Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
Thème et variations, Op.73
Fauré's Thème et variations, Op.73 is written in his middle period, in between the time he was writing Nocturne No.6 & 7. In September 1895, he wrote to a friend, "...I'm in the throes of writing the last variation... I don't know whether it's a good piece but I don't imagine I'll surprise you if I say it's very difficult." The result was one of Fauré's most extended work (lasting about 14 minutes). Alfred Cortot said the piece is one of the greatest and most beautiful piece written for piano, and this piece alone, with its depth & profoundness, is enough to defend from the snobs who do not understand the French music by saying it as superficial. It was later used as a compulsory examination piece for 'Premier Prix' at the Conservatoire de Paris, where Faure later became the director of the institution.
This is unusually dramatic piece for Faure, and at the same time, some variations foreshadow his late style similar to that of 9 Preludes, Op.103; Second Piano Quintet, Op.115, Mirage, Op.113; Second Cello Sonata, Op.117, etc., which are characterized by the beauty of simplicity, sensitivity, sensibility, purity, depth & profoundness in which many great French musicians of the past century might considered as greatest artistic value of the French music.
Most of the music Fauré wrote fall in traditional genres of 'absolute' music in which the titles does not suggest any particular images (in oppose to 'programmatic music' in which the titles of the works suggest the connection with literatures, arts, and/or certain images, objects, incidents, etc.). It could be a taboo to describe the personal images, but I would like to share certain images I have with the piece. The piece suggest me that of making conversations with the God: the theme itself is magnificent & solemn as God himself. Several variations to follow suggest walking through the various passes alternate with adventures. The walking through the pass could be solitary, yet sometimes angelic graces welcome you. After the final verdict, the heaven await you in the final variation which is written in serene & the most beautiful four-part choir where the theme is presented in the base.
The work of Faure is very difficult to perform successfully in general. This is due not because of mere technical difficulty, but due to the extreme sensitivity & sensibility his works require from the performers, unusual depth & understandings of its Gallic essence which is the root of Faure's music. His work cannot be performed successfully just by mere professional skills, but requires understanding from the bottom of one's heart. Faure often quoted about the performances of his works, "The greater they are, the worse they play me." If you happen not like his pieces, it could be more likely the fault of performers who failed to reveal its beauty in full capacity, which could puzzle the impression of listeners. (I have to confess that I failed many times--in fact, most of the time. It is my life time dream & goal to achieve satisfactory performances of his works). If one would be lucky to have rare opportunities to hear the successful performance of Faure's music, perhaps one might feel that no other music in this world can be more beautiful.
9 Preludes, Op.103
Shortly after the turn of the century, Fauré started to experience hearing problems, which eventually led him to deaf. This fatal illness must have gave him deep solitary feel in which led him to search of inner self depth, and brought his imaginations to the realm unknown hitherto. It is quite significant that he started to compose number of sublime masterpiece after having hearing problem, such as La chanson d'Ève, Op. 95, 9 Preludes, Op.103, Mirage, Op.113, Second Piano Quintet, Op.115, Second Cello Sonata, Op.117 to name a few. By listening to these works, I personally felt my soul to be deeply shaken from bottom of heart, tears silently comes out, enlightened and soul and sprit to be elevated. Unlike his well-known pupil, Maurice Ravel, Faure hardly ever gave programmatic titles nor left any description on his instrumental pieces. He sought images in which transcend daily existence--he explained to his son, "For me, art and especially music exist to elevate us as far as possible above everyday existence." I have attempted to write detailed description of what images and inspiration I personally received from 9 Preludes, Op.103. However soon after, I realized that it is impossible to describe what I visualize with these pieces--I simply could not find appropriate words. Perhaps, this could be an exact reason why Faure avoided any kind of concrete suggestion in his music--the beauty of his music is simply unexplainable. If La chanson d'Ève,Op.95 (which was written about the same time) invite vivid images of creation of the universe, I personally feel as if we are experiencing nine different universes with 9 Preludes. I felt my life is too short to perform these gems decently well--rather I felt that I need to keep attempting to play this piece little by little better for rest of my life. I would like to note that polyphonic writing is very significant in 9 Preludes, Op.103 in which performer need to listen layers and hierarchies of multiple lines, and a few number even resemble J.S.Bach's three part Sinfonia (No.6 with strict imitation in outer voices & No.9, etc.).
