Albert Roussel
Late Romantic · 1869–1937
Albert Roussel came to music late. Born in Tourcoing in northern France in 1869, he first trained as a naval officer and spent years at sea, including a posting to Indochina, before resigning his commission in his mid-twenties to study composition. In Paris he enrolled at the Schola Cantorum under Vincent d'Indy, and he taught there himself while still a student, with Erik Satie among his pupils.
The sea and his travels left traces in his music, but his mature style is lean, rhythmic, and clear, closer to neoclassical crispness than to misty French impressionism. He worked steadily through the 1920s and 30s, writing four symphonies and several ballets, and by the end of his life he was regarded in France as a leading symphonist.
Start with the Symphony no. 3 in G minor, his most often played work, then try the ballet score Bacchus et Ariane.
45 works in the catalog, across 5 genres. Log what you listen to with Opus, the classical music journal for iPhone.
Chamber
- A Glorious Day, op. 48
- Andante and scherzo, for flute and piano, op. 51
- Aria no. 2, for oboe and piano
- Divertissement for piano and wind quintet, op. 6
- Duo for Bassoon and Double Bass
- Fanfare pour un sacre païen, for 4 trumpets and 3 drums
- Impromptu for harp, op. 21
- Joueurs de flûte, for flute and piano, op. 27
- Pipe, for piccolo and piano in D
- Ségovia, for guitar, op. 29
- Sérénade, for flute, violin, viola, cello, and harp, op. 30
- Trio for Flute, Viola and Cello, op. 40
Keyboard
- 3 Pieces, op. 49
- Conte a la poupee, for piano
- Doute, for piano
- L' Accueil des muses, for piano, "Tombeau de Claude Debussy"
- Petit canon perpetuel, for piano
- Piano Sonatine, op. 16
- Prelude and Fugue, op. 46
Orchestral
- Suite in F major, op. 33
- Symphony no. 3 in G minor, op. 42
- Symphony no. 4 in A major, op. 53
- Bacchus et Ariane, Suite no. 2, op. 43
- Bacchus et Ariane Suites
- Concerto for Small Orchestra, op. 34
- Le Marchand de sable qui passe, incidental music, op. 13
- Padmavati Suite no. 1
- Padmavati Suite no. 2
- Petite suite, op. 39
- Piano Concerto in G major, op. 36
- Pour une Fête de printemps, symphonic poem, op. 22
- Rapsodie flamande, symphonic poem, op. 56
- Sinfonietta, for strings, op. 52
- Symphony no. 1 in D minor, op. 7, "Le poème de la forêt"
- Symphony no. 2 in B flat major, op. 23
Stage
- Bacchus et Ariane, op. 43 Ballet
- Aeneas, op. 54 Ballet
- Le Festin de l'araignée, op. 17 Ballet
Vocal
- Coeur en Péril
- Jazz dans la Nuit
- Le Bachelier de Salamanque
- Le Bardit des Francs, for male chorus, brass and ad lib. percussion, "Pharamond"
- Poems by Ronsard, for voice and flute, op. 26
- Psalm 80, for tenor, chorus and orchestra, op. 37
- Vocalise no. 2, for voice and piano
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