Visiting Professor Paul Bempechat, Knighted by the Republic of France
String Trio No. 1 (Jean Cras)
Upon his recognition as a Chevalier de la France, Paul-André Bempechat remembered this:
Just as the instinctive performer can find her- or himself thunderstruck at the discovery of a new work – the arresting slow movement of Schubert’s String Quintet; Gustav Mahler’s Lied, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen; the prophetic slow movement of Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata or the heart-wrenching final movement of Schumann’s C major Fantasy – so can the historian become overwhelmed upon reading the manna-from-heaven which is the correspondence and archives of a near-forgotten composer. In this case, Jean Cras, composer, physicist, a patented inventor, a multi-decorated Admiral for his service to humanity during the Great War, a loving husband and father corresponding daily from afar during lengthy tours of duty.
I am particularly warmed by the fact that in 1994, when I began my research on Jean Cras (Jean Who, snarked typically know-it-all Boston-area scholars), a Google search yielded barely 1,500 hits; today, the search yields a half million. The introductory, 80-page monograph written by his last surviving child, Monique, for the centenary of Cras birth was all that existed on the intellectual side. Several compact discs released by small companies in France and Germany were also available. It was upon hearing the prize-winning recording of Jean Cras String Trio that I became convinced that reviving Cras was as much my calling as performing Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, etc.
Cras’ letters, from 1896, when he was admitted to the Naval Academy, until his death in 1932, form the intellectual autobiography which details his struggle for artistic autonomy away from mainstream trends and the creation of his individual tonal language; they also reflect his extraordinary metamorphosis from religiously bigoted Breton to spiritual humanist, more attached to faith than to his native Catholicism. This came as a result of reading Rabindranath Tagore, posted on the Adriatic coast during wartime, by then 38, and a veteran of numerous tragedies and travesties of war. Cras emerged from the Great War spiritually stronger than at its start. Debussy and Ravel – whom he of course knew and with whom he was compared as an equal – were maimed physically and psychologically. And the root of this was faith…
An almost providential collision of the constellations began to unfold as this book was being created: Dutifully, I would visit Monique Cras every time I visited Paris who, during a visit in late 1998, informed me that a doctoral student at the Sorbonne had requested access to the archives, for which Monique had granted me absolute exclusivity. Access denied. In January 2009, I was dragged to a brutally boring conference at Sorbonne. The theme was music and its effect on life. Indeed. As the hall filled, one seat was left, right beside me. An elegant lady with long blond hair entered and graciously descended the stair case looking for a place to sit. I signaled the lady that the seat beside mine was free. After the customary introductions were concluded, I quickly realized that this was the scholar who’d requested my contact information from Monique. So tonight, with us is Dr. Emmanuèle Goulon, now my lovely wife. Merci, Admiral Cras !