Gabriel Urbain Fauré (1845 -- 1924) was a French
composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of
the foremost French composers of his generation, and
his musical style influenced many 20th-century
composers. Among his best-known works are his Pavane,
Requiem, nocturnes for piano and the songs "Après un
rêve" and "Clair de lune". Although his best-known and
most accessible compositions are generally his earlier
ones, Fauré composed many of his greatest works in his
later years, in a ha...(+)
Gabriel Urbain Fauré (1845 -- 1924) was a French
composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of
the foremost French composers of his generation, and
his musical style influenced many 20th-century
composers. Among his best-known works are his Pavane,
Requiem, nocturnes for piano and the songs "Après un
rêve" and "Clair de lune". Although his best-known and
most accessible compositions are generally his earlier
ones, Fauré composed many of his greatest works in his
later years, in a harmonically and melodically much
more complex style.
Though Gabriel Fauré frequently incorporated vocal
duets into his sacred works, few duets are to be found
among the composer's chansons. One rare example is the
Two Duets, Opus 10 (1863 & 1873). The first of these
(Puisqu' Ici-bas ), with its strophic arrangement,
lends itself naturally to a duet setting. This, the
second (Tarantelle) is far less structured and even
folkish, and the composer here combines the two voices
to evoke the unrestrained nature of the dance. The duet
ends with a wild yet graceful refrain that suggests a
couple enjoying the abandon of dancing together. While
both duets are quick-paced, the strong structure of the
first and the looser structure of the second provide a
vivid contrast.
This music comes from the same period as Mai. The
melody is similarly ingratiating and anxious to please
-- a good match for the ardour of the poem which also
inspired one of Reynaldo Hahn's most successful early
songs. If the packaging of this duet is much more
refined and accomplished than Mai it is because Fauré
took the sketch of the solo song out of the cupboard
and revised it a decade later for those duet-singing
sisters, the daughters of Pauline Viardot. At the time
Fauré was engaged to Marianne Viardot. This is a
hybrid work where the spontaneity of the teenager's
original sketches is checked by the suave manners of
the twenty-eight year-old. It is little wonder that
this music comes across like an exquisitely delivered
calling card, a veritable compliment galant. The
piano-writing is typical of the young master's flawless
weave -- a silken carpet of sound. Semiquaver arpeggios
waft up and down the keyboard. These seem effortless
except to the person who has to play them; as always
with this composer they contain countless tiny harmonic
shifts to catch out the unwary. Fauré can always take
us anywhere he likes, and on any degree of the scale;
here he proceeds to do just that, like a dentist
accomplishing the most difficult bridge-work while his
patients (in this case the listeners) are scarcely
aware of the drill. The mezzo soprano makes her
entrance after a nine-bar solo for the soprano. When
the two voices first come together it is in a falling
line of seductive thirds (at 'Puisque, lorsqu'elle
arrive / S'y reposer'). Jean-Michel Nectoux has defined
this phrase as an example of the 'Viardot motif' in
Fauré's music -- 'the formula of a rising sixth or
octave followed by a descent through conjunct steps'.
There is a masterly interplay between the voices -- one
can hear the fruits of assiduous study of fugue and
counterpoint. But high learning is disguised by a
sweetness of diction and gentleness of intent. Even
when in love Fauré is a master of self-effacement.
Although this work was originally written for Piano and
Soprano Voices, I created this arrangement for Violin,
Viola and Concert (Pedal) Harp.
PARTITION