Tout un monde lointain…
Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013)

THE STORY

French composer Henri Dutilleux’s concerto was composed between 1967 and 1970. Like many works for cello and orchestra from this time period, it was written for the influential Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who sent suggestions and edits for the solo part throughout the compositional process.

The title, which roughly translates to “A whole distant world,” is taken from the poetry of Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867). In the score, each of the five movements is introduced by a line of Baudelaire that inspired it. The concerto is played continuously, without pauses between movements.

LISTEN FOR

• The rolling cymbal and snare drum that begin the piece, introducing the solo cello—quiet and meditative, with short bursts of intensity—in a movement headed with the Baudelaire line “… And in this strange and symbolic nature”
• The interplay in the second movement—when the solo cello ascends, the strings descend and vice versa, in reference to the end of the quotation:“… the poison that flows from your eyes, from your green eyes, lakes in which my soul trembles and sees itself upside down”
• Grueling and difficult solo passages in the third movement, gradually encompassed by the orchestra “… You contain, sea of ebony, a dazzling dream of sails, of rowers, of flames and of masts…”
• The harp in the slow fourth movement that mirrors the chords of the cello and the phrases of the violins: “… Our two hearts will be two large torches that will reflect their double lights in our two spirits, those twin mirrors…”
• The final moments of the work, where the solo cello is left playing alone with a murmuring repeated figure that slowly fades: “Keep your dreams: wise men do not have such beautiful ones as fools!”

INSTRUMENTATION

Piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, three horns, two trumpets, two trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, celesta, strings