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French pianist Tristan Raës talks about his musical journey with Florent Schmitt, and the pathfinding recording efforts of his father, Alain Raës.

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Alain made important first recordings of French piano scores by Florent Schmitt, while Tristan is exploring the composer’s sumptuous early-career mélodies.

Cyrille Dubois Tristan Raes Abbaye de Lessay 8-12-23

Tenor Cyrille Dubois and pianist Tristan Raës in recital (Abbaye de Lessay in Normandy, August 2023).

Recently a multi-country recital tour was announced featuring tenor Cyrille Dubois and pianist Tristan Raës, in which mélodies by the composer Gabriel Fauré and several of his students would be performed. I was pleased to learn that one of the mélodies selected by Messrs. Dubois and Raës was Florent Schmitt’s Les Barques, Op. 8, one of a group of five pieces from the turn of the last century colloquially referred to by the composer as his Poèmes des lacs.

Alain Raes pianist

Alain Raoul Raës (1947-2023) began his piano studies at the Schola Cantorum before becoming a protégé of Lélia Gousseau at the Paris Conservatoire starting in 1965. He won the Conservatoire’s Piano First Prize in 1970, followed by the Grand Prize at the Geneva International Competition in 1973.

I was even more intrigued when I discovered that Tristan Raës is the son of Alain Raës, a respected pianist who made critically acclaimed recordings of solo piano music by Albert Roussel, Arthur Honegger and Florent Schmitt.

Florent Schmitt Alain Raes FY

The original Alain Raës’ 2-LP recording of Florent Schmitt piano scores (FY label), recorded in 1985 and released in 1987.

Most of the Florent Schmitt album – a 2-LP set in its first incarnation in 1987 – were world premiere recordings, making the project one of substantial artistic significance.

I first made contact with Tristan Raës in early 2023 with the intention of interviewing him and his father together about their voyage of discovery with Florent Schmitt’s music. Unfortunately, Alain fell seriously ill shortly after our initial correspondence, and sadly passed away in June 2023 at the age of 76 years.

After a pause of several months, Tristan and I came to a mutual realization that the story of Alain, Tristan and the rest of the highly musical Raës family (which also includes violinist Florestan) needed to be told – not just as a tribute to Alain, but also in recognition of his unceasing advocacy for the entire corpus of piano music that came from France’s “Golden Age” – especially the composers beyond Debussy and Ravel.

Raes family 2017

This photo of the Raës family was taken in 2017 on the occasion of Alain’s 70th birthday. Pictured in the center is Tristan; Florestan is at right.

The interview highlights presented below encompass several discussions held with Tristan Raës between April 2023 and February 2024. (Note: Mr. Raës’ remarks have been translated from French to English.)

PLN:  How did you first discover the music of Florent Schmitt? Which pieces by him did you know first?

Florent Schmitt Suite en trois parties trumpet score cover

A vintage copy of the score to Florent Schmitt’s Suite en trois parties, composed in 1955.

TR: My father’s recording devoted to Florent Schmitt’s piano music was made in 1985, four years after my birth. But unfortunately, I cannot say that my first contact with the composer was through this recording. I had to wait until I was 22 to play my first piece by Schmitt – and it wasn’t one of the solo piano pieces, but rather the Suite en trois parties for trumpet and piano. 

It was music that surprised me by its complexity and its extremely detailed, chiseled writing – equally demanding in terms of the level of its pianistic realization and musical comprehension.

PLN:  Sometimes credit can go to teachers for encouraging their students’ interests in certain composers or styles of music. In your case, did any of your teachers influence you in this regard?

TR:  Looking back on the time of my piano studies, although my father encouraged me to investigate Albert Roussel (the very beautiful Sonatine) and also to read through some Dukas, basically I stayed on the “well-worn path” for a long time, repertoire-wise. 

I now realize that in the piano classes at the Paris Conservatoire, there was a strange chasm within the French repertoire, in the sense that after Debussy and Ravel we went straight to Messiaen and Dutilleux.

Caplet, Roussel, Honegger, Schmitt – so many composers were sadly left out. 

Tristan Raes pianist

Tristan Raës

Instead, I had to wait for the continuation of my studies – more centered on chamber music and instrumental and vocal accompaniment classes — to discover this wonderful repertoire. 

