780*92 55-13347 Barricelll Ernest Chausson .KANSAS CITY MISSOURI PUBLIC LIBRARY 1148 00908 1209 ML 2 3 '83 Ernest Chausson THE COMPOSER'S LIFE AND WORKS Ernest Chausson THE COMPOSER'S LIFE AND WORKS BY Jean-Pierre Barricelli & Leo Weinstein Norman : University of Oklahoma Press Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 55-9627 Copyright 1955 by the University of Oklahoma Press Publishing Division of the University Composed and printed at Norman, Oklahoma, U.S.A. by the University of Oklahoma Press First edition TO THE MEMORY OF Laurent Chausson Introduction ANY biographer who sets himself the goal of re-creating a JllJife must be considered presumptuous. He may possess documents covering every moment in the life of his subject, he may be a man of great knowledge and profound insights with all these advantages he is still like a child looking through a kaleidoscope; every time the author feels that he has attained some sort of complete image, the slightest turn of the eyepiece reveals that what he had thought to be a definitive pattern was instead the tumbling view of partial perspective. The biographer turns the piece interminably un- til a larger pattern of permutations is at last visible and can be set down, but the triumph is more apparent than real, a bloodless conception that cannot retain the teeming reality of life. A biography of Ernest Chausson is therefore less a re- creation than a suggestion. It does not have the posited strength of a construction, but rather the delicate, evocative quality of the less public feelings in our lives. It has this qual- life ity, this sense of incompleteness that Chausson's mirrors, because of the paucity of surface drama in his public life. Be- yond this and perhaps into the depths of his personal feelings, vii Ernest Chausson we meet with the strong sense of opposition that well-bred less docu- privacy interposes. Finally, there is unfortunately mentation available than would satisfy the scholar and like- sense of wise too few personal reminiscenses to furnish that to "living with" that the biographer would like convey. the Yet, despite, or because of, these difficulties problem of a life lived in a minor key, a reticent personality and the lack of complete documentation the challenge of Chausson remains, the challenge of conveying in some poor measure the vision achieved by a man who searched for it desperately and with agonizing honesty. In this biography we have attempted to let Chausson speak for himself whenever documentation permitted it. Where this applied (Chapter V, for example) we have ef- faced ourselves almost completely, merely filling in where gaps existed; elsewhere we had to step forward in order to supply background information, carry the thread of con- tinuity or even speculate in the absence of positive evidence. When this was necessary, we have scrupulously endeavored to stick to facts as much as possible and not to slant these facts in favor of a particular interpretation. We admit to being in sympathy with our subject other- wise we would not have embarked on this venture; our atti- tude will inevitably be visible behind our words, for we are not automatons impassively recording the documents we have been fed. And yet we hope that our presentation has been such that the reader will be able to arrive at his own view of Chausson, an interpretation (such is the fate of the written word) which may, in fact, differ from our own. Vlll Introduction Only then can we claim to have transmitted at least a part of that great mystery the life of a man. We wish to express our sincere appreciation to the follow- ing for aid, advice, and services: Mme Etiennette Lerolle- Chausson, Mile Annie Chausson, M. Gustave Samazeuilh, M. Paul Rouart, Professor Charles C. Gushing of the University of California at Berkeley, Professor Nathan Van Patten and Mr. Edward E. Colby of Stanford University, Stanford, Cali- fornia, Eleanor Foster and Germaine May of the French Broadcasting System, Peter Aby, Lawrence Margolis, James D. Ray, and Burton I. Wilner. This work could not have been written without their kind help or without the generous aid of Fulbright grants to both of us. J-P. B. L. W. August, 14, 1955 Contents Introduction mi PART I Ernest Chausson: His Life i. 1855-79 3 ii. 1880-83 13 1 1 1. 1883-89 29 i v. 1889-93 4 1 v. 1893 59 v i. 1894 71 v 1 1. 