Album Booklet

Fauré, Chausson & Satie Piano Trios Ernest Chausson (1855–1899) Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 3 1. Pas trop lent [10:03] 2. Vite [4:00] Fidelio Trio 3. Assez lent [7:15] 4. Animé [8:42] Darragh Morgan violin Adi Tal cello Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) Mary Dullea piano Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120 5. Allegro, ma non troppo [6:08] 6. Andanno [8:45] 7. Allegro vivo [4:46] Erik Sae (1866–1925) arr. John White 8. Prière pour le salut de mon âme from Messe des Pauvres [3:29] Le Piège de Méduse 9. Quadrille [0:44] 10. Valse [0:46] 11. Pas vite [0:38] About the Fidelio Trio: 12. Mazurka [0:26] 13. Un peu vif [0:16] ‘[...] their interpretative touch is secure, their rapport instinctive. Together 14. Polka [0:27] with their eloquence and passion, this all adds up to something special’ 15. Quadrille [0:25] Gramophone ‘[...] the Fidelio Trio plays it with such delicacy of touch and suavity of tone Total playing me [57:01] that its Frenchness and its closeness to the Ravel coupling are never in doubt’ The Strad Fauré, Chausson & Sae: Piano Trios Chausson’s file that ‘aer failing to gain admission to the Prix de Rome compeon, Ernest Chausson (1855–1899) came from he wanted to have nothing more to do with an affluent family and following the wishes the Conservatoire. Very intelligent and of his parents, he inially studied law and independent.’ Disappointed by the result qualified as a barrister in 1877. But this was but even more resolved to create his first not the career he wanted: Chausson’s major work, Chausson le Paris to spend inclinaons were arsc rather than legal the summer in Switzerland. Between July and he established friendships with painters and September 1881 he composed the such as Henri Fann-Latour (1836–1904) Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 3 while staying and Odilon Redon (1840–1916, a good in the village of Montbovon, 25km north- amateur pianist with whom Chausson east of Montreux in the Swiss canton of played piano duets). Soon aer compleng Fribourg. Chausson was a serious-minded his legal studies, he started to have young composer and – as for so many others composion lessons with Jules Massenet before and aer him – the experience of (1842–1912), who invited him to join his the Prix de Rome had turned out to be a class at the Paris Conservatoire. Massenet dispiring experience. But if wring a considered Chausson ‘an exceponal cantata to order was not his méer, person and a true arst’ and did much Chausson did have a natural inclinaon to encourage his earliest aempts at for chamber music and his first major composion. Chausson subsequently composion was the Piano Trio. Though it studied with César Franck (1822–1890) is an early work, it already demonstrates whose music exerted a strong influence an impressive control of structure and the and with whom he remained on friendly ability to create and develop strongly terms. Though he came late to the characterised ideas that were to become conservatoire system, Chausson was typical of Chausson’s later chamber works: encouraged by Massenet to enter the the Concerto for violin, piano and string Prix de Rome (which Massenet himself quartet (1889–91), the Piano Quartet (1897) had won in 1863) but he failed to reach the and the String Quartet le incomplete at final stage the compeon held in May the me of Chausson’s death in 1899 (he 1881. He remained in Massenet’s class was working on it the day he died in a tragic unl the end of the Conservatoire year a cycling accident). y: Hugo Glendinning few weeks later (Massenet noted on aph ogr Phot musical language oen has a debt to (1857–1944) as well as the Chausson 1887 to 1894 he had a protracted struggle Franck, above all in its free-flowing premiere, there were no reviews of this with the First Piano Quintet, but his major harmonic mobility. The opening ideas are concert and the Trio was not published remaining chamber works come from the recalled with dramac force at the close. unl 1919, twenty years aer Chausson’s end of his career, starng with the First The second movement has the character of death. The mourners at Chausson’s Cello Sonata in 1917. Fauré rered as a scherzo, lightening the mood aer the funeral were a tribute to the esteem in Director of the Paris Conservatoire in intense first movement and dominated by which he was held by his peers. Among 1920 at the age of seventy-five, and though a sparkling idea that reveals Chausson as others, they included Claude Debussy he was increasingly troubled by a kind of a composer of great delicacy: both the (1862–1918), Fauré, Duparc, Dukas, Isaac deafness that distorted musical sounds, piano and string wring have a seemingly Albéniz (1860–1909), Rodin, Edgar Degas he produced a succession of works