, alto sax, bn and hn. A good example of a piece which was not composed in its final performing order, and which was completed (together with its longer alternative) finale Op. 165bis: see MSS 88-92) during Koechlin's prolific third visit to America, mostly in California.

Folder 77

Mss No: 80
23-8 June 1937 no. 3: 'Intermezzo'. Complete final sketch in short score with instrumental indications for septet. Dated (p. 6): 23-6 June, recop. and rev. 27-8 June 1937.

Pages: 6 pages
Folder 78.

Mss No: 81
28 June-2 July 1937 no. 1: 'Monodie' for cl or alto sax, 28 June and 2 July 1937.

Pages: 1
Folder 79.

Mss No: 82
5 July 1937 [no. 6: 'Fugue']. Preliminary sketches, recop. 5 July 1937.

Pages: 2
Folder 80.

Mss No: 83
13 July 1937 [no. 6: 'Fugue']. Rough sketches for second half, n.d., but recop. on p. 1 of MS 84.

Pages: 2 half pages
Folder 81.

Mss No: 84
13-14 July 1937 [no. 6: ' Fugue']. Rough sketches for second half, 13-14 July 1937. See MS 83.

Pages: 2
Folder 82.

Mss No: 85
2-22 July 1937 no. 6: 'Fugue sur un thème d [e mon fild] Yves'. Complete short score in final sktech form with instrumental indications for septet. Dated 2-5 July (p. 2); 9-10 July (p. 3); 13-14 July (p. 5); 13-14 July with instrumentation added on 22 July 1936 (p. 8)

Pages: 8
Folder 83.

Mss No: 86
4-22 July 1937 no. 5: 'Sérénité'. Complete short score in final sketch form with instrumental indications for septet. Dated (p. 3): first sketch 4 July, rev. 5 July, recop. 19 July, rev. 15 July, instrumental indications added 22 July 1937.

Pages: 3
Folder 84.

Mss No: 87
29 July-Aug 1937 no. 4: 'Fugue'. Rough complete sketch in short score for septet, pages numbered '1-3', with sketches for the ending on the verso of p. 1. Dated 29 July 1937 (p. 1 recto); 29 July-2 Aug 'revu au piano à San Diego' (page numbered 2); 30 July 1937 (page numbered 3). Sketches on p. 1 dated 29-30 July 1937.

Pages: 4

Note:

This sketch bears the Septet's original title Caprice sur le retour de mon fils Yves. Yves Koechlin, the composer's youngest son, had run away to Menton earlier that month (aged 14), and the Septet was written as a joyous celebration of his safe return to Paris. Koechlin later transposed this Fugue (here in D flat major) down a tone for publication (Oiseau-Lyre, 1947, pp. 11-14)
Folder 84.

Mss No: 88-92
24 July-Aug 1937 Op. 165bis: Alternative fugal finale to Wind Septet Op. 165 in two parts, entitled: 'La vie s'ouvre devant toi - Va, librement!' This American composition would seem to refer both to Koechlin's son, Yves (see MS 87 note), and to Koechlin's own aspirations on his final trip to California. The final version of Op. 165 bis (f-Pkoechlin) grew into a symphonic peom entitled Vers La Vie for 2 fl, 2 ob, cor a, cl, alto sax, tenor sax, bar sax, hn, tpt, trbn, and contra-bn in Sept 1937.

Folder 85.

Mss No: 88
24 July 1937 Part 1: 'La vie s'ouvere devant toi'. Preliminary sketches with instrumental indications (still for wind septet). Written 'on board the Île de France [bound for New York] at the prow of the vessel, at night'.

Pages: 2
Folder 86.

Mss No: 89
24 July 1937 Second version of MS 87 'written at sea on the evening of 24 July 1937', also on the prow of the Île de France. Page 2 shows that Part 1 is a slow introduction (for septet) leading into part 2, an Allegro fugue.

Pages: 2
Folder 87.

Mss No: 90
28 July 1937 Fugal and canonic sketches for Part 2: 'Va, librement!'. Dated (p. 1), 28 July 1937 [Chicago]. The sketches on p. 1 were not used in Op. 165bis.

Pages: 2
Folder 88.

