Pe're Lachaise

Some information for you on the inspiration for the third movement of Paris Sketches.

Pere Lachaise is a very famous cemetary in Paris. A ton of information can be found here. If you read the article, you'll find that in order to generate interest in the cemetary, the administrators buried some famous people there. That tradition led to the cemetary being populated with amazing artists such as Frederic Chopin, Maria Callas, and Jim Morrison.

I think a cemetary with the greatest opera singer the world has known, one of the greatest pianists and composers in the world, along with the lead singer for the Doors deserves some respect.

Some great images, can of course be found here.

Martin Ellerby has this to say regarding the third movement:

"This is the city's largest cemetary, the final resting place of many a celebrity who once walked its streets. The spirit of Satie's Gymnopedies-themselves a tribute to a still more distant past-is affectionately evoked before the movement concludes with a quotation of the Dies Irae. This is the work's slow movement, and the mood is one of softness and delicacy, which I have attempted to match with more transparent orchestration. The bells are gentle, nostalgic, wistful."

The man he references is named Erik Satieand is a famous Parisian writer, composer and pianist. We've listened to one of his Gymnopedies in class and they are some of his most well known works.

Dies Irea is a famous latin hymn that has been quoted by quite a few famous composers. Ellerby gives it to the bells and glockenspeil seven bars before L at the end of the movement. Check out the article so you're aware of just what the significance of this hymn is to the piece as a whole.

We'll discuss these things in more detail during rehearsal.