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Roger Delmotte: Doyen of The French Classical Trumpet: Success in Geneva
Roger Delmotte: Doyen of The French Classical Trumpet: Success in Geneva
Doyen of the
French Classical Trumpet
Success in Geneva
The 6th Geneva International Music Competition 1950 was held for the categories vocal, piano, organ,
violin, clarinet and trumpet. Some 255 candidates from 30 countries applied for the competition, 66
of whom passed the preliminary round and made it to the finals with a public performance.
The jury included, amongst others, Igor Markevitch, Eugène Bigot and trumpet virtuoso
Paolo Longinotti (1913 – 1963).
Three test pieces had to be performed for the competition - the brand-new contemporary
trumpet intrada by Arthur Honnegger (published in 1947 and written for the Paris Conservatory
Concours), the Gavotte de Concert by Heinrich Sutermeister (published in 1950) and the Joseph
Haydn trumpet concerto - to demonstrate musical excellence, finesse and proficiency.
Arthur Honegger Intrada for trumpet in C and piano in B flat major
(H. 193), 1947
For preparing the Haydn trumpet concerto, only very few recordings were available at that time:
- George Eskdale (1897 – 1960), recorded in 1939 (2nd and 3rd movement only)
- Harry Mortimer (1902 – 1992), recorded in 1946
Roger Delmotte used the Harry Mortimer 78 rpm recording (Columbia DX 1535-36) to prepare the
Haydn part of the Geneva competition.
Pierre Cox (1929 - 2014) and Edgard Dewulf (1926 - 2009), both from Belgium, were Roger
Delmotte’s competitors in Geneva. It was Delmotte’s interpretation of the Haydn Andante
(“Merci Monsieur Foveau”) and his performance of the Honegger Intrada that won him the contest.
L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under the direction of Ernest Ansermet, an ardent advocate of the
competition, accompanied the finalists in the closing concert that was broadcasted by Swiss radio
stations.
He was a brilliant ambassador for the traditional and new French trumpet repertoire of the 20th
century and a doyen for the French classical trumpet. Roger Delmotte was at home in all genres of
music.
Education
As a young boy, Roger Delmotte started out playing piccolo
flute, performing fanfares and harmonies in Roubaix. He soon
switched from flute to flugelhorn and took
trumpet lessons at the conservatory of his
hometown Roubaix. His first trumpet teacher
in Roubaix was Maurice Leclercq, a former Merri Franquin student.
In France, the fast track for studying the trumpet is attendance of the
Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris,
where Roger Delmotte enrolled in 1944.
Eugène Foveau
Professor of Trumpet at
1944, Roubaix Studied with Maurice Leclercq CNMD Paris 1925 - 1957
(1st prize CNMD 1911)
1944 Prix d’Honneur Roubaix
1946 1st prize Roubaix
1944 – 1946, Paris Student of Eugène Foveau (1886 – 1957)
1950 1st prize Geneva
1951 - 1986 Paris Opera Orchestra
« L’archet à la corde »
With these words Maître Foveau adapted and
translated string techniques to trumpet. Learning from
strings, woodwinds and singers was an important
aspect of Eugène Foveau’s educational approach. Eugène Foveau students
Photo Thierry Caens
“Foveau possédait une emission et un sens du phrasé exceptionnels digne des meilleurs violinistes
(il avait joue du violon)” quotet Roger Delmotte on his teacher Foveau.
He developed Roger Delmotte’s sound, the attaque and the finesse required to perform in all
categories. For one year, in 1951, Eugène Foveau and Roger Delmotte became colleagues and shared
the orchestra pit in the Paris opera.
André Jolivet (1905 – 1974), a French avant-garde composer, was influenced by Debussy, Ravel,
Stravinsky and Messiaen. He also admired Arnold Schönberg and Edgar Varèse, with whom Jolivet
shared an obvious relish for the piercing sonorities of the brass instruments, especially the trumpet.
In 1933 Varèse had given Jolivet this advice: “Not too many notes. Make the piece concise...
The more you add, the more you restrict the chances for the sounds to open out and project
themselves. They lose their power to make their mark and to free themselves.”
André Jolivet 2nd concerto for trumpet combined the trumpet with two saxophones to emphasize the
jazz-like sonority along with 14 different percussion instruments.