Mss No: 91
8-13 Aug 1937 Part 2: 'Va librement!' complete working short score, pages numbered '1-6', with sketches for the penultimate chorale section on p. 1 verso. This MS begins with the fugue sketched on MS 90, p. 2. Dated 8 Aug (p. 1); 9 Aug (p. 2); 10 Aug (pp. 3-4); 8-11 Aug, rev. 12-13 Aug (end), all in San Diego. Still for wind septet.

Pages: 7
Folder 89.

Mss No: 92
18 Aug [1937] Fugal sketches marked '4th exposition' (p. 1) and '5th exposition' (p. 2). Possibly intended for Op. 165bis, but never used.

Pages: 2
Folder 90.

Mss No: 93
24 Nov-12 Dec 1937 Op. 166 (1): 20 chorals de style modal (donnés à San Diego), [Aug 1937]

Pages: 8

Additional Note

MSS 93ff. are again in chronological order by earliest manuscript date.
 

p. 1:

 

no. 1: mode de la, 1 Dec 1937.

 

no. 2: mode de la, 2 Dec 1937.

 

no. 3: mode de ré, 2 Dec 1937.

 

no. 4: mode de la, 2 Dec 1937.

 

p. 2:

 

no. 7: mode de mi, [3 Dec 1937].

 

no. 6: mode de la 3 Dec 1937, together with the melodies (unharmonised) of nos. 16 and 12.

 

p. 3:

 

no. 8: mode de ré, 25 Nov 1937.

 

no. 9: mode de mi, 25 Nov 1937.

 

no. 10: mode de fa, n.d.

 

no. 11: mode de sol, 7 Dec 1937.

 

p. 4:

 

no. 12: mode de fa, 8 Dec 1937.

 

no. 13: mode de mi, 8 Dec 1937.

 

no. 14: mode de sol, 8-9 Dec 1937.

 

p. 5:

 

no. 15: mode de ré, 24-5 Nov 1937.

 

no. 16: mode de mi, 9 Dec 1937.

 

p. 6:

 

no. 17: mode de ré, 9 Dec 1937.

 

no. 18: mode de fa, 9 Dec 1937.

 

no. 5: mode de la, 2 Dec 1937, together with a list of the various modes used and the numbers of the chorales in each mode.

 

p. 7:

 

no. 19: [mode de mi puis de la ou de ré], [2 Dec 1937].

 

no. 19bis: Same theme but with 'corrections à la réalis[ation] de Mrs Robinson [a pupil at San Diego] sur ce texte', 2 Dec 1937.

 

p. 8:

 

no. 20: Canonic realisation in modal polyphony, 12 Dec 1937.

Folder 91.

Mss No: 94
Nov-12 Dec 1937 Op. 166 (2): 20 autres chorals de style modal (Schola Cantorum) [Course in modal polyphony, Nov 1937]

Pages: 4
 

p. 1:

 

no. 1: mode de la, Nov 1937.

 

no. 2 (start): mode de la, n.d.

 

no. 3: mode de ré, Nov 1937, rev. 2 Dec 1937.

 

no. 4: mode de fa, n.d.

 

p. 2:

 

no. 2 (conclusion): mode de la, 5 Dec 1937.

 

no. 5: mode de sol, 5 Dec 1937.

 

no. 6: mode de ré, 5 Dec 1937.

 

p. 3:

 

no. 10: C minor, 12 Dec 1937.

 

no. 7: C major, 9 Dec 1937.

 

p. 4:

 

no. 9: F minor, Nov 1937.

 

no. 8: G minor, Nov 1937.

Folder 92.

Mss No: 95
28-30 Dec Op. 166 (2): 20 autres chorals de style modal

Pages: 4
 

p. 1:

 

no. 11: B minor, 28 Dec 1937.

 

p. 2:

 

no. 12: G minor, 28 Dec 1937.

 

p. 3:

 

no. 13: F major, 28 Dec 1937 together with a fugue subject in A major, and the start of a Pastorale in G major, dated Oct 1937 (see MS 95a).

 

no. 15: G major, 29 Dec 1937, together with a 'Thème de Sicilienne', 30 Dec 1937 (see MS 95b), and a 'Thème à voir pour bois. Final à un pastorale', 30 Dec 1937 (see MS 121, p. 2).

 

p. 4:

 

no. 16: mode de la, 30 Dec 1937 (see MS 98, p. 1).

