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Home > Rocherolle, Eugenie Ricau > Souvenirs du Château

Rocherolle, Eugenie Ricau : Souvenirs du Château

Work Overview

Music ID : 5459
Composition Year:1992 
First Publisher:Kjos
Instrumentation:Piano Solo 
Genre:Various works
Total Playing Time:14 min 00 sec

Commentary (1)

Author : Nishihara, Masaki

Last Updated: October 4, 2023
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Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

Although Rocherolle is American, his family roots are in France. This suite is said to have originated from his annual stays at the historic Château de la Rocherolle, a medieval castle in the Loire Valley in central France, maintaining family ties with the main Rocherolle family who remained in France. It is dedicated to Guy and Monique Rocherolle. From its genesis, one might imagine a nostalgic and fairytale-like musical character. However, such simplistic preconceptions are immediately overturned by the opening, which vividly depicts the bustling back-of-house of yesteryear, where numerous servants and staff moved about and people's intentions intertwined. The ancient castle does not merely attract people with its romantic exterior. The composer keenly observes not only its beautiful grandeur and lavish furnishings, but also the shadows etched by long years of wind and snow, the profound intensity that has absorbed human joys and sorrows, and its unfathomable dark aspects. With a dispassionate hand, he approaches the multifaceted nature of history. Even in the final movement, "The Music Room," the melodies emanating from the antique Pleyel piano placed there are undeniably reminiscent of Chopin. However, this is not a saccharine, candy-like Chopin. It is a Chopin imbued with melancholy, impatience, and resignation, like, for example, the Waltz in C-sharp minor (Op. 64-2). Chopin. Overall, this suite is of high difficulty for Rocherolle's piano works, requiring a technical level equivalent to Czerny Op. 299 (Czerny 40 Etudes) or higher.

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