I think that the rich legacy of French music from this period, in order to be properly advocated for and defended, requires cultivation and a certain insistence from teachers. 

The natural attraction for the great romantic outpourings that stretch as far as Rachmaninov is very powerful — and for a young musician, the “emotional reward” seems much more immediate than the complexity of these other works. But by not concentrating on them, we are missing out on so many wonderful things!

PLN:  Let’s talk more about your father Alain, who gave us such marvelous recordings. Most notably, he recorded solo piano works by Albert Roussel, Arthur Honegger and Florent Schmitt – many of which were world premiere recordings when they were first released. What inspired him to do this?

Florent Schmitt piano music Alain Raes RY

Nearly all of the Florent Schmitt piano works selected by Alain Raës were world premiere recordings at the time of their initial release on the FY label in 1987. Most of the collection was re-released on a single CD in 2009 (Solstice label).

TR:  My father discovered the riches of this repertoire just after winning his prize at the Geneva competition. He was offered the opportunity to make a recording of piano music by Honegger. His curiosity aroused, he went on to explore the piano music of Roussel and Schmitt on his own. 

To answer your question about his inspiration more directly, I think that many young musicians find themselves faced with a delicate choice: Should they interpret the great works of the known repertoire which, to be honest, the public likes to hear because they are familiar with them? Or, should they explore the musical side roads, thereby making themselves a spokesperson for music that is unjustly forgotten or neglected? 

The first option, as satisfactory as it may seem for concertizing, unfortunately condemns them to making the 300th interpretation or recording of an over-exposed piece of music …

Massenet Top Raes BNL 2012

Alain Raës’ 2012 recording of Massenet vocal/piano compositions also features tenor Damien Top (BNL label).

But with the second choice, some performers have chosen to stray off the well-trodden path — not only because they love the element of discovery, but also because they can develop artistically in a more fulfilling way.

I think this may be why my father chose the second option — and in his time he did a lot for the cause of these great composer talents who, it must be said, had been smothered under the “sacred behemoths” Debussy and Ravel. 

These days, it is welcome to witnesss younger musicians investing in similar noble causes, such as discovering female composers like Charlotte Sohy, Marie Jaell, Rita Strohl and so many others.

PLN:  As the son of a renowned pianist, it is likely that you received valuable encouragement from your father as you developed your artistic talents. Indeed, your entire family is one that is filled with music – your brother Florestan is an accomplished violinist and your mother Emmanuelle is in orchestra management.

TR:  I actually learned piano from my father, who taught me in my first years. This of course doesn’t mean that I didn’t continue to learn from him well after those early lessons – indeed, right up until the end. 

Florestan Raes violinist

Violinist Florestan Raës studied at conservatories in Douai, Roubaix, Lille, Brussels and Paris. He has performed as a soloist, in chamber ensembles at the Prades Festival, as well as in several opera and symphony orchestras in France.

It’s the same with my brother Florestan who, although having chosen the violin, saw his passion nourished and encouraged from a very early age by our father.

His words of advice were so numerous that it would be impossible to summarize them in just a few sentences. But beyond the technical, analytical and stylistic considerations, I always remember one piece of advice he would tell us before concerts: “La musique avant toute chose.” (“Music before everything else.”) It was his way of emphasizing that despite doing the necessary work of a goldsmith — adjusting and calibrating even the smallest details before a performance — we must above all convey emotion; the expression of feeling is the only true purpose of performing.

PLN:  Your recent efforts have focused on vocal music – in particular collaborating with the tenor Cyrille Dubois to present relatively unfamiliar mélodies from France’s “Golden Age” created by composers like Chausson, Dubois, Duparc, Godard and Roger-Ducasse, in addition to Florent Schmitt. How did the two of you decide which pieces to feature in your programming?

Faure melodies Dubois Raes Aparte 2022

The Cyrille Dubois/Tristan Raës recording of the complete Fauré mélodies encompasses three CDs (Aparté, 2022), which won a Gramophone Classical Music Award in 2023. The two musicians began performing together in 2010 as the Duo Contraste.

TR:  Our shared interest in French  vocal repertoire from that period has been continually nurtured by the foundation Palazzetto Bru Zane with its insatiable musical curiosity. For me, the interest has also come from various chamber music competitions and activities which led me to discover more of these hidden gems. 