Folder 93.

Mss No: 95a
[Oct 1937] No op. no.: 'Pastorale - très tranquille'. Same 8-bar theme found on p. 2 of MS 95.

Pages: 1 page (oblong)
Folder 93.

Mss No: 95b
30 Dec 1937 No op. no.

Pages: 2 pages (oblong 1/2 pages)
 

p. 1: Theme for a 'Sicilienne' in D major, 30 Dec 1937. Same theme as on p. 3 of MS 95, together with a fugue subject in G major by Catherine Urner (copied by Koechlin).

 

p. 2: Fugue subject in A major (crossed out), together with the same 'Pastorale' theme as on MS 95, p. 2 (also crossed out), n.d.

Folder 94.

Mss No: 96
7-9 Jan 1938 Op. 166 (2): 20 autres chorals de style modal.

Pages: 3
 

p. 1:

 

no. 17: G minor, 7 Jan 1938.

 

no. 18: C minor (à 5), 8 Jan 1938 (see MS 98, p. 1).

 

p. 2:

 

no. 18bis (à 4, same theme as no. 18), 9 Jan 1938.

 

no. 18 (2 variants: à 3 and à 2), [9 Jan 1938].

 

p. 3: no. 16bis (conclusion from p. 1), together with notes about the nature of intervals (for teaching purposes).

Folder 95.

Mss No: 97
8 Jan 1938 No op. no.: p. 1: Fugal exposition (à 4) on a subject by César Franck, 8 Jan 1938. Page 2 has a variant (crossed out) of p. 1 bar 2ff.

Pages: 2 pages (oblong)
Folder 96.

Mss No: 98
14-21 Jan 1938 Op. 166 (2): 20 autres chorals de style modal.

Pages: 2
 

p. 1:

 

no. 16ter: G minor, 14 Jan 1938 (cf MS 95, p. 4).

 

no. 18ter: C minor, 14-21 Jan 1938 (cf MS 96).

 

p. 2:

 

no. 19: mode de la, 21 Jan 1938.

 

no. 20: D major, 21 Jan 1938.

Folder 97.

Mss No: 99
late Feb-3 March 1938 Op. 168: 40 divers chorals.

Pages: 6
 

p. 1:

 

no. 8: mode de ré, late Feb 1938 ['réalisé à la Schola'].

 

no. 9: mode de mi, late Feb 1938.

 

p. 2: nos. 10 and 10bis: ['modal-modulant'] (2 versions of same theme), 1 March 1938.

 

p. 3: no. 11: D major, 1 March 1938.

 

p. 4: no. 12: G minor, 2 March 1938.

 

p. 5: no. 13: C minor, 3 March 1938.

 

p. 6: no. 4: E major, late Feb 1938.

Folder 98.

Mss No: 100
15-19 March 1938 Op. 168: 40 divers chorals.

Pages: 2
 

p. 1: no. 21 (variant): E flat major, 15-16 March 1938.

 

p. 2:

 

no. 23: mode de la (modulant), 16 March, realis. 19 March 1938.

 

no. 15: mode de mi (theme only), n.d.

 

Folder 99.

Mss No: 101
18-20 March 1938 Op. 168: 40 divers chorals, no. 24 in B flat minor, 18 March, realis. 20 March 1938.

Pages: 2

Note:

F-Pn MS 16172, p. 25 scores this chorale for SATB choir.
Folder 100.

Mss No: 102
22-27 March 1938 No op. no.

Pages: 2

Note:

A varied form of this subject is included in Koechlin's sketches for La cité nouvelle: rêve d'avenir (Op. 170), but the composer later rejected it in May 1938 (see F-Pn MS 14391 (2E), p. 20 verso).
 

p. 1: Fugal exposition (  4) in D minor (subject by Koechlin), 22 March 1938. See also MS 105.

 

p. 2: Fugal exposition (à 4) in A minor, 'sujet d'après [André] Géldage', 27 March 1938.

Folder 101.

Mss No: 103
13-14 April 1938 Op. 168: 40 divers chorals.

Pages: 2
 

p. 1: no. 34: mode de la, realis. 13 April, rev. and recop. 14 [April 1938].

