L'Album de Madame Bovary, Op. 128b

This work is Milhaud's self-arrangement of his film score Madame Bovary (Op. 128), written in 1933, into a collection of piano miniatures. Milhaud composed approximately 30 film scores, including short films, with a notable example being Espoir - Sierra de Teruel (1939), directed by André Malraux. Madame Bovary is a literary film (starring Valentine Tessier) based on Gustave Flaubert's novel (1857), directed by Jean Renoir. It is an early talkie by the renowned master director Renoir, widely regarded as a profound literary masterpiece. Although this was Milhaud's only musical contribution to a Renoir film, their close friendship endured for a long time. A photograph remains of Renoir visiting Milhaud's home after the war, accompanied by young actors (Françoise Arnoul, Micheline Presle, Gérard Philipe, Jean Marais).

Most of Milhaud's film scores were written in the 1930s. During the same period, Milhaud also composed incidental music for 30 stage plays, in parallel with his film work. Madeleine Milhaud, his wife, later candidly revealed that the reason for such intense focus was the necessity to earn a living before he took up a teaching position. Milhaud himself stated in his autobiography that he seemed to have no aptitude for film music and struggled greatly with the specific constraints of incidental music. However, a significant number of Milhaud's works widely cherished today, such as Suite Provençale (Op. 152b), Suite for Violin, Clarinet and Piano (Op. 157b), Scaramouche (Op. 165b), and Le Roi René (Op. 205), originated as by-products of incidental or film music. The simple musical ideas, written for practical purposes, were unexpectedly well-received, and in particular, their catchy popular appeal, which exaggerated humor, garnered overwhelming support from audiences. There should be attempts to re-evaluate Milhaud's works in this genre more positively and to shed new light on their original forms. Observing the recent revival and popularity of Poulenc's L'invitation au château, it seems that a wealth of treasures still lies dormant within Milhaud's works of this genre.

From the film score Madame Bovary, Milhaud arranged the following three works:

• L'Album de Madame Bovary Op. 128b (Piano solo. This work. Dedicated to Robert Aron and his wife.)
• Trois Valses Op. 128c (Piano solo. Dedicated to director Jean Renoir.)
• Deux Chansons Op. 128d (Lyrics by Flaubert. Voice and piano. Dedicated to Roger Désormière, the conductor of the film version.)

This work consists of 17 short pieces, some only a few measures long, and the longest being about two pages. They are easy to play, approximately at the difficulty level of Czerny Op. 30, all tonal, and filled with lyrical melodies, making them very approachable. The surprisingly romantic atmosphere is also a delightful aspect. In 1934, Marguerite Long, a close friend of Milhaud, premiered the work with her young students at a student recital. For more on the relationship between Milhaud and Long, please refer to my article on Le Tour de l'Exposition (Op. 162). This work is dedicated to Robert Aron and his wife, Sabine Aron. Aron is known as a writer, but at the time, he worked at Gallimard and founded a film company (La Nouvelle Société de film) to produce Madame Bovary.

During Milhaud's lifetime, this work was purely for piano solo. However, in later years, it was re-imagined as a work with narration. In 1995, when Alexandre Tharaud's Milhaud piano solo album was being planned for the Naxos label, Madeleine Milhaud, who was slated to participate as a narrator, proposed and subsequently implemented the addition of narration to L'Album de Madame Bovary. Madeleine Milhaud recounted to Alain Cochard that she had the opportunity to hear a performance of this work with actor narration in London in 1992, was surprised and deeply impressed, and became convinced that this performance style aligned with her late husband's intentions, leading her to undertake it herself. Madeleine Milhaud was familiar with Molière from childhood, possessed a deep knowledge of French literature, studied at a drama school, had experience as a stage actress, and also studied piano under Marguerite Long. In Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat, her deep alto voice captivated audiences, and the eccentric composer himself endorsed her as the ideal narrator. There could be no one more suitable to add text to this work. Madeleine Milhaud randomly selected passages from Flaubert's original novel that resonated with the mood of each piece to create the text. Her vigorous curiosity, sensitivity, and dynamism, even past the age of 90 at the time, are truly astonishing. The current Enoch edition score (E-9585) includes the text as an appendix (E-9585 bis) (Version avec lecture d’extraits du roman de Flaubert: Les extraits choisis par Madeleine Milhaud). Both the original French and an English translation by Judith Maillard are provided, which is greatly appreciated by those unfamiliar with French. It is a work to be enjoyed freely, whether by translating and adding one's own narration or by performing it as a piano solo as traditionally done.

List of Pieces

• 1. Emma (4/4 time, D major (no key signature; same for subsequent pieces). Quarter note = 66.)
• 2. Pastorale (6/8 time, A minor. Dotted quarter note = 120.)
• 3. Tristesse (Sadness) (5/4 time, F minor. Quarter note = 84.)
• 4. Chanson (Song) (6/8 time, A major. Dotted quarter note = 120.)
• 5. Rêverie (Daydream) (2/4 time, E major. Quarter note = 100.)
• 6. Tilburry (4/4 time, E major. Quarter note = 120.)
• 7. Romance (2/4 time, D major. Quarter note = 84.)
• 8. Jeu (Playing) (6/8 time, C major. Dotted quarter note = 80.)
• 9. Autographe (Autograph) (4/4 time, F major. Quarter note = 108.)
• 10. Le Saint Hubert (The Saint Hubert) (6/8 time, F major. Dotted quarter note = 108.)
• 11. Soupir (Sighs) (6/8 time, A major. Dotted quarter note = 92.)
• 12. Dans les bois (In the Woods) (6/8 time, F major. Dotted quarter note = 66.)
• 13. Promenade (4/4 time, G-sharp minor. Quarter note = 80.)
• 14. Pensée (Thoughts) (3/4 time, D minor. Quarter note = 84.)
• 15. Chagrin (Sorrow) (4/4 time, F minor. Quarter note = 92.)
• 16. Barcarolle (2/4 time, E-flat major. Quarter note = 108.)
• 17. Dernier feuillet (Last Page) (4/4 time, D major. Quarter note = 84.)