creation : 10.07.1972 (Opus 1 composed in 1946)
duration : 19′
musicians : 3 percussionists
CENDRES for three percussion ensembles – Opus 1- 1946 –
was performed in part under the direction of André GIRARD at the recital : « War and Poetry », organized by Henry PICHETTE and Jean-Louis BARRAULT at the Odéon Theatre in 1961, thanks to Maurice ROCHE who had know the piece since 1948.
It was also partially performed, with the composer as conductor, for the film on Claude BALLIF in the series « The man and his music » by P. WOLZINSKY and J.TREBOUTA in 1969. It was the request of F.PIGEAUD, General Secretary of the French Youth orchestras, that the « Percussions de Strasbourg » gave the first full public performance of CENDRES at the Festival du Marais (Paris) in July 1972, since when it has remained on their repertoire.
A work for three small percussions orchestras, CENDRES was composed in Bordeaux in 1946 and dedicated to the memory of all the war dead. The parts are :
1. Shock
2. Litany Rage
3. Contemplation (corpses, lost souls)
4. Dies Irae
5. Choral for the dead
« There is nothing more apt for expressing the silence of grief than unadorned percussion » wrote Claude BALLIF in 1968 (Revue Musicale N°263).