 

p. 2: no. 35: 'Exercice de modulations', B flat major, 13-14 April 1938.

Folder 102.

Mss No: 104
7-13 May 1938 Op. 168: 40 divers chorals and Op. 172: 40 chorals sur des textes proposés à mes élèves de la Schola Cantorum [Paris].

Pages: 2
 

p. 1: Op. 168 no. 39: 'Realisation in triple [and quadruple] canon', G major, 7-8 May 1938.

 

p. 2: Op. 172 no. 1: mode de la, 13 May 1938.

Folder 103.

Mss No: 105
12-13 May 1938 No op. no. Fugal expositions on closely related subjects, similar to that used on p.1 of MS 102 (and see Note).

Pages: 4
 

p. 1: In B flat minor (à 4), 12 May 1938, recop. on same day on p. 3.

 

p. 2: Openings only in C and F minor, May 1938.

 

p. 4: In D minor (à 4). 'Exposotion d'un sujet assez difficile et avec un C.S. mouvementé', 12-13 May 1938.

Folder 104.

Mss No: 106
16-27 May 1938 Op. 172: 40 chorals, no. 4: [mode de la]. Theme 16 May, realis. 27 May 1938 (see MS 107).

Pages: 1
Folder 105.

Mss No: 107
16-28 May Op. 172: 40 chorals.

Pages: 4
 

p. 1: no. 2: mode de la. Theme 16 May, realis. 26 May 1938.

 

pp. 1-2: no. 3: C minor 'avec des parties modales'. Theme 16 May, the passage on p. 2 can be found on the lower part of p. 3, also dated 28 May [1938].

 

pp. 2-3: no. 4: mode de la, recop. of MS 107 made on 27 May 1938.

 

p. 4: Sketches for no. 3 (treble and bass only), n.d.

Folder 106.

Mss No: 108
27 May 1938 (date from potsmark). 'Choral à 4 voix de Jean Cartan (1906-1932)' in E minor (p. 1), dating from 3 Dec 1926. Copied by Koechlin in late May 1938 and sent with explanatory annotations (p. 2) to 'Mrs. Catherine Urner Shatto, 5331 Taft Avenue, Pacific Beach, Calif[ornia], USA'

Pages: 2 pages (plus envelope)

Note:

The chorale was posted in the rue des Ecoles, Paris 5 on 27 May 1938, and arrived in California on 6 June.)
Folder 108B.

Sept. 20-22 1938 Op. 173: Petites pieces nos. 1-4

Folder 108.

Mss No: 109
4 Jan-13 Feb 1939 Op. 172: 40 chorals, no. 29: G sharp minor. Theme 4 Jan 1939, realis. 12-13 Feb 1939.

Pages: 3
Folder 109.

Mss No: 110
9-16 Feb 1939 Op. 172: 40 chorals, no. 31: B minor. Theme 9 Feb 1939, realis. 16 Feb 1939.

Pages: 2
Folder 110.

Mss No: 111
19 Feb 1939 No op. no.: Fugal exposition (à 4) in F major (subject by Koechlin).

Pages: 1
Folder 111.

Mss No: 112
2-8 March 1939 Op. 172: 40 chorals, no. 36: B flat minor. Theme 2 March, realis. 6-8 March 1939.

Pages: 3
Folder 112.

Mss No: 113
[May-July 1939?] Unidentified fragment. 3 bars (6/8) in C major, n.d. Dating suggested by its palcing in the Shatto-Urner collection.

Pages: 1
Folder 113.

Mss No: 114
6 May 1939 p. 1: 3 fugue subjects by Koechlin, 6 May 1939. p. 2: Undated melody line (6 bars) probably in the hand of Catherine Urner.

Pages: 2 pages (oblong 1/2 pages)
Folder 114.

Mss No: 115
26 May-1 June 1939 No op. no. Themes sent by post (via Catherine Urner) for Koechlin's American pupils to harmonise.

Pages: 4
 

p. 1: B minor, 26 May 1939.

 

p. 2: G minor, n.d. (Second part added in 2 bars).

 

p. 3: C major, 30 May 1939. Marked 'envoyer thème à S[ampuyo] Brand o' (a pupil of Koechlin's since 24 March 1938).

 

p. 4: Neat copy of p. 3 (with an extra penultimate bar), dated 30 May-1 June 1939.

