Fauré - Piano Quartet No. 1 In C Minor, Opus 15

Gabriel Fauré was the only member of his family that showed a talent for music. His father was a schoolmaster that became the head of teacher training college. His father was advised of his son's musical talent and made the decision to send him to Paris to the School Of Classical And Religious Music (which was founded and run by Louis Niedemeyer) when Fauré was 9 years old to study music. When Niedemeyer died in 1861, Camille Saint-Saëns came to the school and became in charge of piano studies and introduced the contemporary modern composers such as Liszt and Wagner to the students.  Fauré and Saint-Saëns became great friends and their friendship lasted until the death of Saint-Saëns 60 years later.

After 11 years of study, Fauré made his living as a church organist and piano teacher. He had little time for composing, but later in life he gained notoriety as a composer as well as the head of the Paris Conservatoire.

Fauré's 1st piano quartet is an early piece that was begun in 1876 and completed in 1879. Fauré played the piano part in the premiere of the piano quartet in 1880, after which he revised the work and wrote an entirely new last movement in 1883.  It has 4 movements:

I. Allegro molto moderato -  Fauré composed about 20 works for chamber ensemble, and save for one string quartet written late in life, all of them include the piano. The piano always takes an active and key role in his chamber works, and this is shown in the first movement of this work. The first C minor theme is in dotted rhythm in the strings that is accented by the off-the-beat comments of the piano:

This initial theme plays itself out and leads to the second theme that is in the major and more lyrical in nature. The second theme is economical in its parts, but Fauré develops the theme until a third theme is heard, which leads to a short reference to the first theme. There is a seamless transition to the development section as the first theme is explored. The dotted rhythm is heard in different guises and keys. Themes and rhythms meld into a seamless development section until the recapitulation begins with the first theme repeat. Fauré handles modulations with a deft smoothness that results in very pleasant music to the ear. There is contrast, but it is not a startling, dramatic contrast. The key of C minor is one of storm and passion to other composers, but Fauré uses it in his own lyrical style. The movement ends delicately in C major.

II. Scherzo: Allegro vivo -  The music begins in E-flat major, but C minor keeps appearing as the strings play a delicate pizzicato to the piano's quirkiness:

Unlike many other scherzos, this one is in two in a bar in a time signature that shifts from 6/8 to 2/4. The middle trio is in B-flat major and has muted strings accompanying the piano.

III. Adagio - The piano trio was written at a time in Fauré's life when he was with a woman he had been wooing for 5 years before they became engaged in 1877. They were engaged for about four months until the woman broke off the engagement. Fauré was heartbroken, and the slow movement of the quartet is the only hint of what he may have been feeling. The movement begins with a slow song in C minor:

The middle section of the movement strives for more of a dreamy lyricism, but the sadness of the opening returns. The movement is a model of classical restraint, and ends intimately in C minor.

IV. Allegro molto -  The finale begins with a dotted theme in C minor that hearkens back to the beginning of the quartet:

 The second theme begins in E-flat major, but doesn't seem to stay in that key very long. This movement perhaps carries more drama than the others, but it is still within Fauré's artistic sensibilities. There is a restless energy that climaxes in the middle of the movement, after which the piano continues to scamper as the violin and viola trade off motives. The cello enters as a reinforcement of the violin and viola as the piano can hold its own. The music gradually changes to the brightness of C major and it ends in that key after a coda that makes a few references to the dotted rhythms of previous movements.

Mendelssohn - Piano Trio No. 2 in C Minor, Opus 66

Felix Mendelssohn's life was a busy one from the days of his youthful study of music and art to his adult life as a performer, administrator and composer. The year that his C minor piano trio was composed saw him take a break from his strenuous duties as conductor and music director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra. His tremendous workload had taken its toll on his health, which was never to be as robust as before. The death of his beloved sister Fanny in 1847 was the final tragedy he could not overcome. She had died of complications from a stroke, a family medical situation that also took the lives of both of his parents and grandfather. Felix had a series of strokes as well, and died at the age of 38 six months after his sister.

The 2nd piano trio came six years after the Piano Trio No. 1 In D Minor, which is more often performed than the 2nd.

I. Allegro energico e con fuoco - The beginning of the first movement starts with a swirl of C minor in the piano:

Mendelssohn's gift for melody was as great (and often greater) than other composers and it is one of the traits for which he is best known. But this opening is not a melody at all, and not much of a theme either. Mendelssohn was one of the musicians that was most involved with the bringing back of J.S. Bach's music to the public in the early 19th century, and this opening is similar to the way Bach created musical feeling by means of harmony without obvious melody. The strings take up the swirl as the piano plays the harmony in block chords. A melody finally begins that is in C minor and is an extension of the harmonies heard in the opening. The music seamlessly segues into what may be thought of as another main theme of the exposition, this time with hints of B-flat major and G minor. The opening motive returns before the exposition seamlessly moves into the development section without being repeated. The recapitulation has the expected modulations of keys in the secondary themes and leads to a coda that turns calm before it erupts in a blast of octaves in the piano and the movement ends in C minor.