Thème et variations, Op.73
Fauré's Thème et variations, Op.73 is written in his middle period, in between the time he was writing Nocturne No.6 & 7. In September 1895, he wrote to a friend, "...I'm in the throes of writing the last variation... I don't know whether it's a good piece but I don't imagine I'll surprise you if I say it's very difficult." The result was one of Fauré's most extended work (lasting about 14 minutes). Alfred Cortot said the piece is one of the greatest and most beautiful piece written for piano, and this piece alone, with its depth & profoundness, is enough to defend from the snobs who do not understand the French music by saying it as superficial. It was later used as a compulsory examination piece for 'Premier Prix' at the Conservatoire de Paris, where Faure later became the director of the institution.
This is unusually dramatic piece for Faure, and at the same time, some variations foreshadow his late style similar to that of 9 Preludes, Op.103; Second Piano Quintet, Op.115, Mirage, Op.113; Second Cello Sonata, Op.117, etc., which are characterized by the beauty of simplicity, sensitivity, sensibility, purity, depth & profoundness in which many great French musicians of the past century might considered as greatest artistic value of the French music.
Most of the music Fauré wrote fall in traditional genres of 'absolute' music in which the titles does not suggest any particular images (in oppose to 'programmatic music' in which the titles of the works suggest the connection with literatures, arts, and/or certain images, objects, incidents, etc.). It could be a taboo to describe the personal images, but I would like to share certain images I have with the piece. The piece suggest me that of making conversations with the God: the theme itself is magnificent & solemn as God himself. Several variations to follow suggest walking through the various passes alternate with adventures. The walking through the pass could be solitary, yet sometimes angelic graces welcome you. After the final verdict, the heaven await you in the final variation which is written in serene & the most beautiful four-part choir where the theme is presented in the base.
The work of Faure is very difficult to perform successfully in general. This is due not because of mere technical difficulty, but due to the extreme sensitivity & sensibility his works require from the performers, unusual depth & understandings of its Gallic essence which is the root of Faure's music. His work cannot be performed successfully just by mere professional skills, but requires understanding from the bottom of one's heart. Faure often quoted about the performances of his works, "The greater they are, the worse they play me." If you happen not like his pieces, it could be more likely the fault of performers who failed to reveal its beauty in full capacity, which could puzzle the impression of listeners. (I have to confess that I failed many times--in fact, most of the time. It is my life time dream & goal to achieve satisfactory performances of his works). If one would be lucky to have rare opportunities to hear the successful performance of Faure's music, perhaps one might feel that no other music in this world can be more beautiful.
9 Preludes, Op.103
Shortly after the turn of the century, Fauré started to experience hearing problems, which eventually led him to deaf. This fatal illness must have gave him deep solitary feel in which led him to search of inner self depth, and brought his imaginations to the realm unknown hitherto. It is quite significant that he started to compose number of sublime masterpiece after having hearing problem, such as La chanson d'Ève, Op. 95, 9 Preludes, Op.103, Mirage, Op.113, Second Piano Quintet, Op.115, Second Cello Sonata, Op.117 to name a few. By listening to these works, I personally felt my soul to be deeply shaken from bottom of heart, tears silently comes out, enlightened and soul and sprit to be elevated. Unlike his well-known pupil, Maurice Ravel, Faure hardly ever gave programmatic titles nor left any description on his instrumental pieces. He sought images in which transcend daily existence--he explained to his son, "For me, art and especially music exist to elevate us as far as possible above everyday existence." I have attempted to write detailed description of what images and inspiration I personally received from 9 Preludes, Op.103. However soon after, I realized that it is impossible to describe what I visualize with these pieces--I simply could not find appropriate words. Perhaps, this could be an exact reason why Faure avoided any kind of concrete suggestion in his music--the beauty of his music is simply unexplainable. If La chanson d'Ève,Op.95 (which was written about the same time) invite vivid images of creation of the universe, I personally feel as if we are experiencing nine different universes with 9 Preludes. I felt my life is too short to perform these gems decently well--rather I felt that I need to keep attempting to play this piece little by little better for rest of my life. I would like to note that polyphonic writing is very significant in 9 Preludes, Op.103 in which performer need to listen layers and hierarchies of multiple lines, and a few number even resemble J.S.Bach's three part Sinfonia (No.6 with strict imitation in outer voices & No.9, etc.).