Folder 115.

Mss No: 116
May-July 1939 Used as a wrapper for other MSS possibly Op. 172. Page 1 contains 1 bar of incomplete orch. score (str, trbn and pf only in 9/8). Unidentified page, numbered '89', n.d. Page 2 is headed 'à réaliser. Thèmes de chorals Mai-Juin-Juillet 1939'. No music included.

Pages: 2
Folder 116.

Mss No: 117
21 June 1939 Unidentified fugue and chorale.

Pages: 2
 

Page 1 contains a fugal exposition (à 4) in G minor, 21 June 1939.

 

Page 2 contains a modal choale theme of 21 June 1939 used in an examination at the Schola Cantorum, Paris.

Folder 117.

Mss No: 118
? April-July 1939 Op. 172: 40 chorals.

Pages: 2 pages (oblong)
 

p. 1: no. 37: A major, n.d., but possibly April 1939.

 

p. 2: no. 33: G minor, theme only, July 1939.

Folder 118.

Mss No: 119
July 1939 Unidentified chorale themes in D minor and G major, July 1939.

Pages: 1
Folder 119.

Mss No: 120
29 July 1939 Unidentified melody line in D flat major comoposed 'par une splendide matinée' on 29 July 1939 (Koechlin puts '1931' in error).

Pages: 2 pages (oblong)
Folder 120.

Mss No: 121
4 Aug 1939 Unidentified fugal exposition and themes.

Pages: 2 pages (oblong)
 

p. 1: Exposition of a 'fugue symétrique', subject by Koechlin, 4 Aug 1939 (see MS 40 Note).

 

p. 2: Various themes, n.d., incl. 'thème à voir pour bois - final?' which is the same as that on MS 95 p. 3 (30 Dec 1937), but with some additional developments.

Folder 121.

Mss No: 122
late July-10 Aug 1939.

Pages: 2
 

Page 1: Unidentified themes in G minor (late July-Aug 1939) and F sharp minor (10 Aug 1939), together with some notes (Crossed out) realting to the composition of Les bandar-log (Op. 176): 'Détails à revoir pour les fausses notes de la musique composée pour les singes. Simplifier la présentation. Mais ensuite il y aura la fugue réunié aux gambades [des singes] et le Retour à Bach'.

Note:

This suggests that this MS may have been used as a wrapper for sketches for Les bandar-log at some stage.
 

Page 2: Undated examples for harmony lessons.

Folder 122.

Mss No: 123
4-12 Aug 1939 Op. 176: Les bandar-log, poème symphonique d'après Le livre de la jungle de Rudyard Kipling.

Pages: 2
 

p. 1: Preliminary (purely rhythmic) sketches for sections entitled 'L'atonal' (Eschig orch. score, 1967, pp. 27-8) and 'Le Retour à Bach' (orch. score, p. 42), 4-6 Aug 1939.

 

p. 2 (centre): Unused sketch relating to orch. score pp. 78-9 ('la fin de la percussion'), surrounded by two themes in D major (12 Aug [1939]), which were probably not intended for Les bandar-log.

Folder 123.

Mss No: 124
15 Aug 1939 No op. no. Chant du matin (possibly intended as an addition to Op. 174: Vers le soleil). Monody, 15 Aug 1939, Paris, 'par un temps admirable et au son des cloches de St Et[ienne] du Mont'.

Pages: 2 pages (oblong)
Folder 124.

Mss No: 125
5 Oct 1939 No op. no. Unidentified theme in A flat major, 'Jeudi, 5 Oct 1939, soir à Villers [-sur-mer]' (Normandy).

Pages: 1
Folder 125.

Mss No: 126
7-9 Dec 1939 No op. no. Realisations of fugue subjects set by Koechlins for his private pupils.

Pages: 3 pages (oblong)
 

p. 1: C minor. Sujet [d'après Ravel] donné à faire à Guy Lambert', 7 Dec 1939 (see MSS 127 and 131 pp. 1 and 3).

 

p. 2: F minor [for R. Thiry], 9 Dec 1939 (see MSS 128 and 131 p. 2).

 

p. 3: Copy of start of p. 2. 'Sujet envoyé à R. Thiry', [9 Dec 1939].

Folder 126.