Our most recent recital project fits in with this taste for discovery — which is why, in a year of tributes to Gabriel Fauré upon the centenary of his death, Cyrille and I wanted to showcase not only Fauré’s mélodies, but also to present works by some of Fauré’s greatest pupils – Florent Schmitt, Nadia Boulanger, Roger-Ducasse and others. 

Louis Beydts melodies Dubois Raes Aparte

The newest Cyrille Dubois/Tristan Raës recording collaboration: Mélodies by Louis Beydts (Aparté, 2024).

We have also focused on the completely unknown composer Louis Beydts, whose music we are featuring in our next album.

We can also dream for an opportunity one day to do the same for Roussel and Schmitt! The Poèmes des lacs of Schmitt is a wonderful cycle of five mélodies, and we have a particular crush on Les Barques which is one of the pieces being featured on our current tour.

PLN:  Regarding Florent Schmitt’s pianistic style, we have the famous words of Alfred Cortot who referred to the composer’s piano music as “fistfuls of notes.” Do you concur?

TR:  The music of Schmitt that I’ve had the opportunity to play seems to me, above all, harmonic. Perhaps this is what Cortot meant – in the sense that the piano formulae are ”in the hands” via chords. At the same time, these rich harmonies change with such fluidity through inspired modulations, such that one often feels close to the impressionist universe of Debussy or Ravel. 

Alfred Cortot Florent Schmitt

French pianist Alfred Cortot (1873-1952), photographed with Florent Schmitt (r.) in the early 1950s.

Pianistically, I would say that “virtuosity for virtuosity’s sake” doesn’t interest Florent Schmitt at all; he is one composer for whom each note has a role. Importantly, Schmitt does not “fill to fill.” 

That being said, Schmitt’s writing for the piano is often not easy — but it always makes the instrument sound magnificent once mastered by the performer!

PLN:  In his mélodies, Florent Schmitt most often chose the verses of modern poets to set to music (there is an exception in Pierre de Ronsard). To what extent does Schmitt manage to capture the “essence” of the words in his music?

TR:  The literary knowledge and keen curiosity of the French composers of that time for contemporary poetry is remarkable. I sometimes joke with Cyrille by asserting that the less gifted the composer, the more he or she chooses to set poetry that is ultra-known – even a little rehashed. Conversely, the more talented the composer, the more the choice of poems is a rarity – and sometimes even eclectic. 

In the mélodies of Schmitt that I’ve explored, I find that his relationship to poetry is more “impressionistic” – more in the tradition of Debussy and Caplet and less like that of Fauré. 

Count Robert de Montesquiou

Count Robert de Montesquiou (1855-1924), did not so much live as “perform” his life. (Painting by Giovanni Boldini, 1897)

Indeed, the latter is a kind of French exception; with Fauré, the musical form and structure are beautifully written in keeping with the poem as a whole — but more often than not he seemingly resists having the music bend to every word, or to figuratively illustrate each stanza of the text. Maybe this is out of modesty? (I sometimes feel that Fauré waited until the Mirages, Op. 113 from later in his career to really achieve the figurative in music.) 

On the other hand, Florent Schmitt’s music in Les Barques — taking cues directly from Robert de Montesquieu’s text — is the wind, the water, the bell or the quivering of the leaves. Superb on every level!

PLN:  Did you and your father ever team up for performances or making recordings?

Poulenc piano works Raes Solstice

The 2006 father-and-son Poulenc recording, on the Solstice label.

TR:  Yes! A long time ago we made a recording of piano duet and duo music by Poulenc, on the Solstice label. We also had the opportunity to do concerts together, exploring repertoire from Mozart’s Sonata to Messiaen’s Visions de l’Amen.    

Florent Schmitt Reflets d'Allemagne score

The original printing of the piano duet version of Florent Schmitt’s Reflets d’Allemagne was published by Mathot (1905).

We played so many works, and I remember us reading together Schmitt’s Reflets d’Allemagne as well as Une semaine du petit-elfe Ferme-l’oeil.

But we never had the opportunity to play any Schmitt together in recital — much less make a recording.

The unfortunate fact is that Florent Schmitt’s piano duo repertoire is basically never given in concert; personally I can’t ever remember having seen it programmed anywhere. But through the Florent Schmitt Website you have aroused my curiosity as well as that of other pianists, I’m sure. And that is the first step!

