Andre Jolivet: The Poetics of Cello

Abstract

My paper pertains to the works for cello by the French composer André Jolivet (1905-1974) – an important artistic figure of the twentieth century whose musical thinking represents the complexity of transformation within Western music and the culture of his time. Strongly influenced by the creative ideas of the French pioneer of sound Edgard Varèse, he continued to develop his musical style and aesthetics throughout his life – as a composer, writer, critic, conductor, visual artist, musical theatre director, and pedagogue. Jolivet’s fertile sources for artistic inspiration and spiritual quest extend from the philosophy of Bergson and Tarkovsky’s cinematography to the mythology of Africa, Oceania, and ancient incantations and rituals. In this article I will explore Jolivet’s cello music – from the perspective of multi-interdisciplinary influences – focusing on Suite en concert pour Violoncello seul (1965), as an example of his compositional style and as an expression of the artist’s awareness of the universal mystery and ‘magical’ voice embodied in the sound of the cello.