Jean Cras (1879 - 1932)
France

Jean Émile Paul Cras (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃
kʁaz]) (May 22, 1879 ? September 14, 1932) was a
20th century French composer and career naval
officer. His musical compositions were inspired by
his native Brittany, his travels to Africa, and
most of all, by his sea voyages. As a naval
commander he served with distinction in the
Adriatic Campaign during World War I.

Cras met Henri Duparc, the famous French composer,
early in his career, and the two became lifelong
friends. Duparc called Cras 'the son of my soul'.
Though Cras's duties in the French navy left him
little time to devote to his musical work he
continued to compose throughout his life, mainly
writing chamber music and songs. Much of his most
ambitious work, the opera Polyphème, was written
and orchestrated during the war, however the
majority of his musical output dates from after
the war. Today, his string trio and string quartet
are his best known works.

His lyric tragedy, Polyphème is considered his
masterpiece. The opera was acclaimed at its
premiere in 1922, giving Cras a burst of notoriety
in the French press. The title character is
Polyphemus, who, according to Greek mythology, is
the eldest Cyclops and son of Poseidon. It tells
the well-known story of the attempt by Polyphemus
(baritone) to steal Galatea (soprano) from Acis
(tenor). In the original myth Polyphemus
eventually kills Acis by rolling a rock onto him.
Albert Samain, the librettist, humanized
Polyphemus by having him become aware of the
feelings shared by two lovers and thus, decide not
to crush them. Ultimately, the cyclops wanders
into the sea to find death because the couple's
happiness horrifies him. The music is
impressionistic, restless, and highly chromatic,
in the spirit of Chausson and Duparc. The
influence of Debussy's opera Pelléas et Mélisande
is also noticeable. (A fine recording of this
opera was released in 2003, with Bramwell Tovey
conducting the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra
and Armand Arapian in the title role.)

Cras's later work developed a more acerbic style
comparable to that of Bartók, though formally
close to César Franck. He considered chamber music
to be his forte, writing that 'this refined
musical form has become for me the most
essential'. The String Trio in particular
integrates a wide range of styles, including North
African influences. It was a described as a
'miraculous' work by André Himonet in 1932,
achieving 'perfectly balanced sonority and a
plenitude of expression between which one dare not
choose.'[4] The Trio for Strings and Piano also
blends African and Eastern melodic patterns with
Breton musical traditions into a coherent whole.
The critic Michel Fleury compares his work to the
Japonist style of the artist Henri Rivière
revealing 'a stylised Breton land, as though it
had been passed through the sieve of his varied
experiences gained in the four quarters of the
globe.' (Hide extended text) ... (Read all)
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Jean Cras

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By janno, the 12 Mar 2012