 André Jolivet fit de la flûte son instrument favori, écrivant d’abondance pour sa solitude, mais la mariant aussi avec des ensembles divers. Instrument de l’Antique qui illustre chez lui sa veine grecque comme ses inspirations exotiques. Les deux Concertos sont dissemblables : le diatonisme solaire, les couleurs du mariage flûte-cordes un rien Honegger coté « Pastorale d’été » du Concerto de 1949 en font une œuvre sereine, joueuse, alors que le Second (nommé Suite en concert, comme le Premier il ne se compose des quatre mouvements du concert classique) déroule des pièces descriptives, pleines d’effets sonores inédits, vrai laboratoire à ciel ouvert fascinant où la flûte danse dans un arsenal de percussions, et dont les fulgurances où les torpeurs semblent faire écho à un autre chef-d’œuvre français des années soixante, les « Métaboles » d’Henri Dutilleux strictement contemporaines. L’air du temps ? La flûte ombreuse et voluptueuse de José-Daniel Castellon va au cœur des mystères de cette Suite en concert fabuleuse comme il chante dans des teintes solaires la grande pastorale du Premier Concerto, parvenant sans crainte au même degré de perfection qu’y avait imprimé Jean-Pierre Rampal. Belle idée de coupler ces Jolivet avec les deux opus que Frank Martin dévolu à la flûte : la lyrique hivernale de la Ballade a-t-elle été jamais mieux sentie, accompagnée avec un sentiment poétique prégnant par Nicolas Chalvin, et quel plaisir de découvrir la Sonata da chiesa, partition sublime d’une nostalgie dolente, dans l’arrangement que Victor Desarzens en réalisa pour son Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne. Il faut un second volume, José-Daniel Castellon et Nicolas Chalvin se risqueront-ils au grand Concerto d’Antoine Tisné, aux œuvres de Paul Arma ? Ils feraient œuvre utile. (Discophilia - Artalinna.com) (Jean-Charles Hoffelé) One being Swiss, the other one French, both have traveled throughout the twentieth century without really knowing each other, nevertheless they have shared an extraordinary amount of similarities. Even though Frank Martin was 15 years older, they have both perished only one month apart at the end of 1974 and have therefore lived in parallel for almost the whole twentieth century. In the same manner, both received a solid musical education at first and later on seen their parents were opposed to their aspirations in making a living as musicians and therefore obliging their sons to choose, at first, an alternative profession to satisfy their families demands. Both composers display in their music a great deal of mysticism or even fervent faith, which is frankly Christian with Martin and much more esoteric when it comes to Jolivet who was passionate about several thesis of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. They have expressed their spirituality in numerous works that were in terms of form quite conventional for their time (Oratorio, Cantata, Requiem Mass...). However, they have found a way to express it in much more unexpected musical forms, such as Frank Martin’s Sonata da Chiesa to which we will come back later, or Incantations written in 1936, which Jolivet wrote for the Flute alone and whose mystical dimension cannot be missed by anyone nowadays. From a purely musical point of view, either of the two composers have found themselves entirely submerged into any of the so-called avant-garde movements that were predominant in the first half of the twentieth century. Without ignoring the fact that they have both used certain aspects of serialism, they have never completely renounced the concept of tonality and even though they have always stayed attached to the importance of melody, each of them has eventually found their own musical voice that cannot be reduced to any form of neoclassicism. Nonetheless, when considering the incantatory, wild or even violent aspects of André Jolivet’s music, one could consider that he has introduced the concept of Primitivism, if ever this movement even existed in the musical sphere. As most flutists, I am particularly keen on Frank Martin’s music and even more so for André Jolivet’s who has enriched our repertoire. Even though both wrote marvelous pieces for our instrument, their individual approach towards it is quite different.
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