Gomez de Riquet

The reason I'm posting this is so I remember it.  A long time ago I found out that if I just wrote something down, the mere act of writing, would cause stuff to stick in my head, so I'm hoping this will. 

Gomez de Riquet was a imaginary "person" and that's where this started.  I ran into the name just pawing around this morning.  We all have a Gomez de Riquet; "Oh, I'm sorry I can't make dinner tonight, Gomez de Riquet needs to see me on some business".... (just a note that there are more than a few Gomez de Riquet's on Facebook).

About a century ago, a group of artists formed a little society call Les Apaches - obviously an Indian reference but also a slang term for hooligan as they were something of the Paris equal to the East Village set in the 50s (perhaps).  Members of the group included:

Calvocoressi about 1909

• Edouard Benedictus, painter, composer and scientist
• Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi, writer and music critic
• Maurice Delage, composer
• Manuel de Falla, composer
• Léon-Paul Fargue, poet
• Lucien Garban, publisher
• Pierre Haour
• Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht, conductor
• Tristan Klingsor, poet, painter, art theorist
• Maurice Ravel, composer and pianist
• Gomez de Riquet (an imaginary member)
• Florent Schmitt, composer
• Paul Sordes, painter
• Igor Stravinsky, composer
• Ricardo Viñes, pianist
• Émile Vuillermoz, music critic

Ravel wrote a suite for piano called Miroirs (reflections) and dedicated the five movements to various members of the Apaches.  The movement I like best was the one dedicated to the music critic and writer Calvocoressi.  It is called, roughly translated, "the morning song of the jester".  Appropriate for a critic I think.

Alborado del Gracioso (Ravel's orchestration)

or in the original piano if you prefer