Mss No: 127
7 Dec 1939 No op. no. Fugal exposition in C minor (subject by Koechlin 'd'après Ravel - envoyé à Guy Lambert'). Copy and extension of MS 126 p. 1, 7 Dec 1939 (see MS 131 p. 1).

Pages: 2 pages (oblong)
Folder 127.

Mss No: 128
9 Dec 1939 No op. no. Fugal exposition in F minor (subject by Koechlin). Copy and extension of MS 126 p. 2, 9 Dec 1939 (see MS 131 p. 2).

Pages: 2
Folder 128.

Mss No: 129
11 Dec 1939 No op. no. Monody in G, 11 Dec 1939, 'matin à Villers, soleil'.

Pages: 1
 

p. 1: Dorian mode. Theme in ink with sketchy realisation in pencil.

 

p. 2: As p. 1, theme in G major. n.d., but probably 1939.

Folder 129.

Mss No: 130
1939 Two chants donnés (themes by Koechlin).

Pages: 2 pages (small)
Folder  130.

Mss No: 131
22-5 March 1940 No op. no. Three fugal expositions. (subjects and realisations by Koechlin).

Pages: 3 pages
 

p. 1: C minor. 'Hommage à l'infante défunte [Ravel]'. Another working of the subject sent to Guy Lambert (see MSS 126 p. 1 and 127), 22 March 1940.

 

p. 2: G minor. Another working of the subject sent to R. Thiry (see MSS 126 pp. 2-3 and 128), here transposed up a tone, 22 March 1940.

 

p. 3: C minor, as p. 1 above, but with the theme announced in the tenor instead of the soprano (see MSS 126 p. 1 and 127), 25 March 1940.

Folder 131.

Mss No: 132
5 July 1940 (oblong) No op. no. Various themes (unidentified) in A, B flat and G major, the last (p. 2) marked 'd'après la Jolie fleur'.

Pages: 2
Folder 132.

Mss No: 133
[? Oct 1942] Op. 187: Offrande musicale sur le nom de Bach. Preliminary (unused) sketch for no. 11: 'Fugue symétrique sur le nom, de Bach', n.d.

Pages: 1
Folder 133.

Mss No: 134
[Nov 1945] No op. no. [4] Esquisses Normandes by Catherine Urner (1929). Short score (with instrumental indications) revised and copied by Koechlin from Urner's original (see Section 3 below, MS ii. For titles see MS 135).

Pages: 28
Box 4. , Folder 134.

Mss No: 135
4-7 Nov 1945 [4] Esquisses Normandes. Suite d'orchestre by Catherine Urner (Autumn 1929), scored for chamber orch. by Koechlin as a memorial tribute (see Introduction). Orch. score.

Pages: 45
 

1. Chant d'automne (dans un cimètiere à la campagne). 4 pp., Villers, 2 Nov 1929, orch. 4 Nov 1945, Villers.

Note:

Koechlin adds that this was the cemetary at Auberville, near his Normandy home at Villers-sur-mer.
 

2. Solitude sur les falaises. 11 pp., Dec 1929, orch. 5 Nov 1945, Villers.

 

3. Aux champs. 8 pp., Paris, 30 Nov-1 Dec 1929, orch. 4 Nov 1945, Villers.

 

4. La mer joyeuse. 19 pp., Autumn 1929, orch. 6-7 Nov 1945, Villers.

 

Additional Items

Box 4. , Folder 135.

Mss No: 136
[c 1920?] Maurice Delage: Quatre poèmes hindous (Durand, 1914): no. 3: 'Bénarès: Naissance de Bouddha'. Complete vocal part, copied by Koechlin.

Pages: 2
Folder 136.

Mss No: 137
[mid-1930s?] As I walked through the meadows, arranged by Koechlin for voice and piano 'd'après la transcription de J. Cecil Sharp mais avec pas mal de changements'. n.d. and no text.

Pages: 3
Folder 137.

Mss No: 138
[mid-1930s?] Deux berceuses sur des thèmes indiens Nord-Amérique (transcribed by Jeanne Herscher-Clément). No. 2 is entitled 'Cheyenne Lullaby'. Copy by Koechlin for voice and piano, n.d.

Pages: 2
Folder 138.

