In February 1917, Darius Milhaud went to Rio de Janeiro. He was 25, and he disembarked when the Carnival was in full swing. He stayed until the end of 1919, then travelled to Martinique and the USA. During his three stays he discovered remarkable sounds that would make him a precursor, in the first two decades of the 20th century, of the intricate relationship between world music and the scholarly classical music of Europe.
Philippe LESAGE

CD1 : LE BOEUF SUR LE TOIT : MINNEAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, DIR MITROPOULOS • ATÉ EU : OITO BATUTAS • ATÉ A VOLTA : OITO BATUTAS • APANHEI-TE CAVAQUINHO : ERNESTO NAZARETH • SCARAMOUCHE : MARCELLE MEYER & DARIUS MILHAUD • BREJEIRO : BANDA DO CORPO DOS BOMBEIROS DE RIO DE JANEIRO • GRAÚNA : OITO BATUTAS • ESCOVADO : ERNESTO NAZARETH • SAUDADES DO BRASIL : DARIUS MILHAUD • SAUDADES DO BRASIL : JACQUES FÉVRIER • SAUDADES DO BRASIL : LE TRIGENTUOR LYONNAIS • DANSES DE JACAREMIRIM : LOUIS KAUFMAN & ARTUR BALSAM.

CD2 : LA CRÉATION DU MONDE : ORCHESTRE DU THÉÂTRE DES CHAMPS-ELYSÉES, DIR DARIUS MILHAUD • CARNAVAL À LA NOUVELLE-ORLÉANS : ARTHUR GOLD & ROBERT FIZDALE • SOUNDS OF AFRICA : EUBIE BLAKE • I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY : WIENER & DOUCET • KING PORTER STOMP : JELLY ROLL MORTON • 3 RAG-CAPRICES : VIENNA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, DIR HENRI SWOBODA • SOUVENIR DU BOEUF SUR LE TOIT : WIENER & DOUCET • HANDFUL OF KEYS : FATS WALLER • LE BAL MARTINIQUAIS : ROBERT & GABY CASADESUS • EN L’AI MONE LA : STELLIO • CINÉMA FANTAISIE : RENÉ BENEDETTI ET JEAN WIENER.

DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE : PHILIPPE LESAGE ET TECA CALAZANS