Damase, Jean-Michel 1928 - 2013
Author: Hirano, Takatoshi
Last updated：March 12, 2018
Author: Hirano, Takatoshi
Jean-Michel Damase was a 20th-century French composer and pianist. He focused his creative efforts on instrumental and chamber music, primarily featuring piano, flute, and harp, leaving behind approximately 300 works over a career spanning more than 50 years. The clear yet lyrical melodic lines, skillful modulations, and harmonic treatment that create a gradient of colors, characteristic of Damase's music, can also be observed in the works of his contemporaries, Françaix or Poulenc. However, no other composer could express such bright and unburdened emotions, and an intimacy and warmth that never become excessive, with such charm, and master their essence, as Damase did.
Born in Bordeaux, Damase soon moved to Paris, and at the age of five, he began studying piano and solfège with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau. Damase's mother was the renowned harpist Micheline Kahn (1889–1987), who premiered works by Fauré and Ravel (Note 1).
This is likely not unrelated to Damase's fondness for the harp and the frequent appearance of harp-glissando-like figures in his piano works. Perhaps thanks to his mother's environment, at the age of nine, he met the writer Colette, who, upon seeing him set her poems to music, described Damase as a child prodigy. Around the same time, Damase's piano talent was recognized by Marguerite Long, and he performed works by Milhaud, Poulenc, Sauguet, and others at the 1937 Paris Exposition.
At the age of 12, he entered the École Normale de Musique and studied with Cortot. The following year, he transferred to the Conservatoire de Paris, joining Armand Ferté's piano class. After winning the First Prize in piano at 15 (Note 2), he entered Henri Büsser's composition class, simultaneously studying harmony and fugue with Marcel Dupré. Then, at 19, he received the First Prize in composition for his Quintet for Flute, Harp, Violin, Viola, and Cello, and the Prix de Rome for his cantata Et la belle se réveilla (And the Beauty Awoke).
Damase also had an active career as a pianist (Note 3), but it is said that he decided to make composition the central focus of his activities while staying at the Villa Medici as a Prix de Rome laureate. While many contemporary French composers, after gaining a certain reputation in creative fields, shifted their focus to education and administration, Damase continued to compose energetically until his death, with publications continuing almost without interruption every year until 2011. In addition to teaching piano at the École Normale de Musique from 1961 to 1964, he served as a study advisor (conseiller aux études) at the Conservatoire de Paris (1972–1993) and received the SACD Music Grand Prize, the Grand Prize of the City of Paris, and was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Officier).
Damase also composed orchestral works, including symphonies, as well as operas and ballets, but the most prominent entries in his catalog are his duos and solo instrumental works written for various instruments. Of the approximately 70 published solo works, 24 are for piano (Note 4) and 15 are for harp. It is interesting to note that some works can be performed on either piano or harp. He also left works not only for various string and wind instruments but also for organ, percussion, and guitar. The existence of works for such a variety of instruments, and the frequent indication of beginner, intermediate, or advanced levels in their titles, demonstrate Damase's emphasis on educational repertoire. There are also many pieces designated as examination or competition repertoire for the Conservatoire de Paris, as well as etudes aimed at improving technique. Some works, such as the Sonata No. 1 for Flute and Harp (1964) and the Sonate de Concert (1952, for flute, piano, and cello ad libitum), have become established repertoire for examinations and lessons.
In Japan, Damase's works are frequently performed, and many people appreciate his music. This is likely due to the aforementioned factors, as well as Damase's own visits to Japan and collaborations with flutist Nobutaka Shimizu, and the fact that many of his works were published by Henri Lemoine, making scores relatively easy to obtain in Japan. Damase's works are also published by Billaudot, Salabert, Éditions Musicales Transatlantiques, among others.
- (Note 1) Works premiered by Kahn include Fauré's Impromptu and Une châtelaine en sa tour, Ravel's Introduction and Allegro, and Caplet's Légende.
- (Note 2) Among the pianists who received the First Prize simultaneously with Damase at this time was Yvonne Loriod (from Marcel Ciampi's class), who later became Olivier Messiaen's wife. The required piece played by Loriod and Damase at that time was the short work Rondeau (1943), composed by Messiaen at the request of the director, Delvincourt.
- (Note 3) As a pianist, he performed with the Orchestre Colonne and the Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française, and made numerous recordings for the national broadcasting service. Around 1960, he made complete recordings of Fauré's Nocturnes and Barcarolles.
- (Note 4) In addition, he contributed works to seven educational piano collections. Besides solo works, there are two pieces for piano four hands and four works for two pianos.
Works(52)
Concerto
concerto (2)
Works with orchestral accompaniment (1)
Piano Solo
etude (4)
variation (2)
transcription (3)
Various works (16)
Piano Ensemble
Chamber Music
sonata (4)
character pieces (7)