Mss No: 139
15 March 1946 Letter from Koechlin to Mr. Charles Shatto, 640 Broadway, San Diego relating to Koechlin's orchestration of the Esquisses Normandes by Shatto's late wife Catherine Urner (see MSS 134-5). Koechlin also proposes to orchestrate her Passacaille when he has time.

Pages: 2 pages (plus envelope)
 

Setion 2: Music by Koechlin Copied by Catherine Urner (works from 1895 to 1935)

Additional Note

Date indicates the date of compostion by Koechlin.
Box 4 , Folder 139.

Mss No: I
1895, rev. July 1897, reorch. July 1931 Op. 7: Quatre poèmes d'Edmond Haraucourt, no. 4: 'Aux temps des fées'. Full score for T or S and small orch. transposed down a tone into E minor. Copy by Urner of Koechlin's revised 1931 orchestration. For the original version see F-Pn MS 15633 (4).

Pages: 19 pages (plus title page)
Folder 140.

Mss No: II
1895-6 Op. 17: Trois mélodies, no. 2: 'La prière du mort' (poem from Les trophées by José-Maria de Heredia). Vocal score for Bar or Mezzo and pf, transposed up a semitone into E major. In the hand of an unidentified professional copyist.

Pages: 5 pages (plus title page)
Folder 141.

Mss No: III
1918 Op. 68: Deux mélodies, no. 1: 'Hymne à Vénus' (Villiers de l'Isle-Adam). Copy by Urner of vocal line of MS 3 (Section 1), probably made in Dec 1933. With this MS are 2 further pages of fugal sketches by Urner.

Pages: 2 pages (oblong)
Folder 142.

Mss No: IV
1921-6 Op. 78: 12 chorals (thèmes de Koechlin), first sketches series nos. 2-12. Copy by Urner (short scores, with no. 9 marked for org, and no. 11 for tpt and org).

Pages: 15 pages (plus two title pages)
Folder 142.

Mss No: V
1921-6 Op. 79: 15 chorals (thèmes de Koechlin), second series nos. 1, 2, 4, 6, 8-11, 13 ('Nocturne') and 15 ('Sonnerie pour un tournoi sous François I'). Copy by Urner (short scores, some marked for voices or org).

Pages: 26
Folder 143.

Mss No: VI
1923-6 Op. 83: 18 chorals (thèmes de Koechlin), third series nos. 1-4, 6-8, 10-12. Copy by Urner (short scores, some marked for voices or org).

Pages: 12
Folder 144.

Mss No: VII
1923 op. 84: Huit mélodies sur la Shéhérazade de Tristan Klingsor, no. 1: 'Dedicace'. Vocal part copied by Urner from MS 6 (Section 1).

Pages: 3 pages (oblong)
Folder 145.

Mss No: VIII
Dec 1932 Op. 124: L'ancienne maison de campagne, no. 2: 'D'un vieil album', part ii: 'Reliques de deuil'. Melody line only from bar 2 to the end, copied by Urner (see MS 11 of Section 1). Plus 1 p. (crossed out), fragments of British traditional songs, copied by Urner.

Pages: 1
Folder 146.

Mss No: IX
'22 Oct'1933 Urner: 'Fugue orchestrale -"un sujet infini" (Pour Suite Symphonique)'. This subject and the 7 others here were copied by Koechlin for later use as MS 14 (Section 1).

Pages: 2

Note:

The first Urner subject in MS 14, used by Koechlin in his Op. 133 no. 2 and dated '30 Aug 1933', is missing from MS IX
Folder 147.

Mss No: X
'7-8 July 1935' p. 1: Extract from a fugue in C (?) by Koechlin, copied by Urner on '7 July 1935'. Page 2: Fugue subject in C by Urner (?), with a theme below in Koechlin's hand, dated '8 July [1935]'.

Pages: 2 pages (oblong 1/2 pages)
Folder 148.

Mss No: XI
? late 1935 Vocalise in D flat major by Koechlin, copied by Urner, for voice and pf. Not part of Koechlin's Vocalise Op. 152, and so far unidentified. Perhaps written specifically for Catherine Urner.

Pages: 4
Folder 149.

Mss No: XII
? late 1935 Vocalise in F major (also titled Pastorale) for voice and piano by Koechlin, copied by Urner. As with MS XI this is the only known copy of this piece, which may have been written specifically for Catherine Urner.

