Minimalist Tribute to Darius Milhaud for Piano Solo from Three Minimalist Tributes by Michael Bomier Piano Method - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.862537

Darius Milhaud was NOT a member of the insider's group of Old Guard French composers, epitomized by Debussy and Ravel. Ravel had usupred Debussy's place as the pre-eminent modernist, and he rightly understood it was the duty of the next generation to rebel against his own work, and find their own ways and voices. Hence, Les Six was formed to accomplish this, just as Ravel's Les Apaches, ( not a Native American meaning, but a general reference to being musical warriors) had, by turns, admired, undermined, and then surpassed Debussy. The music here uses Milhaud's best-known contribution to modernity, bi-tonality. It takes the form of arpeggiated augmented major 7th chords played against each other: as the relationship between the chords comes to the tritone, each iteration slows down, but only to De-Emphasize the stark contrast, rather than bring it out. A second section uses mirrored, symmetrical patterns in each hand. The finale concludes with plain triads juxtaposed in a bi-tonal fashion, with the same contrary motion towards the tritone using a ritard and diminuendo. Approx. running time is 4 mins 30 secs. Easy to play, easy to read, not as easy to hear! Pedaling is fully indicated throughout. Debussy never used bi-tonality, and Ravel hinted at it a few times, but it was Milhaud's stock-in-trade. We'll see you on the Roof, with the Cows! Thanks for listening to ( and buying, and playing?! )these three updated French bon-bons. MBB.