20th Century Music: Let’s Talk Cabaret…
Le Boeuf sur le Toit and Les Six’s Darius Milhaud
When I think of the word “cabaret” I immediately think of the musical Chicago or the film Burlesque starring Cher and Christina Aguilera. I imagine bars or nightclubs with song and dance for entertainment. Who knows where I got this image from but I was sure blown away when I took a European Literary-Political Cabaret course at the University of Arizona in Spring 2020. As a performance based musician, I was left confused why the cabaret art style wasn’t taught in music history.
a performance of Le Chat Noir
As the course title suggests, the cabaret scene was an important tool against the social and political climate of the World Wars in Europe. It began with Le Chat Noir in Paris in 1881. You might even recognize the famous poster associated with it (on the left). Cabaret became a meeting place for musicians, composers, and artists to experiment and develop their unique styles. Most bars would be covered with artwork from resident artists, famous singers from around the world would travel to sing in them, and quite a few big name composers had their works performed in them. The content was satire, it was comedy, it was drama, it was art. From Paris, it exploded throughout Europe with some other famous cabaret names being Tingeltangel and The Wild Stage (Germany), Die Fledermaus and Das Nachtlicht (Austria), and Cabaret Voltaire (Switzerland) (just to name a few).
All this talk about cabaret is wonderful but what exactly does it have to do with the Les Six, the composer Darius Milhaud and this “Le Boeuf sur le Toit”?
In 1981, Frank J. Prial wrote “Heyday of Paris’s Le Boeuf, Cradle of Modernism, Re-created at Gallery” in the New York Times. He states in the section “Cocteau is Dominant Figure”:
Le Boef reigned as the headquarters of the Paris avant-garde. After the grim years of the war, Paris exploded in a a frenzy of creativity. It was the time of the composers known as Les Six; a time when a new Diaghilev ballet might combine the talents of Satie, Léger and Blaise Cendrars; when Chevalier reigned in the music halls, Fritz Lang in the film houses and Coco Chanel in the salons de couture.
Prial was reminding the public of Le Boeuf because the Artcurial was going to have an exhibition with “404 paintings, drawing, musical score, photographs, books, and letter by and about the Boeuf sure le Toit circle” on display (last paragraph). If what Prial says to be true that this establishment was “the headquarters of the Paris avant-garde” then why wasn’t it more well-known? And was it truly “‘the center of the universe’ for French artists and composers”? (quoted in above picture) Finally, is it important enough to speak about in the context of 20th century music?
To answer this, I feel it’s necessary to briefly explain Les Six, the composer Darius Milhaud and two versions “Le Boeuf sur le Toit”.
Les Six
Les Six refers to a group of six composers of the Parisian avant-garde scene. The members were Georges Auric (1899–1983), Louis Durey (1888–1979), Arthur Honegger (1892–1955), Darius Milhaud (1892–1974), Francis Poulenc (1899–1963), and Germaine Tailleferre (1892–1983). They were encouraged by composer Erik Satie (1866-1925) and joined by ghost member and writer Jean Cocteau (1889-1963).
Darius Milhaud and Le Boeuf sur le toit Op. 58 (The Ox on the Roof: The Nothing-Doing Bar)
Milhaud is a French composer, conductor, and teacher who is well-known for his use of Brazilian music in his compositions.
In 1920, Le Boeuf sur le toit Op. 58 (The Ox on the Roof: The Nothing-Doing Bar) was composed by Milhaud. The piece is influenced by Brazilian music and quotes at least 30 Brazilian tunes. The piece was completed as a ballet realized by Cocteau (although it is not performed as such today). Daniella Thompson did fantastic research titled “The Boeuf Chronicles: How The Ox Got On The Roof: Darius Milhaud and the Brazilian Sources of Le Boeuf sur le Toit” in which I will provide a link at the end.
Le Boeuf sur le Toit: The Cabaret
This piece inspired the name of the Parisian cabaret, Le Boeuf sur le Toit that was founded by Louis Moysés the following year. It became the hangout for artists and composers and the presence of Les Six inspired Moysés. Patrons included Pablo Picasso, René Clair, Sergei Diaghilev, Maurice Chevalier, Igor Stravinsky, Catherine Sauvage, or Erik Satie to name a few.
With different artists and composers, I think Prail is correct when he says “Le Boef reigned as the headquarters of the Paris avant-garde”. It was a center of Parisian culture. Le Boef lasted for 20 years (which is long for a cabaret). Within those 20 years, it changed locations at least 4 times causing the atmosphere of the cabaret to diminish over time. By the time of its closing, its grandiose opening was a distant memory. I think there is research and questions to be asked of establishments such as this and how they have contributed to 20th century music and art. I don’t think 20th century music existed solely in the concert hall but in bars and other social gatherings. And maybe the answer forward for classical 21st century music can be found there.
Resources:
Article:
“Heyday of Paris’s Le Boeuf, Cradle of Modernism, Re-Created at Gallery: Milhaud’s ‘Cow on the Roof’ Cocteau is Dominant Figure.” by Frank J. Prial found in the New York Times (1923-Current file) Jul 15 1981: 1. ProQuest. 21 Feb. 2021.