Roger Delmotte advised Jolivet on the Concerto No. 2 which Jolivet described as his “little ballet for
trumpet.” Jolivet’s Second Trumpet Concerto, one of the composer’s best-known works today,
was premièred by Raymond Tournesac in Vichy on 5th September 1956 under the direction of
Louis de Froment. Roger Delmotte recorded it for the Columbia label with the Orchestre
National de la Radiodiffusion Française with André Jolivet as conductor.
Roger Delmotte’s recordings of Jolivet trumpet works were honored with the Grand Prix du Disque in
1954, 1957 and 1958.
1953 Concertino pour trompette, orchestre à cordes et piano, 1948
Dir. Ernest Bour, Grand Prix du disque 1954
The new generation came along, with Thierry Caens as 1st cornet from 1982 to 1986 and Bernard
Gabel joining the section as well. On trombone there were Gabriel Masson (1st solist), André Lafosse
(2nd solist), Roger Tudescq and Roger Rouyer, and on horn Jackie Magnardi and Michel Bergès .
Roger Delmotte worked with such conductors as Serge Baudo, Roberto Benzi, Pierre Boulez,
Ernest Bour, André Cluytens, Pierre Devevey, Roland Douatte, Jean Doussard, Robert Dunand,
Louis Fremaux, Louis de Froment, Maurice Hewitt, Paul Kuentz, Fernand Oubradous,
Francis Poulenc, J. F. Paillard, Georges Prêtre, Karl Ristenpart, Manuel Rosenthal,
Hermann Scherchen, Günter Wand and Bernard Wahl.
In 1952 Roger Delmotte was the trumpet soloist for the Serge Roger Delmotte performing the
Baudo recording of the Joseph Haydn Concerto and the Haydn Concerto
Leopold Mozart trumpet concerto; it was around the same Orchestra Dir. F. Oubradous
time in which Helmut Wobisch recorded the Joseph Haydn Photo: Guy Bardet
trumpet concerto in Vienna.
1952: Serge Baudo - J. Haydn and Nov 1954: Hermann Scherchen
L. Mozart trumpet concertos J.S. Bach Concertos Brandenbourgeois
Contrepoint MC 20.117 Club Français du Disque CFD 34
Roger Delmotte performed the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 after his success in Geneva with the
ensemble de Nadia Boulanger conducted by Fernand Oubradous. Roger Delmotte used a trumpet
in F from Eugene Foveau. In the final movement he used his standard trumpet in C.
The Club Français du Disque recorded the Brandenburg Concerto in November 1954
with a formation de chambre de l'Orchestre des Cento Soli and Hermann Scherchen conducting.
The soloists of Brandenburg Concerto no. 2 were Georges Tessier, violin; Lucien Lavaillote, flute;
Robert Casier, oboe and Roger Delmotte, trumpet in F.
Delalande’s Symphonies pour les Soupers du Roy form one of the most famous works in the French
musical patrimony. These symphonies are one of the best-known works of French baroque
instrumental music. The Collegium Musicum de Paris under Roland Douatte pioneered in the 50ties
french baroque music with Roger Delmotte on solo trumpet.
French Baroque
Trumpet Organ
In 1968, together with his friend, the organist
Pierre Cochereau (1924 - 1984), Roger Delmotte
brought the trumpet together with the organ.
It was natural to combine organ pipes and the
trumpet, since both produce sounds through air
streams. Roger Delmotte’s approach was to
blend in with the organ, employing the sound of
the trumpet sound as a special register
of the organ.
Trumpet and organ recitals became very
popular from this time on.
Roger Delmotte and Pierre Cochereau
Pierre Cochereau and Roger Delmotte performed their first concert in the Cathedral of Strasbourg,
followed by trumpet and organ recitals at Notre-Dame Paris and in large French cities. By putting a
portable positif organ on a trailer of the car (an organ made by Philippe Hartmann), they brought
trumpet and organ music to small villages and to places which had none of their own or only a poorly
maintained one. Pierre Cochereau and Roger Delmotte did such touring for fifteen years, performing
mostly Baroque programs.
With John Grady, the organist of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City (1970-1990), Roger
Delmotte gave concerts all over Europe and they embarked on a concert tour to Turkey together.
A Chamber Musician
Performances of Roger Delmotte as a chamber musician spanned works from the Renaissance
through music of the twentieth century.
In the early 50s under the direction of Pierre Devevey, the Ensemble d’instruments ancient and a
brass ensemble promoted a repertoire from medieval and Renaissance areas.
