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Migot, Georges : Ad usum Delphini

Work Overview

Music ID : 7494
Composition Year:1927 
Publication Year:1929
First Publisher:Durand
Instrumentation:Piano Solo 
Genre:Various works
Total Playing Time:19 min 00 sec
Copyright:Under Copyright Protection

Commentary (1)

Author : Nishihara, Masaki

Last Updated: May 13, 2025
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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.

A collection of piano solo pieces in two volumes, comprising eight pieces in total. The original title is a Latin phrase meaning "A Collection of Classical Latin Texts for the Crown Prince" (Delphini corresponds to the French Dauphin, meaning crown prince). This refers to a compilation of classical Latin literature written and compiled for the education of the first son of the Sun King, Louis XIV. Migot's work borrows its title from this. It is not only the culmination of an aspiration for a dynastic culture that reached its peak in splendor and sophistication, but perhaps also conceived with the fictional premise that he himself might have served at an ancient court and composed music there. Was it also intended to be a collection of pieces that would simultaneously benefit contemporary general piano learners?

Volume 1 (Cahier I) consists of five titled short pieces, dedicated to the young Marguerite Marchal (La petite Marguerite Marchal):

  • Piece 1: Préface (Bien allant, 4/4)
  • Piece 2: Les déchiffrages (Simplement, 4/4)
  • Piece 3: Les progrès (Allant, 3/4)
  • Piece 4: Les cérémonies (9/8)
  • Piece 5: Conclusion (Décidé, 9/8)

Volume 2 (Cahier II) is titled "Studies" (Les études), and individual pieces have no titles. No dedication is mentioned:

  • Piece 1: Modéré, 2/4
  • Piece 2: Allant, 3/4)
  • Piece 3: Ondoyant et sans lenteur, 5/4

Both volumes are considered relatively easy among Migot's piano works, yet one would likely struggle with sight-reading unless capable of playing pieces at the level of Debussy's Suite bergamasque. Guy Sacre also commented on this work, stating that it is too solemn, abstract, and difficult, not suitable for children, and that Volume 2, in particular, has a severity reminiscent of a desolate desert, but that a prince, upon reaching maturity, might well be drawn to it (Sacre, Guy. 1998. La musique de piano T.02. Paris: Robert Laffont). The premiere took place on January 23, 1932, at a concert of the Société Nationale de Musique in Salle Chopin, Paris, performed by Elen Foster. Foster is also the dedicatee of the first piece, "Aquarius," from Les douze signes du Zodiaque.

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