La Muse ménagère, Op. 245
Fifteen character pieces for solo piano, Op. 245, composed 1944 in California, where Milhaud was living in exile during World War II after fleeing France following the armistice. The title — 'The Domestic Muse' — is an affectionate portrait of his wife Madeleine (herself a playwright and librettist) and of the daily routines of married life: waking up, cooking, tending the garden, nursing the sick, reading at night. The fifteen pieces are intimate, warm, and humorous, with descriptive titles ranging from 'La Cuisine' (Cooking) to 'Le Chat' (The Cat) to 'Cartomancie' (Fortune-Telling). Madeleine later orchestrated the suite. In style, the music is characteristically Milhaud: clear-textured, melodically simple, polytonal, and suffused with affection. Among the most personally revealing of all his piano works.
Works in this Collection (15)
- La Mienne No. 1 Difficulty
- Le Réveil No. 2 Difficulty
- Les Soins du ménage No. 3 Difficulty
- La Poésie No. 4 Difficulty
- La Cuisine No. 5 Difficulty
- Les Fleurs dans la maison No. 6 Difficulty
- La Lessive No. 7 Difficulty
- Musique ensemble No. 8 Difficulty
- Le Fils Peintre No. 9 Difficulty
- Le Chat No. 10 Difficulty
- Cartomancie No. 11 Difficulty
- Les Soins au malade No. 12 Difficulty
- La Douceur des soirées No. 13 Difficulty
- Lectures nocturnes No. 14 Difficulty
- Reconnaissance à la Muse No. 15 Difficulty