French Impressions. Chamber Music by Chausson & Tailleferre

Violinist Rachel Barton Pine explores the Gallic musical scene of the late 19th
and early 20th centuries in Belgium and Paris, when Romanticism had
embraced the cyclic principal firmly established by Franck as the emblem of structural unity within a composition. Simply put, following the example of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, the initial motives of a work would reappear, economically, in original or varied form, throughout a classical piece.
Ernest Chausson (1855-1899), a disciple of Franck, conceived his Concert for Violin, Piano and String Quartet, Op. 21 in 1892. A modified concertante chamber work explores the harmonies of contemporary France and of German operatic giant, Wagner. Chausson, however, was an advocate of Ars Gallica, devotees of a French expressive mode. A 3-note motto infiltrates the 1st mvmt, which proceeds like a concerto grosso, pitting the small, duo ensemble against the sextet. While shifting meters and textures hold sway, the piece ends in virtuoso counterpoint and cascading piano arpeggios. The 2nd mvmt Sicilienne moves gently but firmly to passionate expression. The mvmt closes with the solo violin’s ardent gesture The 3rd mvmt is marked Grave. Somber and melancholy, like a funereal dirge, the solo violin providing the main melody. The piano forms the duo that dominates until late, when the quartet becomes dramatically active, even as the piano gains an “orchestral” sound. The last mvmt, Finale is energetic, a hybrid of rondo and theme-and-variations. Marked Quite animated, each instrument plays a slightly different version of the theme. The dynamic proves no less variable: softly intimate and explosive like a piano concerto. Motifs from previous mvmts recur, true to the format César Franck established in the late 19th century.
Marcelle-Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983) joined a group of dedicated French musicians known as Les Six, determined to set simplicity of style as their banner. Tailleferre, like her compatriot Poulenc, favored a carefree, boulevard style, breezy and buoyant
Violin Sonata No. 2 (1947) was composed after WW II, composed for Yvonne Astruc, and quite virtuosic. The 1st mvmt Allegro non troppo, exploits the violin’s features and has an agitated middle. The main melody returns, only to ascend to a soft, sighing coda. The 2nd mvmt, Adagietto, offers a harmonized, autumnal ballad for violin and piano. Final: Allegro proceeds with a sense of urgency, a breathless dance that assumes a mysterious demeanor before the circuitous, harmonic adventures conclude in a dazzling color display.
The 1942 Pastorale for Violin and Piano pre-dates Tailleferre’s leaving wartime France for the United States. Its rocking, sicilienne rhythm might suggest an Italian barcarolle, a Mediterranean wistfulness.
String Quartet in C# Minor (1919) takes several of its harmonic means from Claude Debussy; the 2nd mvmt nods to Ravel. The 1st mvmt Moderé provides two themes with no development. The second movement is a gentle scherzo, Interméde, utilizes syncopations. The last movement Final: Vif plays as a colorful jig in Italian saltarello rhythm, 6/16, metrically and polyphonically inventive. The piece is dedicated to the great Polish pianist, Artur Rubinstein.
Berceuse (1913) means “lullaby and is dedicated to Tailleferre’s harmony
professor at the Paris Conservatory. Passing dissonances do not interfere with
the expansive melody of the violin while the piano gently rocks the cradle with
its suave accompaniment.