Florent Schmitt Une semaine du petit elfe Ferme l'oeil

The original edition of Florent Schmitt’s piano four-hand composition Une semaine du petit elfe Ferme-l’oeil, composed in 1912.

PLN:  … And how about performing with your brother Florestan?

TR:  My younger brother also performed with my father in a number of sonata concerts. And today it is with a sense of continuity – certainly tinged with sadness but also with enthusiasm – that my brother and I regularly concertize together. This year we will be performing some Mendelssohn [the 1823 Sonata for Violin and Piano] and Lalo.

PLN:  This leads to my next question: In future seasons, what plans might you have to present Florent Schmitt’s music in recital?

Cyrille Dubois Tristan Raes

Tristan Raës and Cyrille Dubois (2023 photo)

TR:  I am in the midst of touring with Cyrille with our program which we’ve titled Maître Fauré, and which includes Les Barques by Schmitt.  We have taken this program to Vevey in Switzerland and to Venice in Italy, to the Philharmonie in Paris as well as the Abbaye de Lessay in Normandy. 

Next, we’re planning to present the program in Montreal, Canada in March, and in more locations after that. 

Florent Schmitt Les Barques score

The score to Florent Schmitt’s early composition Les Barques, composed in 1897 and based on the poetry of Robert de Montesquiou. As with many of his vocal works, Schmitt also orchestrated this piece.

You could say to me that Les Barques is just one mélodie and there are so many others by Florent Schmitt that are just as sublime – and you’d be right. But this was our opportunity to present Schmitt within the larger context of his teacher Fauré and his fellow students. I can tell you that post-concert feedback from the public about this mélodie is dithyrambic every time. People tell me that they cannot believe they don’t already know this wonderful music!

Maitre Faure program Dubois Raes

Richly inspired: The program developed by Cyrille Dubois and Tristan Raës for their Maître Fauré recitals, presented in Europe and North America in 2023-24.

Florent Schmitt Sonate libre

The score to Florent Schmitt’s Sonate libre en deux parties enchaînées, ad modem Clementis aquæ, composed in 1919.

As for Schmitt’s Sonate libre, Florestan and I have not yet tackled it, but it’s certain that performing this work would be a tribute – and an extension of the love our father had for Florent Schmitt as well as for that particular piece.

PLN:  Do the other four mélodies that make up Schmitt’s Poèmes des lacs interest you and Cyrille as well?

TR: Cyrille and I read the entire cycle before extracting Les Barques for our Maître Fauré recitals. (Unfortunately, we could include only one of them because the scope of the concert was about representing all of Fauré’s students – and there were many of them.) 

Les Barques is such an exquisite gem — and I recall my father, hearing me working on this piece one day, who was surprised by the luxuriant harmonic richness of the piece.

He said to me, “Ah, superb! Here we have Florent Schmitt at the top of his game!” 

Florent Schmitt 1900 photo

Florent Schmitt, photographed in 1900 around the time he composed the five pieces that make up the Poèmes des lacs. (Photo: Eugène Pirou)

But to your question more directly, we fully intend to present these Lake Poems in their entirety eventually – and who knows, perhaps one day we will be able to record them. Cyrille and I have recently made new recordings devoted to Beydts and Gabriel Dupont — but Schmitt and Roussel are among our favorites, and we are just beginning with them!

PLN:  As we conclude our conversation, are there any additional observations you’d like to make about Florent Schmitt and his importance to the world of French music?

TR:  As musicians, we must make sure that we don’t ostracize Florent Schmitt. I can tell you from direct personal experience that once people encounter his music, they are delighted!  

Schmitt’s compositions are magnificent in their compositional structure, melody line, harmony and counterpoint. And let’s also not forget his superb talent as an orchestrator, too. The key is to get people into the room, because once they come, they never leave disappointed.

__________________

We are grateful that the musical talents of the Raës family have been focused on bringing to light unjustly neglected gems from France’s “Golden Age” of music. Here’s hoping that Tristan and Florestan Raës will follow in their father Alain’s footsteps in performing and recording more of Florent Schmitt’s fascinating music (with fair dues to tenor Cyrille Dubois as well!).


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