Oh Gomez?

on

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 is/was an imaginary "person" and that's where this started.  I ran into the name just pawing around this morning. Idle hands are the devil's workshop.

 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 called Société des Apaches (Les Apaches) - not at all an obvious Indian reference but a slang term for hooligan as they were something of the Paris equal to Hell's Angels Invade 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