"Distinguished artisan,

Roger Bourdin sculpts perfection.

And so "easy-listening"

wins new status

thanks to such reverence and care.

Pierre-Marcel ONDHER

President & Founder of the

French Association "Musique Récréative"

harm, agility, sensuality and virtuosity, meant ie could approach each genre with the same leasure. Ali that mattered was the emotion bc elt, whatever it might be, what he called "the hiver down my spine". A mixerand-matcher f différent styles, his open-mindedness provicri the perfect balance for his passion and ove of life. And yet, perhaps an innocent vicim of his own melting-pot attitude, this atypiai artist bas al] too quickly slipped our minds. t is with immense pleasure that the Association rançaise de la Flûte refreshes our memory hrough a spécial issue of Traversières Magazie, and through re-releases and recordings uch as this one, which coincides with the pas

sing away of Charles Trenet, another artisan of joy. May it bring tc, all generations sonne of the candour, carefree optimism and love of life that characterised this extraordinary musician.

Born in 1923 in Mulhouse, Roger Bourdin îs first and foremost an exceptional flautist. Having studied under Jacques Chalande then Fernand Caratgé, he obtained his Premier Prix in 1939 while in Marcel Moyse's class at the Paris Conservatory. One year later bc joined the Orchestre de lAssociation des Concerts Lamoureux as solo flute, a position bc was to hold for more than 25 years. This formation was in its heyday, acclaimed in concert halls around the world. Roger Bourdin would never forget his extraordinary experiences under the baton of Eugène Bigot or Igor Markevitch. But bc also had, te borrow Fis own expression, another "vice" : the piano. He studied composition while at the Paris Conservatory, where he and Pierre Petit would team up at the piano while the other students danced ! In 1941 bc received a Premier Prix for harmony at the conservatory in Versailles, a town that was to become the focal point of his career : in 1943 bc was appointer] flute teacher at the conservatory there, a position bc was to hold all his life. He was also soloist with the Versailles Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Bernard Wahl. In 1967 he founded the Trio de Versailles with harpist Annie Challan and viola player Colette Lequien. Their recording of Debussy's Sonatal is a masterpiece.

Delighting in music and entertainment in all guises, his career always followed two parallel routes : his recording of Mozart's concerto for flûte and harp with Lily Laskine and Hermann Scherchen features in a 1950s Ducretet-Thomson catalogue alongside Roger Bourdin, ses flûtes et son orchestre, a fiesta of dance music and easy-listening that gives pride of place te, a flute quarte of Bourdin, Pol Mule, Eugène Masson... and Jean-Pierre Rampai ! Robert Hériché, Léon Gamme and Jacques Royer later joined the ranks. Frequently hired as a soloist by the Office de Radiodiffusion et de Télévision Française, bc composed several pieces of background music for radio, television and cinema. An imaginative and creative composer, bc aiso took pleasure in "revisiting" the classics, one of the first to have understood the potential of this practice. And so bc made several delicious albums inspired by Bach (Sweet en si) and Vivaldi, recording two of the composer's Most famous concertos but with completely unexpected and hilarious jazz conclusions ! For Roger Bourdin was aiso an accomplished improvisation musician, amply illustrated by his dazzling flute solo that became the hallmark of Jacques Dutronc's il est cinq heures, Paris s'éveille.

One of the first adepts of re-recording, he worked in close collaboration with flute-maker Jacques Lefevre (or "Jack Leff" as bc good-naturedly called him !). An outstanding piccolo player, Fis renderings of the famous Vivaldi 10

concertos will always merit a special place in his répertoire. Most importantly, "Jack" made his bass flute in C. Described in sonne sleeve notes as "the only one of its kind in the world" - a somewhat exaggerated but nevertheless understandable daim as such an instrument wis then far from commonplace - it enabled him to give different colours te, certain mélodies but also to personally record the different parts of Fis countless adaptations. His incursion into easy-listening by no means diminished his uncompromisingly high standards. Categorical as to the "mise en place" (perfection of ensemble playing) of each pièce, Fis abondant discography offers countless superb examples of his flawless execution.

As a classical musician, bc was somewhat overshaclowed by Jean-Pierre Rampal, although he did lead a remarkable and above all very différent career. Recitals for flute and piano or flute and harpsichord arc noticeable by their absence. Although he never neglected the mal . or pieces for flute and recorded several works with orchestra, bc still preferred anthologies for flute and harp with Annie Challan, or flute and organ with his artistic director Arnauld de Froberville, al[ of which were huge]y popular with the general public. His countless pupils and friends were profouncly affecter! hy his death in 1976, for his cheerfulness and generosity had so touched their lives. From his remarkable "concertlessons" to the marathon garnes of French howls (bc is listed as une

of the top pétanque players!) his life was a succession of magical moments.

Twenty-five years after his death, this tribute to Roger Bourdin (alias "Goidenflute" or "RedMoore"') serves as a reminder that music bas still tu break clown many barriers. These twelve gems, gleaned here and there from among the 200-plus titles of Fis catalogue, superbly illustrate this fact. Anything goes in this wonderfully festive programme, which kicks off with Stac-Flat, a tongue-in-cheek virtuoso piece with which flautists are already familiar. Roger Bourdin even arranged it for ten flutes and four harps as part of a mernorable concert at the Salle Gaveau in 197]2. The exotic Afro-Cuban atmosphère and subtle barmonies of Atlantide (winner of the Grand Prix du Disque in 1952) give way to Bourdinons (a tribute tc, Glenn Miller), the dreamy ambiance of Solitude Vacances and Le Bonheur, the delicate elegance of Capriccioso and the carefree notes of Binic-Stac mamed after Binic in Brittany, our man's favourite holicay destination), not forgetting the humour of Flûte Parade, a riotous parody of a march past to the sound of flutes. A gentle allusion te the Belle Époque, Festival ("Grande Valse Brillante") was created at the Stuttgart International Festival in 1953. Originally for a flute quartet, or for flute and piano, this second version comes as a sort of intermission in the récital. And let us not forget the brilliant Tempête sur les cordes, chosen by the French Flute Orchestra among the great flau

tist's many arrangements. This early 1940s piece, typical of the "recreational music" that was to seduce the public in later years, is one of the bestknown pieces by Lille jazz violinist Michel Warlop', Stéphane Grappelli's first teacher and one of the founders of the "Hot-Club de France".

There could be no greater symbolic tribute than the improvisations that Raymond Guiot himself Fas added, and the tact that the instruments used include two octobass flutes from the workshops of jean-Yves Roosen, another great innovator and successor Io Jacques Lefevre. To complete the picture, Pierre-Yves Artaud wished to add two short pieces for solo flute

1. A Philips recording, re-released as a CD in the "Solo" collection (442-655-2).

2. In a programme entitled Des flûtes et des harpes.

3. A child prodigy, Michel Warlop (191 1-1947) seemed set for an exceptional career as a grcat concert violinist, but rapidly rock the jazz route. He played Wth many différent groups, including the Grégoriens, the Jazz Poste Parisien, and the Chicago Syncopators, and even recorded with Django Reinhardt. A composer and an arranger of

Pan Blessé and La Chanson de Pan. The contrast between such a serions and contemplative mood - one could even say mystical by its mythological inspiration - and the light-heartecness of the other pieces is striking. What makes Roger Bourdin such an exceptional artist is the sincerity vvith which he expresses each one of these compositions. Joyful and nostalgic, playfui and poetic, with sometimes a hint of swing, this (re)discovery of his work will be a pleasure for ail. Charles Trenet would surely have revelled in such happiness.

La Traversier(, Frem li Flute Association FebrUary 2001