“When a fund enters, it must not sleep! »

What reason can push a composer to give or bequeath his archives to the BnF?

Mathias Auclair: Rare are the living composers who, on their own, think of this posterity. Probably because they are entirely devoted to the act of creation and because, moreover, music being an immaterial art, they do not think of the value of the written document. Except for a few that have a close relationship to the score as such, its spelling…

With age, things change: we start to tidy up, to sort, to consider what we will pass on. But it takes time, like a process of mourning, and the process should not be rushed. It is also up to us to make them aware of the mission of the music department, its long tradition of conservation, research and communication of heritage. It’s a question of mutual trust, knowing that, in principle, the BnF does not buy any documents from living artists: everything happens by donation.

Do you have examples?

M. A. : Of course. I am thinking of the composer Michèle Reverdy (born in 1943) whom I met in 2016 in Sweden. We discussed, sympathized, and she gave us her archives. In the same way, I got in touch with the composer of film and ballet music Gabriel Yared (born in 1949), who has also just given us his…

Is the process the same for heirs or assigns?

M. A. : No, not exactly. The cases are also very different. It may be to “get rid” of a cumbersome legacy when selling a house. But also to entrust the heritage to a reliable institution which we know will preserve and enhance it. Of course, the temptation to monetize them is great, especially if the composer had notoriety. We also have very specific cases, such as the Olivier Messiaen fund. It came to us a few years after the death of his widow, pianist Yvonne Loriod, through the establishment of a dedicated foundation.

The case of Pierre Boulez is also interesting. The composer had contracted with the Swiss Paul-Sacher Foundation. But, after his death in 2016, his heirs wanted to “rebalance” things in favor of France, by giving us documents that were not affected by the Sacher contract.

What happens once a fund enters your collections?

M. A. : Above all, he must not sleep! We do everything to ensure that the documents can be communicated to the public as quickly as possible. We also have an exhibition policy and, as it is music, concerts. This was the case for the Vinteuil Sonata composed by Jorge Arriagada for the film Time Regained by Raoul Ruiz after Proust. We encourage researchers to come and work on these archives, organize conferences, such as the one on jazz which is being held in June, based on recently entered collections. But we are not masters of the enthusiasm or indifference that a particular fund will arouse. There are fashion effects: currently, popular music, film music are of interest.

Do composers and performers come to study the archives of their peers?

M. A. : Yes, absolutely! The former often felt a fascination, even a veneration, for the works of their illustrious predecessors. They look at them and… hear them, passionate about the way their predecessors worked. It’s not uncommon for them to find mistakes, it’s a lot of fun. The interpreters’ approach is generally much more pragmatic. They look for repertoire and, in front of a score, think about what they can do with it.

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