Milhaud: L'Orestie d'Eschyle

Featuring

Kenneth Kiesler
Lori Phillips
Kristin Eder
Sophie Delphis
Dan Kempson
Julianna Di Giacomo

Sidney Outlaw
Brenda Rae
Tamara Mumford
Jennifer Lane
University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra
University of Michigan Percussion Ensemble
University of Michigan Orpheus Singers
Michigan University Musical Society Choral Union
University of Michigan Chamber Choir
University of Michigan University Choir
Darius Milhaud

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Composer Biography

Darius Milhaud, a key figure in early 20th-century Parisian avant-garde music, was Provençal and Jewish by birth, identities he maintained in his life and music.

Performer Biography

The University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, one of the world's finest student orchestras, received a GRAMMY® Award in 2005 for its recording of William Bolcom's "Songs of Innocence and of Experience."

Composer's Artistic Vision

Milhaud's operatic style was significantly shaped by his lifelong collaboration with the Catholic poet Paul Claudel, who believed every dramatic element, including music, should serve the poetry.

Recording & Production

The recording of Milhaud's "L'Orestie" was made possible by the advocacy of William Bolcom, a distinguished composer and Professor Emeritus who studied with Milhaud.

Composition History

The "Orestie" trilogy is not a series of operas; only the final part, "Les Euménides," was fully composed and later staged as an opera by Milhaud's wife, Madeleine.

Compositional Technique

Milhaud's "Orestie" trilogy incorporates polytonality, where multiple harmonic areas are layered simultaneously, which he believed allowed for a more varied expression of both sweetness and violence.

Instruments

For "Les Euménides," Milhaud expanded the orchestra to include two quartets: one of saxophones and one of saxhorns, 19th-century valved brass instruments rarely used with an orchestra or choir.