Tristan Klingsor
Encyclopedia
Tristan Klingsor, birth name (Arthur Justin) Léon Leclère (born Lachapelle-aux-Pots, Oise
department, 8 August 1874; died Paris
, August 1966), was a French poet
, musician, painter and art critic, best known for his artistic association with the composer Maurice Ravel
.
His pseudonym
, combining the names of Wagner
's hero Tristan (from Tristan und Isolde) and his villain Klingsor (from Parsifal), indicates one aspect of his artistic interests, though he said that he chose the names because he liked the "sounds" they made, the associations with Arthurian and Breton legends he had read as a child, and that there were already too many literary men in Paris with the surname Leclere. Some of his "orientalist" poems are addressed to a mysterious "jeune étranger," possibly symbolising his gay
orientation, although he did marry in 1903, and had a daughter two years later. His first collection, Filles-fleurs (1895), was in eleven-syllable verse. After this he often used a personal form of free verse
. He was a member of the Fantaisiste group of French poets. Certain of his poems were set to music by composers including Charles Koechlin
, Georges Hüe
and Georges Migot
, and he is best remembered as providing the texts for Ravel’s song cycle
Shéhérazade
(1903). He and Ravel belonged to the Paris
avant-garde
artistic group known as Les Apaches
for whose meetings he was sometimes the host. He recorded his long acquaintance with the composer in an essay, "L'Époque Ravel".
Klingsor was also a painter (exhibiting from 1905 at the Salon d'Automne
and being awarded the Prix Puvis de Chavannes
in 1952). His visual art was reviewed twice by Guillaume Apollinaire: In 1906, he called Klingsor's attempts "Merde!" but in 1908, he was kinder, stating: "Klingsor animates his painting with the same sentimental delicacy that gives his poetry its somewhat contrived, dated charm. For my part, I prefer the poet to the painter.” He was also the author of several studies on art, and a composer in his own right, with several collections of melodies, four-part songs, and piano music.
Oise
Oise is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise.-History:Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
department, 8 August 1874; died Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, August 1966), was a French poet
French poetry
French poetry is a category of French literature. It may include Francophone poetry composed outside France and poetry written in other languages of France.-French prosody and poetics:...
, musician, painter and art critic, best known for his artistic association with the composer Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
.
His pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
, combining the names of Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's hero Tristan (from Tristan und Isolde) and his villain Klingsor (from Parsifal), indicates one aspect of his artistic interests, though he said that he chose the names because he liked the "sounds" they made, the associations with Arthurian and Breton legends he had read as a child, and that there were already too many literary men in Paris with the surname Leclere. Some of his "orientalist" poems are addressed to a mysterious "jeune étranger," possibly symbolising his gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
orientation, although he did marry in 1903, and had a daughter two years later. His first collection, Filles-fleurs (1895), was in eleven-syllable verse. After this he often used a personal form of free verse
Free verse
Free verse is a form of poetry that refrains from consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern.Poets have explained that free verse, despite its freedom, is not free. Free Verse displays some elements of form...
. He was a member of the Fantaisiste group of French poets. Certain of his poems were set to music by composers including Charles Koechlin
Charles Koechlin
Charles Louis Eugène Koechlin was a French composer, teacher and writer on music. He was a political radical all his life and a passionate enthusiast for such diverse things as medieval music, The Jungle Book of Rudyard Kipling, Johann Sebastian Bach, film stars , travelling, stereoscopic...
, Georges Hüe
Georges Hüe
Georges Adolphe Hüe was a French composer of classical music.-Biography:Hüe was born in Versailles into a noted family of architects. His musical education included studies with Charles Gounod and César Franck. In 1879, he won the Prix de Rome with his cantata Médée...
and Georges Migot
Georges Migot
Georges Migot was a prolific French composer. Though primarily known as a composer, he was also a poet, often integrating his poetry into his compositions, and an accomplished painter...
