Germaine Tailleferre

French Composer, the Only Female Member in 'Les Six'

Apr 21, 2007 Tel Asiado

The life and works of Germaine Tailleferre, the only woman member of 'Les Six.' She wrote operas, ballets, instrumental music, and film scores.

French composer Germaine Tailleferre (April 19, 1892 – November 7, 1983) was the only female member of ‘Les Six’, a group of French composers influenced by Satie and by Cocteau’s anti-Romantic aesthetic. She is known for her two-piano piece Jeux de plein.

The 'Les Six' French Composers include: Germaine Tailleferre, Georges Auric, Arthur Honegger, Francis Poulenc, Darius Milhaud, and Louis Durey.

Early Years

Germaine Tailleferre was born in Parc-Sait-Maur near Paris. Despite her father’s opposition, she entered Paris Conservatoire in 1904 and studied with Ravel and Koechlin. Before this, she studied under Sautereau-Meyer. Aside from being a composer, she was also a piano prodigy who began to compose at age 5. She had an amazing memory and won numerous prizes.

Early Influence and "Les Six"

At 21, she met some of the future 'Les Six' members Auric, Milhaud and Honegger in their counterpoint classes. One of the older French composers at that time, Eric Satie, was so impressed with her two-piano piece Jeux de plein air that he christened her his 'musical daughter.' It was also Satie who first brought her to prominence as one of his group of Nouveaux Jeunes. In 1920 when 'Les Six' was formed, she became the only female member of the group.

The Princess Edmond de Polignac, impressed by her talents especially ballet Le marchand d'oiseaux, commissioned her a Piano Concerto in 1923-1924. This was successful. Few years later, she visited USA as a pianist and lived in New York during and after World War II.

Tailleferre's Marital Life

She married American caricaturist and author Ralph Barton (1926) and French lawyer Jean Lageat (1931). Unfortunately, both husbands discouraged her from composing, draining her creativity and musical energies. Lacking the proper motivation and support of her husbands prevented her from promoting herself accordingly.

Musical Style

Despite the downside of her private life, she wrote in most genres with neo-Classical fluency, her style showing a graceful spontaneity and tender humour. Although she converted to serialism (12-note technique) at a later stage, she never lost her musical charm. Her talents fitted with the Stravinskian neo-classicism prevailing at that time. She was also influenced by Faure and Ravel. Her most fruitful years were in the 1920s and even more in the 1930s.

Tailleferre's Works

• Violin Sonata no.1 (1924)
• ballets including Marchand d’oiseaux (1923)
• concertino for harp and orchestra (1927)
• orchestral Ouverture (1932)
• operas including Il etait un petit navire (1951)
• musical comedy Parfums (1951)
• harp sonata (1957) for Nicanor Zabaleta
• instrumental
• chamber music

Tailleferre remained devoted to children and their music, a connection which helps explain the charm and spontaneity of her best compositions. She continued to compose until few weeks before her death on November 7, 1983, in Paris.

Sources:

Norton/Grove's Dictionary of Women Composers, ed. by Sadie and Samuel (1994.)

The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music, edited by Stanley Sadie (1994)

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Germaine Tailleferre