''Les Djinns'' FWV 45 is a

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ( ...

for piano and orchestra by

César Franck César Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of h ...

Composition

The pianist Caroline Montigny-Rémaury had asked for a short piano and orchestra piece, but she never played the work that Franck composed in the summer of 1884. It was premiered 15 March 1885 by

Louis Diémer Louis Joseph Diémer (14 February 1843 – 21 December 1919) was a French pianist and composer. He was the founder of the Société des Instruments Anciens in the 1890s, and also gave recitals on the harpsichord. His output as a composer was exten ...

as the pianist, in a concert at the Société Nationale de Musique. The work is inspired by the eponymous poem in '' Les Orientales'' by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

. The latter often inspired Franck (melodies, and his first symphonic poem ''Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne'', composed in 1847–1848, at the same time as the

work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an ani ...

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

from the same inspiration). Franck takes up the idea of the mysterious and supernatural forces tearing the nocturnal sky through their passage, and especially the singular rhythm of Hugo's poem, rising from calm into a sonorous storm, before falling back into the silence of the night. The piano part is very virtuosic, and Franck so liked Diémer's interpretation of this difficult score that he wrote his '' Variations symphoniques'' for Diémer, also for piano and orchestra, marking Franck's renewed interest in this instrument.

References

External links

* * , 1995: Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra, Roberto Benzi (conductor), François-Joël Thiollier (piano), animated score
César Franck – ''Les Djinns''
on La Musique classique
FRANCK: ''Variations symphoniques / Les Djinns''
on Qobuz {{DEFAULTSORT:Djinns, Les Symphonic poems by César Franck 1885 compositions Compositions for piano and orchestra Variations Music based on poems Compositions in F-sharp minor Jinn in popular culture Music based on works by Victor Hugo