They released several modern-instrument recordings with the pitch of 20th century orchestra and
the knowledge of historical practice of that time. Development of period instruments and research
on historically music practice was just at the beginning.
Pierre Devevey released the first recording with works from Girolamo Fantini and contemporaries
in 1952. Fantini was the greatest trumpet player of the 17th century, his “Modo per imparare a
sonare di tromba”, printed in 1638, was one of the first instrumental performing methods.
The major part of Fantini’s method is devoted to works for one or two solo trumpets with
continuo accompaniment. Fantini opened the door for trumpet into art music.
One of the last recordings Karl Ristenpart issued in cooperation with his chamber orchestra of the
Saarländischer Rundfunk was the Marcel Bitsch/Claude Pascal edition of J.S. Bach’s
Art of the Fugue. It was recorded on June 16-19, 1966, by Club Français du Disque, and issued in US
on a Nonesuch 2-LP set. Karl Ristenpart regarded this recording as a sort of personal legacy.
Trumpet Masters
L2R: Roger Delmotte, Maurice André,
Georges Jouvin, Marcel Lagorce
Source: Gazette des Cuivres * 26 october 2016
Maurice André was still a student at the Paris Superior Conservatory
when he recorded the concerto for 2 trumpet, strings and Continuo in C Major, RV 537. Roger
Delmotte played first trumpet, Maurice André was 2nd trumpet, Roland Douatte conducted the
Collegium Musicum de Paris. The recording was issued 1952, label Symposium.
A Recording Artist
In May 1985, Alvin Lowrey and Michel Laplace provided a discography
for Roger Delmotte as a supplement to the ITG Journal outlining more
than 50 trumpet recordings.
A Trumpet Pedagogue
Theo Charlier:
36 Etudes for trumpet
Edited by Roger Delmotte
Roger Delmotte was an influential mentor for many trumpet students, among them
Nicolas André, Guy Bardet, Michel Blanc, Robert Bouché, Roger Boufferet, Alain Cambon,
Antoine Curé, Dominique Derasse, Pierre Dutot, Albrecht Eichberger, Michel Gandolfo,
Roger Jeanmarie, René Maze, Manu Mellaerts, Gérard Millière, Elisabeth Nouaille-Degorce,
René Périnelli, Jean-Luc Ramecourt, Jean Sibra, Rudi Scheck, Olivier Theurillat, Marc Ullrich,
Pascal Vigneron and Urban Walser.
More than 400 trumpet students were educated by Roger Delmotte at the Conservatoire CNR de
Versailles between 1950 and 1984. He served as Directeur Artistique of the International Toulon
Trumpet competition from 1974 to 2000.
Roger Delmotte shared his trumpet skills with young trumpet students in trumpet master classes in
France, Austria, Switzerland and Japan.
Roger Delmotte collaborated with the Antoine Courtois instrument maker to improve trumpets.
A special series of trumpets were signed with “R. Delmotte” on the lead pipe and on the bell.
Roger Delmotte used the first medium-large V. Bach trumpet at the Opera Paris.
The following trumpets did he played during his professional life:
Aubertin C trumpet
Lefevre cornet (owner Paul Chaine)
Millerau D trumpet (for Mozart, Bach Suites, Stölzel …)
Courtois E-flat/D trumpet
Schilke trumpet, C and B, E-flat, Schilke/G. Mager mouthpiece
Piccolo: Courtois, Scherzer/Augsburg
Personal notes
Roger Delmotte was honored with
Chevalier des Arts & Lettres (1965)
Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (1972)
Officier de l’Ordre National du Mérite (2001)
The International Trumpet Guild honored him with the ITG Honorary Award in 2011
Roger Delmotte was born September 20, 1925 in Roubaix, France. He now resides in
Versailles near Paris and in Switzerland.
Soundfiles and Clips
Gounod Faust
Chorus & Orchestra of the Théâtre National de l'Opera, Paris
Andre Cluytens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIQWjSIsDf8
Händel Watermusic
Roger Delmotte, Arthur Haneuse, trp
Hermann Scherchen, Vienna State Opera Orchestra,
Westminster, 1960
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AN3L33gWZE
Rhapsodie à sept
Orchestre de l'Association des Concerts Colonne , André Jolivet,
Columbia, 1958
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Feiq_x724x0