Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger (1892–1955) was a Swiss composer, born in France and long based in Paris. A member of Les Six, he wrote oratorios, symphonies, film scores and chamber music, including the solo flute staple Danse de la chèvre.
His name was made by large-scale works such as the dramatic psalm Le Roi David, the locomotive study Pacific 231, and the oratorio Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher. He composed widely for stage and cinema, and left a leaner chamber catalogue in which Danse de la chèvre (1921) remains a fixture of the flute repertoire. His language was more serious and architecturally driven than the lighter Parisian manner often linked with his circle, marked by polyphony, rhythmic energy and a clear sense of form.
Compositions by Arthur Honegger appear on
Kuri: Romantic Flute
Australian–Japanese flautist Masahide Kurita (“Kuri”) offers Romantic virtuoso works for solo flute and flute with piano, with Len Vorster. The selection includes Nielsen’s Fantasy Pieces, the Donizetti Sonata, Lemmoné’s Graceful Dance and Honegger’s Danse de la chèvre.