Divertissements1 sur un thème pastoral Op.49

Divertissements¹ sur un thème pastoral Op.49

While he was no innovator, Pierné did like to keep up with contemporary trends. The difference between the Piano Concerto of 1887 and the Divertissements sur un thème pastoral of 1932 is so marked that the two works could be by different composers. Clearly, from his rostrum in the Théâtre du Châtelet he had noted the revolution in taste promoted by Jean Cocteau, Erik Satie and the young composers of the Groupe des Six in the 1920s. He was far from allying himself with them – he was a generation older – but he liked the idea of drawing on popular sources, such as jazz and the music hall, and he was not inimical to certain technical aspects of their style.

That much is clear from the Divertissements sur un thème pastoral which the composer dedicated to the members of the Orchestre Colonne and which was first performed by them under his direction in the Châtelet in February 1932. That obviously explains the virtuoso scoring of the piece. Why he called it Divertissements is not so clear but but it was better than calling it variations since, although it begins that way, it develops its own form. The theme, introduced by a solo cor anglais in the opening bars, derives its pastoral character partly from its rhythms and partly from its Lydian modality. In the first double (a baroque term Pierné preferred to variation here) it is entrusted to the double basses, in the second to violins and in the third it is transformed in neo-classical style into a canon for pizzicato strings. And so it goes on, passing to bassoon and double bassoon under chromatic decoration from other woodwind, to horns, to trombones and tuba, to strings under a halo of violin harmonics.

By now, as the sections increase in length, Pierné is beginning to enjoy himself.    A waltz features solos strings and a comparatively extended Cortège–Blues alternates a characteristic march tune for trumpet with more or less jazzy episodes with stylish gestures from trombone among others. The last two sections are an effectively contrasted Phrase with expressive solos for alto saxophone and an explosively energetic, brilliantly scored Gigue.

1Divertissements (plural) is correct