that effortless lightness of touch. The expansive (1834–1917) and Pierre Louÿs (1870–1925). demonstrate a wonderful economy and Ernest Chausson slow movement, marked ‘Assez lent’, begins concentraon: the Second Piano Quintet, As well as the lyrical wring of Massenet with a song-like transformaon of one of the While Chausson’s Piano Trio was his first Second Cello Sonata and the song cycle and the chromac harmonies of Franck, themes from the first movement, and during major work, Fauré’s Piano Trio in D minor, L’Horizon chimérique were completed in the other major influence on the Trio is its leisurely span, this is developed and Op. 120 was almost his last. Fauré’s 1921, and his only String Quartet was the music of Wagner: he had seen the expanded in a way that suggests the chamber music was mostly wrien during to occupy him from 1923 unl just before Ring cycle in Munich and like Emmanuel influence of Wagner as well as Franck. The two phases in his career. Between he died the following year. Chabrier (1841–1894), Henri Duparc finale opens with a breezy waltz-like idea in G 1876 and 1886 he composer the First (1848–1933), Paul Dukas (1865–1935) and major, but aer this is extensively developed, Violin Sonata, the two piano quartets The idea of composing a Piano Trio was Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924), Chausson fell Chausson brings back material from the first and shorter pieces including Papillon and originally suggested by Fauré’s publisher under the spell of Richard Wagner’s (1813– movement and the work ends in a state the Élégie (both for cello and piano). From Jacques Durand (1865–1928). The work 1883) music, though in common with all of unease in the key of G minor. was started in his favourite retreat of his great French contemporaries, he never Annecy-le-Vieux in August 1922 and his produced pale imitaons of Wagner. The first performance was given in the original idea was to write it for clarinet, Salle Pleyel in Paris on 8 April 1882 at a cello and piano but he soon seled on The slow introducon of the trio presents concert of the Société Naonale de having a violin as the top part. Progress two themes that reappear in various guises Musique. It was played by Guillaume Rémy was slow. Fauré wrote to his wife: ‘I can’t throughout the work, an early example (1856–1923, violin), Jules Delsart (1844–1900, work for long stretches of me. My worst of Chausson’s use of cyclic form to provide cello) and André Messager (1853–1929, problem is perpetual redness.’ Despite themac unity. The mood of the first piano). Despite a programme that also his increasing frailty, there’s no hint of movement is predominantly dark with a included Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) fague in this work, perhaps because turbulent main secon (‘Animé’) that also playing his own Paraphrase sur Gallia de Fauré took his me. The slow movement has moments of lyrical repose. The Gounod and new songs by Cécile Chaminade was the first to be completed, and the Gabriel Fauré outer movements of the Trio were finished and Darius Milhaud (1892–1974) conducted Ever since my early teenage years I have by February 1923. The first performance a private performance of the same year in admired the music of Erik Sae for its was given on 12 May 1923 at a concert of an arrangement by Sae for small orchestra sprightly originality and occasional passages the Société Naonale de Musique, played with Sae himself playing the part of Baron of unexpected profundity. It was with by Robert Krely (1891–1956, violin), Méduse. The pieces, most of which reflect delight that I received a commission from Jacques Pae (cello) and Taana de Sae’s interest in reinvenng popular dance the Fidelio Trio to make arrangements of Sanzévitch (piano), on a programme that forms, were published in a version of solo some of Sae’s keyboard music for piano also included Franck’s String Quartet and piano in 1929 and the instrumentaon trio. My intenon has been to re-compose Fauré’s own La Bonne Chanson but Fauré Sae had in mind was evidently flexible, the pieces as though they had always been was too ill to aend. He did hear a making it an ideal piece for arrangement desned to be played by violin, cello and performance by the celebrated trio of as a piano trio. Performances of Le Piège piano. The pieces I’ve addressed so far Alfred Cortot (1877–1962), Jacques Thibaud de Méduse were few and far between, have been Le Piège de Méduse (seven (1880–1953) and Pablo Casals (1876–1973) Erik Sae though one given (in English) at Black dances for piano) of 1913, and the last which first played the work on 29 June, according to Fauré himself, enrely Mountain College, North Carolina, on movement ‘Prière pour le salut de mon six weeks aer the premiere.

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