Maurice Ohana (1913-1992)

[Alex Bozman]

His centenary last year didn't seem to be marked much. I first became aware of his music when Radio 3 broadcast some 70th birthday concerts. More recently, there have been the Timpani cds of mainly orchestral works. I've also bought the Erato box set of reissued recordings, getting to know some of the choral pieces; Cantigas and the Mass being particular favourites. The music is difficult to categorise, although Stravinsky and de Falla seem to have some influence. It's a bit surprising the extent to which he appears to have dropped off the musical radar.

There's mention in the accompanying booklet that in 1947 with four others he formed the Groupe Zodiaque, as an antithesis to those French composers who were aligned to Darmstadt. I'm curious as to the identity of the other composers, can anyone assist?

[georghann]

"....Stanislas Skrovatcheski, Sergio de Castro, Pierre de la Forest Divonne, Alain Bermat, le groupe du Zodiaque, qui se donne pour objectif de défendre la liberté du langage."



http://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/musdico/Ohana/169382

[Alex Bozman]

Thanks for that, some unfamiliar names. It seems only Alain Bermat continued composing aside from Ohana.

[Dundonnell]

I know the name but don't think that I have ever heard a complete work by Ohana.

Does anyone have anything which can be uploaded to allow us to share ???

[guest2]

Here:

http://www.academie-des-beaux-arts.fr/actualites/elections/receptions/2005/canatdechizy/discourscanat.htm

Edith Canat de Chizy in a discourse about Daniel-Lesur quotes Maurice Ohana from 1981 on the importance of counterpoint. The name "Dutilleux" will be evident:

«C’est autour du piano du boulevard Flandrin que j’ai connu à cette époque-là mes amis du groupe Zodiaque, Pierre de La Forest Divonne, Alain Bermat, et aussi, en 1948, Dutilleux. Le contrepoint dont Lesur m’a donné les clés ne m’a jamais quitté. Ce fut toute ma vie une sorte de fil d’Ariane dans ce labyrinthe de la création où nous plongions pour le meilleur et pour le pire. Comprendra-t-on un jour en France que les disciplines telles qu’un Lesur pouvait les enseigner ouvrent des chemins à jamais fermés pour ceux qui choisissent l’hybridation des écoles germaniques avec nos mémoires d’enfants des Hespérides.»

[guest54]

Grove's has some interesting information about Maurice Ohana. He was born British in Casablanca of a Gibraltarian father, and the language spoken in his family home was English. Indeed when in England he preferred to spell his name "O'Hana". He joined the British army during WW2 and took French nationality only in 1976. Gide described him as "a French Joseph Conrad." He adored cats (unlike the Oxford metaphysician F.H. Bradley who would leave his college at night with a gun and shoot them).

Ohana's melodic parallelism and colouristic view of harmony as timbre, or sound mass, owes much to Debussy and has parallels in Varèse, just as his superimposed layers of ostinatos in aleatory counterpoint owe much to Stravinsky and have parallels in Lutoslawski. Many of his works incorporate allusions to extra-musical symbolism.

Some of his orchestral works:

- Sarabande, hpd, orch, 1950
- 3 graphiques, guitar, orch, 4 perc, 1950–57
- Synaxis, 2 pf, 4 perc, orch, 1966
- Chiffres de clavecin, hpd, orch, 1968
- Silenciaire, 6 perc, str, 1969
- T’Harân-Ngô, orch, 1974
- Anneau du Tamarit, vc, orch, 1976
- Livre des prodiges, orch, 1978–9
- Crypt, str, 1980
- Piano Concerto, 1981
- In Dark and Blue, vc, orch, 1989–90

- Llanto por Ignacio Sánchez Mejías (García Lorca), oratorio, Bar, spkr, female vv, orch, 1950
- Cantigas (J. de Valdivielso, F.A. Mortesino, G. de Berceo, Alfonso X, J. Alvarez), child’s voice, S, Mez, SATB, pf, orch, 1953–4

Also three string quartettes, and much else (see Grove on-line).

In 2008 the Belgian RTBF put out two one-hour programmes about Ohana, which I recorded. There is at least as much talk as music, so it should appeal most to members who are comfortable with the parleyvoo . . . Short snatches and snippets from most of the works listed above may be heard. But because no works are performed in their entirety - far from it - I do not think it right to put these recordings in our French composers section.

Here is part one:
https://www.mediafire.com/?qz73egy88qkvhyd

And here is part two:
https://www.mediafire.com/?eqqd568grwdf6nz

I also have recordings from Radio France/Erato of three of his complete works - Anneau du Tamarint, Signes, and Livre des Prodiges - but I presume it is not acceptable to post bits of them here even though they appear to be derived from public performances?