Pages: 5
 

Section 3: Manuscripts by Other Composers (1929-35)

Box 4 , Folder 150.

Mss No: i
'Sept 1929' Jeanne Herscher-Clement: Trois épigrammes latines, copied by Catherine Urner. 'Sur le temps' (Sulpicius Lupercus); 'Meroe, églogue' (Calpurnius); 'Sur le tombeau d'Acis' (Pentadius).

Pages: 6
Folder 151.

Mss No: ii
'2 Nov-Dec 1929' Catherine Urner: Esquisses Normandes for piano (1929). For titles and dates of movements, see MS 135 in Section 1. There are two copies of no. 1 (5 and 3 pp.)

Pages: 31
Folder 152.

Mss No: iii
'12 Feb 1935' Ernest Le Grand: Song for voice and pf: 'Merci Damoiselle Catherine'.

Pages: 1

Note:

Le Grand was rated extremely highly as a composer by both Debussy and Koechlin, whi also made a copy of this song which is now destroyed at F-Pkoechlin. Being an absolute perfectionist, Le Grand destroyed all of his compositions before his death, so that only a few publications by him have survived. It need hardly be said that autograph MSS like nos. iii and iv. are thus extremely rare and valuable.
Folder 153.

Mss No: iv
'19 April 1933' Ernest Le Grand: Souvenir en commun for pf. Autograph MS. See Note to MS iii.

Pages: 1
Folder 154.

Mss No: v
'5 Nov' [1933] Catherine Urner: Fugue subject in E flat minor 'Pour les instruments' (Fugue symetrique, see MS 40 Note). Written (in a manner typical of Koechlin) 'dans le train de L[os] A[ngeles] à S[an] D[iego] 5 Nov - un couché de soleil tropical égayant le voyage - palmiers contre ciel rouge-orange'.

Pages: 1 page (partial leaf)
Folder 155.

Mss No: vi
? 1933 Catherine Urner: Le lac (2 pp., melody line only), plus 4 pp. fugue subjects and worklings (incl. an extract from a prelude and fugue by Buxtehude (p. 5))

Pages: 6 pages (small format)
Folder 156.

Mss No: vii
? 1933 Catherine Urner: Subjects 'pour les fugues symétriques' (p. 1, see MS 40 note), with corresctions by Koechlin (autograph). Plus 1 p. of 'basse donnée' exercizes from Koechlin's Traité de l'harmonie (Vol. 1, 1927, p. 30 nos. 5 nad 4) realised by Charles Shatto, which Urner copied out to show Koechlin, who then corrected them on this MS. (For Koechlin's own realisations of the same exercises, see his Traité de l'harmonie, Vol. 3, 1928, p. 4)

Pages: 2
Folder 157.

Mss No: viii
?1933 Incomplete harmony exercise in G major marked 'Shatto-Urner'. Possibly copied out by Koechlin?.

Pages: 2 pages (folded)
Folder 158.

Mss No: ix
'4 Sept 1935' Catherine Urner: 3 'Sujets de fugue - modulants à la 4te augmentée'. Written in La Jolla, California.

Pages: 1 page (oblong)
Folder 159.

Mss No: x
? 1935 Catherine Urner: Extracts from a Mass setting setting. Various movements for mixed choir, sometimes with org.

Pages: 9
Folder 160.

Mss No: xi
mid-1930s? Este é Maio, folksong arr. for voice and pf by Catherine Urner, n.d.

Pages: 3
Folder 161.

Mss No: xii
mid-1930s? Tirai os achos de min, folksong arr. for voice and guitar by Urner, with additional indications suggesting a possible version for chamber orch., n.d.

Pages: 4
Folder 162.

Mss No: xiii
mid-1930s? Egyptienne (?folksong). Voice part only, copied by Urner, n.d.

Pages: 2
Folder 163.

Mss No: xiv
1930s.

 

p. 1: Fugue subject in C minor by Urner. 4 pages

 

pp. 2-3: Voice part of Henri Duparc's song: La vie antérieure copied by Urner.

 

p. 4: Harmonic exercise with figuresd bass copied out by Urner from Koechlin's Traité de l'harmonie, Vol. 1 1927, p. 90.