Enchantment by Jodie Blackshaw

Performed by the Hobart Wind Symphony conducted by Simon Reade.

The third movement from the suite "Salon Morisot", 'Devotion' is inspired by the artwork "Garden at Bougival" by French Impressionist artist Berthe Morisot (https://www.tate.org.uk/kids/explore/...)
Grade: 2
Duration: 3 min
Composed for concert winds, brass and percussion

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Programme Notes:
The suite Salon Morisot (the Morisot Exhibition) is inspired by three artworks by Berthe Morisot, that represent a challenging time in her life: 1869-1884. Morisot was torn between her passion for art and the desire to marry and become a Mother. It is this tension that forms a central theme.

III – Enchantment
The third movement brings about a release from the tension. ‘The Garden at Bougival’ represents the changes that occurred in Berthe’s life in the decade following ‘The Cradle’. She married Eugene Manet, Édouard’s younger brother, in late 1874. Eugene was himself a painter but gave up his pursuits to support Berthe, thus relieving her inner struggle.
The Manet’s expanded their family in 1878 with the birth of a baby girl, Julie. From 1881-1884 the Manet’s predominantly lived in Bougival. They were very happy there and thus the music in ‘Enchantment’ is strikingly different, representing not only the whimsical change in painting style but also Berthe’s newfound love brought about by marriage and motherhood.

Providing context: a brief art history lesson regarding Impressionism
From 1648 to 1881 the most prestigious annual art exhibition in France was the Paris Salon (a salon being an exhibition). Thousands of artists sent paintings for consideration and acceptance (and thus exhibition) paved the successful careers of many painters. However; the French Academy of Fine Art was embedded in the Neo-Classicist style and in time, their increasingly parochial parameters brought labels such as ‘academic’ to describe their preferred artistic approach. The Academy’s resistance to change came to a head in 1863 when almost 3000 artworks were rejected for the forthcoming Paris Salon. Artists such as Édouard Manet appealed to the Emperor of France, Napoleon III to have the Academy reconsider their parameters for the Paris Salon. Their efforts were rewarded with a second public exhibition entitled the Salon des Refusés (exhibition of rejected art). The public turned out in their thousands to view the refused artwork and whilst their opinion was varied, the result was an acknowledgement of a new avant-garde movement in French art. This movement is what we now call Impressionism and it was Impressionism that brought about the dissolution of the Academy of Fine Art in 1881.

1874 brought the very first Impressionist Salon featuring works by Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro and one woman, Berthe Morisot. Morisot had dedicated her life to painting and had been fortunate to have some works exhibited in the Paris Salon from an early age. However; her subject matter represented her surroundings and as a woman, these were dominated by other women and children. This subject matter was viewed as common and unimportant and as a result, her works were often overlooked. That said, Morisot was held in high regard by her artistic colleagues, in particular, Édouard Manet. All of the ‘masters’ owned Morisot originals (Claude Monet owned 5) and there are particular schools of thought that suggest that her experimentation significantly influenced the ongoing development of the Impressionist style that culminated with the famous ‘Waterlily’ collection by Claude Monet.