His violin saved his life...
August 1914: Renowned violinist Lucien Durosoir (1878-1955) was taking a
break from his busy concert schedule in a small town in Brittany with
his mother, when the world and his life changed forever. In the space of
a two or three days, he was off to the front.
Good luck, his companion throughout four hard years of war, placed him
in a regiment led by officers who loved music, and Lucien was asked to
create a chamber music ensemble. Luck also placed around him other
excellent musicians, and, within a few months they were playing some of
the great chamber music repertoire.
Lucien wrote his first letter to his mother as soon as he got out of the
cattle car and officially became part of the fighting force, and until
the end of the war he wrote at least daily. She, in turn, replied in
lengthy, daily letters, sharing news and offering maternal guidance.
This translation brings the story of these two strong-willed, loving,
troubled, people to the English-speaking world for the first time. It
provides a unique perspective on war, music, and a mother-son
relationship. This is an account of the horrors of the Great War from
someone who managed to create beauty within its gruesome trenches. This
is the first English translation of their letters.
"Lucien Durosoir is not nearly as well-known as a composer in the
English-speaking world as he should be. In the lyricism and sheer beauty
of his music, he can remind the listener of Edward Elgar. But unlike
Elgar, Durosoir was young enough to serve in the trenches of the Great
War. Like millions of his comrades, he was also a prolific letter
writer. The letters between him and his mother, Louise, are elegantly
translated and wonderfully presented here. They present a rich tapestry
of the grim circumstances in and out of the trenches of the Great War.
They also present strategies of survival, physical and emotional, but
also romantic. Elizabeth Schoonmaker Auld has done us a great service by
making these letters available. They can only increase our admiration
for this great composer and exemplary survivor of this horrible
conflict." --Leonard V. Smith, Professor of History, Oberlin College
"These letters provide important first-person perspective on both a
typical and atypical experience of a solider at the front and a musician
fulfilling
national duty. We see the evolving relationship between a mother and a
son, initial optimism, moments of deep grief for lost friends, and more,
all in a highly readable translation."--Joseph T. Acquisto, Professor of
French, University of Vermont
"A professional violinist in his mid-thirties is called to fight in the
'Great War'. Suddenly wrenched from a career and a widowed mother, many
musicians would not have had the strength of character to withstand the
long years of deprivation and trauma. Lucien Durosoir's extended
correspondence with his mother reveals his exceptional courage and
leadership as a soldier, as well as his ingenuity in finding ways to
make music amidst the deprivations of war. Via his vivid descriptive
writing, and Elizabeth Auld's superb translation, we experience the
immediacy of war through the eyes (and ears) of a mature and artistic
spirit. --Linda Laurent, Professor Emerita of Music, Central Connecticut
State University
Literary Nonfiction. Essay. History. Music.