1895-96 81 in. 1897-99 89 PART 2 Ernest Chausson: His Worlds i. A Musical Personality in 1 1. The Melodies 117 1 1 1. Religious Music 135 xi Ernest Chausson i v. Chamber Music 140 v. Orchestral Music and the Poeme 159 v L Dramatic, Choral, and Incidental Music 179 v 1 1. The Opera 187 vin. Conclusion 203 Bibliography 209 Appendix: List of Compositions 213 Index 227 Illustrations Ernest Chausson as a child facing page 18 Chausson's home in Paris 34 At Luzancy in the summer of 1893 66 Chausson and his wife, Basel, 1883 82 Chausson in 1886 114 Chausson with Eugene Ysaye 130 The last photograph of Chausson 178 A page from the original manuscript of Le Roi Arthus 194 PART 1 Ernest Chausson : His Life HIS LIFE: CHAPTER i 1855-79 the 1850'$ Paris was beginning to take on the aspect which since has become so familiar to DURINGmillions of tourists from every part of the world. Under the direction of Baron Haussmann the French capital was slowly being transformed from an essentially medieval city into a modern metropolis. Everywhere winding, narrow streets were giving way to wide boulevards, streaming in seemingly unending lines from the Place de FEtoile. A new era in French history was dawning. The times of barricades and class struggles, the bitter aftertaste of the Revolution and of the Restoration, the wild dreams of the romantics were over, at least for the time being. The failure of the poet Lamartine as head of the republican government in 1848 had forcefully symbolized the end of that period. The philosophy of the day was "realism," the future belonged to the bourgeoisie. After many years of social conflict caused in part by the belated impact of the industrial revolution on France and resulting in the overthrow of the July Monarchy and of the Second Republic in turn France could at last look forward to a period of political tranquillity, prosperity, and peace. Ernest Chausson For a decade Louis Napoleon fulfilled the high hopes free which the nation had placed in him. He encouraged for enterprise and trade; inland markets were being opened more intensive cultivation by the growing web of railroad lines spun from the hub of Paris and, save for the sporadic affairs met international forays of the Emperor, his conduct of had with general approval; moreover, increasing prosperity silenced social conflict by establishing a delicate balance among the classes. romantics The gradual loss of popularity suffered by the had left a vacuum in the arts which was being filled by the more empirical-minded approach of Baudelaire, Flaubert, of Guizot, and Courbet. In spite of the prevailing bad taste the Second Empire, these artists succeeded in creating works realistic fea- marked by a just equilibrium of romantic and tures, thus duplicating, in a sense, the state of French society. The only branch of art apparently unaffected by these new tendencies was the music of that period. While Madame Bovary and Lcs Fleurs du Mai suffered abuse from govern- ment and public alike, the French composers delighted their audiences with grand opera and operettas. Although a rich musical renaissance was taking place in Central Europe, French taste remained that of an elegant bourgeoisie, satisfied with the superficialities of an imported art Italian song style and Austro-German virtuosity and consequently chamber and symphonic works were almost completely neglected. The only outstanding composer of that time was Hector Berlioz, but he was unappreciated and known only to a small elite. Among the composers of "light music" only a few even deserve mention: Masse and Maillart, both writers of melodic His Life: 1855-79 and gracious music; Delibes, whose ballet scores reveal a personal and attractive composer; Ambroise Thomas, best known for his Mignon, who tried to lift comic opera to the level of grand opera; and Offenbach, whose tuneful melodies captivated Second Empire audiences. Over all these, however, Meyerbeer carried the day: adroit writing, "coups de thetitre" vocal effects, violent action compensating for poor orchestra- tion, lack of psychology, of depth, of taste, and of dramatic substance. The real milestone of this period was Charles Gounod's Faust (1859). Whatever objections may be raised against the dramatic interpretation of Goethe's work, this opera combined true, dignified, and fresh inspiration with new techniques and prepared the public for the musical renaissance in France which was to begin about a decade later. ERNEST AMEDEE CHAUSSON was born in Paris on January 1 20, I855. His father, Prosper, was a wealthy building con- tractor who participated actively in Haussmann's renovation of Paris. Both Prosper and his wife, Stephanie-Marcelline, born Levraux, seem to have been good, middle-class citizens without any particular artistic inclinations. Unfortunately, our documentation about Chausson's parents, his childhood, and his adolescent years is quite sparse. We are, therefore, necessarily limited in the range of our speculations regarding the early development of his personality. His parents had 1 The date stated in all reference works at our disposal is January 21, 1855. The error is due to a misreading of Chausson's birth certificate which states: "Aujourd'hui, 21 Janvier 1855, nous a ete presents un enfant, tie la veille .