Tout un monde lointain...


Tout un monde lointain... is a concertante work for cello and orchestra composed by Henri Dutilleux between 1967 and 1970 for Mstislav Rostropovich. It is considered one of the most important 20th-century additions to the cello repertoire and several major cellists have recorded it. Despite the fact that the score does not state that it is a cello concerto, Tout un monde lointain... has always been considered as such.
Each of the five movements was inspired by the poetry of Charles Baudelaire, and the overall feel of the work is mysterious and oneiric. A typical performance runs approximately 27 minutes.

Composition

The work was initially commissioned by Igor Markevitch for the Concerts Lamoureux and Mstislav Rostropovich around 1960. Occupied with other projects, Dutilleux only completed the concerto in 1970. Since Markevitch had left the Concerts Lamoureux in 1961, Rostropovich was accompanied for the premiere by the Orchestre de Paris, conducted by Serge Baudo, at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence. The cello part was edited by the Russian cellist and published with his fingerings.

Instrumentation

In addition to the solo cello part, the concerto is scored for two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, three horns, two trumpets, two trombones, tuba, celesta, harp, timpani, percussion, and strings.

Form

The piece has five movements, each bearing a title and a quotation from a poem from Les fleurs du mal, by Charles Baudelaire. Dutilleux began to work on Baudelaire's poetry on Roland Petit's advice.
The title of the score itself is a quotation from the poem La chevelure: "Tout un monde lointain, absent, presque défunt" which is included in Les fleurs du mal. Moreover, each movement is prefaced by a quotation from Baudelaire.
There is no break or pause between the movements.

Description

Discography