New CD: Louis Durey: „Mélodies“ now released 

On June 6, the CD „Louis Durey: Mélodies“ was released as the conclusion of the 10-CD series dedicated to the composers of the Groupe des Six.

He was the outsider of the “Groupe des Six”: Despite an extensive oeuvre and important advocates, Louis Durey is only known to insiders today. Holger Falk and Steffen Schleiermacher dedicate this CD to this eccentric, whose work calls into question many certainties about the music surrounding Cocteau.

Unlike his colleagues, Durey was quite critical of Cocteau’s austerity; he did not share the general disdain for everything “romantic”. And so the lyricists for his songs include not only the usual suspects, but also Rilke and Heine – and indeed Ho Chi Minh!

Durey was also an avowed communist and revolutionary who was involved in the Resistance and wanted to write music for the common people. Did he achieve this with his extremely artistic songs? In any case, his “Vergers” on original texts by Rilke reveal an expressive harmonic richness that comes close to Schoenberg and Messiaen – a far cry from Cocteau’s ideal of a simple tonal language.

This is probably because Durey is so often overlooked when it comes to the “Groupe des Six”. And yet the picture would be incomplete; it is all the more commendable that Falk and Schleiermacher show the entire spectrum of an era in their multi-award-winning series. Here it is, the long overdue rehabilitation of an unjustly forgotten artist.