, and he is best remembered as providing the texts for Ravel’s song cycle
Song cycle
A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a single entity. As a rule, all of the songs are by the same composer and often use words from the same poet or lyricist. Unification can be achieved by a narrative or a persona common to the songs, or even, as in Schumann's...
Shéhérazade
Shéhérazade
Shéhérazade is the title of two works by the French composer Maurice Ravel.Shéhérazade, ouverture de féerie, written in 1898 but unpublished, is a work for orchestra intended as the overture for an opera of the same name...
(1903). He and Ravel belonged to the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
artistic group known as Les Apaches
Les Apaches
Les Apaches or was a group of French musicians, writers and artists which formed around 1900. Members of the group included:* Edouard Benedictus, painter and composer* M.D...
for whose meetings he was sometimes the host. He recorded his long acquaintance with the composer in an essay, "L'Époque Ravel".
Klingsor was also a painter (exhibiting from 1905 at the Salon d'Automne
Salon d'Automne
In 1903, the first Salon d'Automne was organized by Georges Rouault, André Derain, Henri Matisse, Angele Delasalle and Albert Marquet as a reaction to the conservative policies of the official Paris Salon...
and being awarded the Prix Puvis de Chavannes
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes was a French painter, who became the president and co-founder of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts and whose work influenced many other artists.-Life:...
in 1952). His visual art was reviewed twice by Guillaume Apollinaire: In 1906, he called Klingsor's attempts "Merde!" but in 1908, he was kinder, stating: "Klingsor animates his painting with the same sentimental delicacy that gives his poetry its somewhat contrived, dated charm. For my part, I prefer the poet to the painter.” He was also the author of several studies on art, and a composer in his own right, with several collections of melodies, four-part songs, and piano music.
List of writings
- Filles-Fleurs, poems, Mercure de FranceMercure de FranceThe Mercure de France was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group....
, 1895 - Squelettes fleuris, poems, Mercure de France, 1897
- L’Escarpolette, poems, Mercure de France, 1899
- La Jalousie du Vizir, story, Mercure de France, 1899
- Le Livre d'Esquisses, poems, Mercure de France, 1900
- Schéhérazade, poems, Mercure de France, 1903
- Petits métiers des rues de Paris, prose, 1904
- La Duègne apprivoisée, comedy, 1907
- Le Valet de Cœur, poems, Mercure de France, 1908
- Les caprices de Goya, critical essay, 1909
- Les Femmes de théâtre au XVIIIe siècle, 1911
- Poèmes de Bohème, poems, Mercure de France, 1913
- Hubert Robert et les paysagistes français du XVIIIe siècle, 1913
- Les derniers-états des lettres et des arts : la peinture, 1913
- Chroniques du Chaperon et de la Braguette, poems, 1913
- La Peinture (L’art français depuis vingt ans), Rieder, Paris, 1921
- Humoresques, poems, 1921
- L'Escarbille d'or, poems, Chiberre, Paris, 1922
- La Peinture (L’art français depuis vingt-cinq ans), Rieder, Paris, 1922
- Cézanne, Rieder, Paris, 1923
- Chardin, collection Maîtres Anciens et Modernes, Nilsson, Paris, 1924
- Essai sur le chapeau, Les Cahiers de Paris, 1926
- Léonard de Vinci (Maîtres de l'art ancien), Rieder, Paris, 1930
- Poèmes du Brugnon, 1933
- Mesures pour rien, in Poésie 42, 1942
- Cinquante Sonnets du Dormeur éveillé, 1949
- Florilège poétique, poems selected by Georges Bouquet and Pierre Menanteau, L’Amitié par le livre, Blainville-sur-Mer, 1955
- Album, 1955
- Claude Lepape, 1958
- Le Tambour voilé, Mercure de France, 1960
- Second florilège, with illustrations by the poet, 1964
- Maisons Aloysius, 1964
- L’Art de peindre, collection Initiations, Braun, Paris
- Poèmes de la princesse Chou, 1974