The four compositions for Flute Trio embrace a repertory from 1819-1952 and extend over different European venues. The “aquarelle” rubric indicates their composers’ desire to create watery effects through the instrumental medium.
MARTINU (1890-1959): Trio for Flute, Cello, and Piano (1944) Martinu is a Moravian composer with a strong sense of national identity. The work embraced his new-found optimism after the ravages of WW II.
1. Poco Allegretto. An aerial, light-hearted moment, the music projects an outdoor mood, with playful filigree. The piano has some sustained arpeggiated chords, and the cello intones an energetic color. (4:52)
2. Adagio. The heart of the piece proceeds as a theme and variations. The piano introduces a lengthy, melancholy tune that permits the other instruments to vary colors and harmonic textures. The last variation sounds like a hymn of thanksgiving. (8:19)
3. Andante – Allegretto scherzando. The flute opens, solo, rather meditative. The energetic section vibrates with vital, rhythmic energy, whirling and often syncopated in jazz style. Even the first movement’s sad tune has been galvanized. A central section, L’istesso tempo, has the piano change the mood to a waltz-duet for flute and cello over a simple keyboard progression. The original, high-energy material returns, syncopated, to conclude. (8:23)
GAUBERT (1879-1941): Trois Aquarelles for Flute, Cello, and Piano (1921) Gaubert began his career as a flute player but soon gleaned fame as a conductor. He started writing his “watercolors” in 1915 but did not complete the set until six years later.
4. Par un clair matin portrays a joyful embrace of a clear morning, set on a series of pedal D’s in the piano and high tessitura from the flute. The middle section proves most watery, with swirls and harmonic shifts, the mood enchanted by Nature. The cello intones a warm patina while piano and flute cavort in shimmering colors. (7:01)
5. Soir d’Automne proffers a melancholy, nocturnal, Autumn meditation. In modal harmony, conveying a romantic atmosphere, especially in the voice of the cello in concert with the flute. The middle section brightens the hues though the mood remains serene. (5:00)
6. Serenade serves as a troubadour song in Romani, gypsy style. The triple-meter dance has exotic touches in color and gestures of Spain’s Basque region. The scale patterns and color elements avoid the cliches of “French” composition to exploit the impressionistic school on Spain, like Joan Miro. (4:23)
DAMASE (1928-2013) Sonate en concert for Flute, Piano and Cello (1952) Jean-Michel Damase had a multi-faceted career in music, as composer, performer, conductor, and teacher. His style in neo-Classical, influenced by Igor Stravinsky but utilizing a more vivid sense of French color. In this Sonate, Damase returns to the Baroque era in France, a connected series of court dances.
7. Prelude opens in the manner of Handel, slowly, with piano and cello serving as a basso continuo to the flute’s high voice. The key moves from C to G. (1:33)
8. Rigaudon (Allegro) in C Major has an askew melodic line, with chirps and leaps, a bit mischievous in mood. (2:01)
9. Aria briefly reprises the Prelude, then forms a duet for cello and flute. The piano supplies a romantic pedestal for the melody. (1:20)
10. Intermezzo sports some acrobatics for the flute, a moment of jaunty wit in the manner of beer-hall burlesque, especially between the two Aria movements. (1:53)
11. Aria (II) savors the sound of the cello over that of the flute. (0:40)
12. Sicilienne is an extended, Italian lyric in 6/8. The flute part covers several registers, supported by a throaty cello part. (3:23)
13. Gigue is a high energy dance in shrill, fast triplet figures. The music combines Italian street music with British dance-hall tropes. (1:58)
WEBER (1786-182): Trio for Piano, Flute, and Cello in G Minor, Op. 63 (1819) Carl Maria von Weber composed, conducted, and played the guitar. He studied with Haydn’s brother Michael and Giacomo Meyerbeer. Opera was Weber’s great love, but he composed in every form in the Romantic tradition. Richard Wagner admired Weber’s operatic talent, and Liszt his keyboard work.
14. Allegro moderato. Weber sets a tone of anxiety in the key of G Minor, offset by a secondary tune in B-flat Major. The development pulsates with 16th notes in light textures. The return to the dark opening features the grave song of the cello. (7:48)
15. The Scherzo (Allegro vivace) is marked by a kind of tonal ambivalence, G Minor and G Major. The easy lyricism at times reminds one of Italian opera, especially in the waltz rhythm. The return to the jumpy tune of the opus the flute loudly stating the rounded cadence. (2:43)
16. Schaefers Klage (Shepherd’s Lament, Andante espessivo). In B-flat Major, this movement follows a poem by Goethe (1804), a simple tune about loneliness, especially poignant in the cello. The quality of the flute lends a hopeful color to the meditation. (4:03)
17. Finale. The piano begins tis dramatic movement with impulses from the Gothic opera Der Freischuetz, the shooter of magic bullets. The flute’s theme in G Major dispels the gloom and asserts a happy resolution to any of the anxieties that haunt earlier pages. (6:05)