Works for Violin & Piano

Ernest Chausson (1855-1899) came to music relatively late in life and was often considered something of an outsider, partly by virtue of his relatively well-off background which meant that he was financially independent throughout his life but also for purely musical reasons.

His music bears the hallmarks of many of the great influences of his day, including Franck, Massenet and Wagner but also exhibits the outcome of his own personal interests and explorations. Towards the end of his life, Chausson became increasingly interested in Russian literature and the work of the Metaphysical poets and the Poeme is based on a short story by Turgenev. Originally titled “Le chant de l’amour triomphant: Poeme symphonique pour violon et orchestre” it was subsequently reduced to “Poeme pour violon et orchestre” and finally simply “Poeme”.

The Poeme was written for and dedicated to the man who gave its premiere, Eugene Ysaye Although the Poeme was written for one of the greatest virtuosos of his day, it is essentially lyrical in style and focuses on emotional intensity rather than technical pyrotechnics, an approach that reflected Ysaye view that virtuosity should never be an end in itself but, rather, a valuable tool in the violinist’s overall technique. It is seamlessly constructed in one movement and demonstrates Chausson’s ability to combine complete command of form and structure while allowing the music to sound freely rhapsodic and lyrical.

Of Chausson, one contemporary wrote “all his works exhale a dreamy sensitiveness which is peculiar to him. His music is constantly saying the word ‘cher’”.

In common with his younger contemporary Fauré chamber music runs across Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) sizeable (and now neglected) output – from the often bravura ensemble works of the 1860s and ’70s to the autumnal sonatas and character pieces of his last years. In 1885, his First Violin Sonata was written for and dedicated to Martin Marsick – teacher of, among others, Thibaud, Enescu and Flesch. The influence of Liszt is evident in the thematic transformation which operates throughout the piece, as also in the linking of the movements into two complementary pairs – a procedure which Saint-Saëns repeated only in his ‘Organ Symphony’, written in memory of Liszt the following year.

The darkly sensuous idea which opens the first movement has a fluid, rhythmic profile – in marked contrast with the wistful second theme, which retains its formal outline throughout. There is no development as such, but a modified reprise of the two themes, followed by a sombre coda which tapers away in a poetic transition to the Adagio. The main melody, a beautifully-judged dialogue, treads a fine line between sentimentality and pathos typical of Saint-Saëns. It twice alternates with a more impulsive (though related) idea, and closes in a mood of tranquil tenderness.

The Mendelssohnian scherzo evolves almost entirely from the tripping five-bar phrase with which it begins. Note how, in the brief trio section, the piano continues the underlying rhythm while the violin derives from it a more songful melody. A curtailed reprise, then a passage of pensive anticipation – leading into the finale. The main theme is a brilliant moto perpetuo, culminating in a high-flown melodic gesture. As in the opening movement, these ideas are modified rather than developed as such – working up to a coda which effectively integrates the two and rounds off the whole work in a stream of exhilarating passagework.

Copyright: Richard Whitehouse, 2003