A Personal Journey with Henriette Renieby Odette de Montesquiou, edited by Jaymee Haefner

Editors note: The following is an excerpt from The Legend

of Henriette Renie by Odette de Montesquiou, edited

byfaymee Haefner, translated by Robert Kilpatrick and

published by AuthorUouse. © 2006 by jaymee Haefner,

editor. Used with permission.

This chapter was written from Odette de Montesquiou's

perspective.

I ll 1920, the French government gave Henriette Renieand Camille Chevillard the responsibility of making

a French propaganda tour in the Rhineland after WorldWar 1. The orchestra was composed of Germans whowere not very enthusiastic about performing a requiredconcert. Impassive at the beginning, they were movedby the passion of the artist, and at the end of the concertthey gave her an endless ovation.

About this time in 1920,1 was overcome by a deepattraction to the harp and 1 insisted that I be allowed tolake it up. My mother, an avid musician, had often heardher pupil Nicole Delomne speak of Henriette Renie. Shedecided one day to bring me to Nicolo Street, whereRenie lived at that time. When she came into the roomwhere we waited, I was impressed at once by her strongpersonality. Her voice and her gaze revealed a warm,vibrant being. After she questioned me, she began tounderstand my love for the harp. In spite of our greatdifference in age, this was the beginning of an immediateunderstanding which would continue to develop overihe years.

Along with her remarkable teaching, 1 had the greatjoy of discovering her inspiration and her inner vitalityHer passionate love of God drove her to seek out thesource of all beauty, but 1 only came to know this littleby Uttle.

During our first years of work together, she helpedme discover the instrument and the art. She soon hadme take part in her group courses, which I previouslydescribed. These were frightening courses, for nothingescaped her sharp ear.

During her private lessons, her teachmg became evenmore intense. I learned how to discover all the richnessof the instrument from which she drew a thousandvaried timbres. Time ceased to exist when she focusedon seeking out the ways for you to improve a phrase,avoid a buzz, or find the precise stroke to be given to astring so that the desired sound could be produced.

With the execution of a piece on stage, the study ofher interpretation, and the search for perfection of style.

unforgettable moments were engendered; like a statuebeneath the fingers of the sculptor, the piece changedshape and came alive with relief and movement. Shewould work a passage with demanding intensity untilshe arrived at the perfection she sought to communicateto you.

The preparation of my first recital was an opportunityto know Mile Renie better still and to discover thespiritual asceticism through which she needed to passbefore performing in public. She aimed at reachingperfection, but felt herself to be, like all great artists, atthe mercy of the slightest mistake which would preventher from reaching it. She thus knew the anguish of stagefright, but she was able to surmount it by a deep act ofhumility At the time of performance, she consideredherself to be an empty vessel, after wanting to possessintelligence, memory, and musical cornprehension; shebelieved that her talent and her gifts belonged to Godand that she had to give them back to Him, their creativesource.

Renie enjoyed the success she obtained, the ovationsand the compliments, but inside, she did not accept thecredit for them.

At the time of a concert which she gave in SalleGaveau on April 2, 1943, which I was unable to attend,she wrote me a letter discussing her state of mind before,during and after the concert. Here are some passages.which offer a glimpse of the source of her greatness:

The better I felt, the more ! felt myself to be in full"bloom," the more I would suffer and choke up whilethinking about the audition of April 2 . . . Naturally'/ wanted to have intelligence, memory, musicalcomprehension, mechanics, an uplifted soul and beautyof expression. I would have instinctively' wished thatall my work and all of my achievements were mine,with the divine ^fts to do what I desired on Apnl 2. Yetthe presence of God is behind all of them. The gifts aretalents that were made to bear fruit; both of them belongto God, and I have known this for a long time... andyet it should be believed that I had forgotten these. And(finally) I have given everything, this entire burden ofintellectual, spiritual, and other wealth . . . In truth J didnot even so much give them as "return" them to Him whoalone possesses.

SUMMER 2007 49

Renie at eleven In 1923

Theodore Dubois's class at the Paris Conservatoire

During World War Composihg

In 1943

Renie at five

Rehi6's hands

All photographs from the Henriette Renie and Frangoise des Varennes Papers, Music Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham YoungUniversity, Provo, Utah.

THE AMERICAN HARPJOURNAE

The Secret of True Talent

A nother time, Renie wrote to me;'

In my opinion, one "takes" the audience in three ways.The first is through dazzling virtuosity, like Mr. Diemer^... not thraugh the heart, but through breathtakinglysure virtuosity: for example, through confident musicalquality with no emotion.

The second i s . . . thraugh bad taste, seeking out the effectwhich makes the public swoon; one descends towardit and .seefo only his success, without concern for theartistic beauty of the work.

The third is passion, which entices the audience with anirresistible dynamism by ^ving oneself the generositywith which one delivers all that one possesses.Believe me, in m_y_youth, I wandered aimlessly withincertain passages that I played. Of course, these alwaysremained musical, and I would recover courageouslyafterward (which did not prevent becoming fwious)and in such a way as to stir up a crowd. Being wellknown at one time of my life, I wanted greater masteryof what I was doing. In 1903 a newspaper critiqueread, "Admirable interpretation without ostentation ofConcertstuck by Piernd." At the time, I was content,but I later understood the danger of this statement.Admittedly, it is necessary to prepare everythingthoroughly and to be able to control what one does whenone works, in public, however, it is necessaiy to do awaywith personality and to think of nothing but the piecewhich one wants to understand and to convey, with thedesire to lift hearts toward the beauty of the music and tonot flatter the audience.

She wrote another letter to me before a concert whichI was to give. She found my program too easy and shefeared that 1 was satisfied to seek oniy the safety in theexecution, the musical quality and perfection.

One should not be satisfied with "perfection," witheverything being in its proper place. I don't care aboutthat. One must have generosity, passion, sensitivity andspirit. One must be able to give oneself, to give part ofoneself, or what one has received; to be lacking enoughin those little ready-made ideas called "inspiration." Toobad if it makes people tremble and if it moves them. Oneonly gives what one has.

1 Renie wrote these letters to Odette de Montesquiou.—Ed.

2 Mile Renie is probably referring to Louis-Joseph Diemer,who was a well-respected pianist at the Paris Conservatoire inthe nineteenth century. He was known for precision and purityin his virtuosic performances.—Ed.

The following quote shows that Renies concept

of style was nevertheless demanding, requiring the

self-effacement of the artist before the work that is

performed:

I would readily say that style is the work, in its simpletruth. I agree that the artist reveals it in his heart andthrough his own interpretation. However, the more thathe can refrain from this so that the listeners jorget him inorder to listen to the work in its own beauty as if it werevery simple, the more he nears perfection. Feeling this, 1wonder if I will be able to play this beautiful Quartet (inG minor by Mozart). Ah! What a beautiful voyage artis, my dear It is a voyage of discovery where one alwaysdiscovers unexplored shores.

About the author:Odette de Montesquiou was one of the most faithful formerdisciples of Henriette Renie, as well as a member ofRenii'sharp sextet.

About tbe editor:A faculty member at theUniversity of North Texas,Jaymee Haefner has completedher doctorate in harp at IndianaUniversity. She is an activeperformer both in the U.S. andabroad. ^

Patricia John

The Pantile Press252S Eastsldfl Lsns, Houston. Texas 77019

Tel: (713) 524-9717 FAX: (713) 524-3078

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SUMMER 2007