Salon Morisot: Devotion
The Cradle 1873 by Berthe Morisot (the inspiration for ‘Devotion’).
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Salon Morisot is a suite of three miniatures that are inspired by the remarkable artistry of little known female French impressionist artist, Berthe Morisot (1841-1895). Morisot was highly admired by her fellow Impressionist colleagues and her works were exhibited in the very first (and many consequential) Impressionist ‘Salon’ of 1874 (a Salon being an exhibition). Many famous artists held an original Morisot artwork in their private collections including Manet, Monet, Degas and Pissarro. Morisot married Édouard Manet’s younger brother Eugene Manet and her painting styles are regarded as a driving force behind the Impressionist style. The three miniatures in this program are inspired by three Morisot artworks that depict a particular period in her life.
Devotion: inspired by the painting ‘The Cradle’ (1873)
This delicate and revealing artwork again features Morisot’s sister, but this time in a maternal role with her newly born daughter, Blanche. At the time this was painted, Berthe Morisot was 31 years old and unmarried. In her letters to her sister, Berthe was torn between her passion for painting and her desire to marry and become a Mother. The tension displayed in this artwork suggest a Mother’s fatigue and mixed emotions about the daunting task of raising a child. Hence, I have written this work to suggest the cycle of emotions a new parent feels when their child is born including nervousness, joy, intense love and even a little trepidation. The work begins and ends the same way to represent this ongoing succession of sensations that can be felt over the course of a day, a moment, a lifetime, as suggested in the artwork ‘The Cradle’.
This work was commissioned by Clarkston Schools Instrumental Music Association in recognition of Shelley Schwaderer Roland's many years of dedication to the Clarkston School Music Program and the University of Wisconsin (Eau Claire), Director of Bands, Dr. John Stewart.
INSTRUMENTATION: please see perusal score above.
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