Composer

:

Henry Cowell

Genre

:

Chamber

Style

:

Chamber Music

Compose Date

:

1939

Publication Date

:

1945

First Performance

:

Mar 24, 1939

Les Mariés de la Tour Eiffel (The Wedding Party on the Eiffel Tower) is a ballet composed by Henry Cowell in 1921. The ballet premiered on June 18, 1921, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, France. The ballet was a collaboration between Jean Cocteau, who wrote the libretto, and a group of young composers known as Les Six, of which Cowell was an honorary member. The ballet consists of five movements, each composed by a different member of Les Six. Cowell's contribution is the fourth movement, titled "The Wedding Cake." The movement is characterized by its use of dissonant harmonies and unconventional rhythms, which were hallmarks of Cowell's style. The movement features a solo piano, which plays a series of rapid, staccato notes that create a sense of frenzied excitement. The ballet as a whole is known for its surreal and absurdist elements, which were typical of the Dadaist and Surrealist movements of the time. The plot revolves around a group of characters who are attending a wedding on the Eiffel Tower. The bride and groom are unable to consummate their marriage because they are constantly interrupted by bizarre and unexpected events, such as a group of acrobats who perform on the tower and a group of soldiers who march through the scene. Overall, Les Mariés de la Tour Eiffel is a groundbreaking work that helped to establish Cowell as one of the leading composers of his time. The ballet's use of unconventional harmonies and rhythms, as well as its surreal and absurdist elements, were highly influential on the development of modernist music and art in the 20th century.

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