II. Andante espressivo - The second movement is a gentle melody in E-flat major that is first heard in the piano. The strings comment upon it, and the melody continues until a section in the minor is heard. The music ebbs and flows, but remains in a graceful humor, even in the more bitter sweet moments in the middle section.

III. Scherzo: Molto allegro quasi presto - A rapid scherzo of the type that Mendelssohn was known for:

If his intensely fast metronome marking of half note equals 88 beats is followed, it is a difficult movement to bring off with the proper lightness. It is quite short and ends before you know it.

IV. Finale: Allegro appassionato -  This movement is a rondo, with the recurring rondo theme solidly in C minor while the various episodes that are played between repeats of the rondo theme differ in character:

One of the episodes sounds somewhat like a chorale that has been described as a chorale tune used by Bach (which indeed he did), a hymn written by Martin Luther titled Herr Gott Dich Loben Wir (Lord God We Praise You), and a melody known as Old Hundredth taken from the association it had with the 100th psalm in the English church that was sung to the words 'Praise God From Whom All Blessing Flow'.  Why Mendelssohn used this tune is not known. Some conjecture that it was an affirmation of his conversion from Judaism to Christianity, but he never commented on it. Perhaps he just liked the tune and thought it would be a good fit for his piano trio. This episode returns near the end of the movement, and along with the main theme of the movement returning in C major, the trio ends in a positive mood.

Arriaga - String Quartet No. 3 In E-flat Major

Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga (full name Juan Crisóstomo Jacobo Antonio de Arriaga y Balzola) was a Basque/Spanish composer of the early 19th century. He was a child prodigy of tremendous natural abilities and when he was about fifteen years old was sent to the Paris Conservatoire in 1822 for serious study. His teachers, as well as the director of the Conservatoire, Luigi Cherubini, were amazed at his natural talent and ability to learn so quickly.

Arriaga was a hard working young man, and not only kept up with his studies but composed. His output was regretfully but understandably small, as he died a few days before his 20th birthday, possibly from tuberculosis. His list of surviving compositions includes a Symphony In D, and three string quartets that were written when he was sixteen. The quartets are modeled after the examples left by Haydn and Mozart and show Arriaga slowly developing his own voice. The 3rd quartet in E-flat major shows the progress he was making in his musical thought. The three string quartets are the most well known of Arriaga's compositions and are represented on numerous recordings.

I. Allegro -  The quartet begins with all four instruments playing in  unison a motive in E-flat major:

This motive is expanded upon and returns in different keys and is the main focus of the exposition section. Small fragments of other motives are heard until what can be considered as the second theme emerges more than halfway through the exposition:

The exposition is repeated. Since the exposition deals with the initial theme more than others, Arriaga gives balance in the development section by working with the second theme as well as other lesser motives. The recapitulation is as expected with sonata form of the time as the first theme is repeated and the second theme is heard in the home key. 

II. Pastorale - Andantino - In place of a slow movement, Arriaga offers a movement that begins with a gentle accompaniment to a gently rocking tune high in the violin register. The middle section has a segment reminiscent of the storm section of Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 'Pastoral' as Arriaga changes to a minor key and uses string tremolos to suggest a storm's high wind and pelting rain. After the agitated middle section, the movement returns to the bucolic music of the beginning.

III. Menuetto - Trio plus lent -  Despite the name, this movement is a Beethovenian scherzo in C minor:

 The trio section is a very short naïve peasant dance in C major:

IV. Presto agitato -  Not typical of music designated presto agitato,  but very attractive music nonetheless. Arriaga played violin in a string quartet when he was ten years old, and his knowledge as a player of the instrument shows in the brilliance of the 1st violin's music.

Ravel - Tzigane For Violin And Luthéal

Music is an art that goes through stages and fads like any other art. Turkish or Janissary music was a fad that saw Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven among other composers write music in that style. In the style of is an important phrase, for these composers and others Westernized the traditional music of Janissary bands to make it more suitable for their audiences. They used the rhythms and (for the time) the exotic sounds of drums, bells, and cymbals.

Another fad that lasted even longer was Gypsy music, although this was most often referred to as Hungarian such as Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies and the Hungarian Dances of Brahms. This too was in the style of Gypsy music, and didn't necessarily mean that authentic gypsy melodies were used. The Roma people tend to adapt the native music while also adding their own unique textures and rhythms to the mix. This mixture of cultures and styles is what came to be known as Hungarian music in the Romantic era. It wasn't until the research of musicians and ethnomusicologists such as Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály that the differences between Hungarian music and Gypsy (Roma) music were delineated.

Maurice Ravel was in the vanguard of modern composers of his generation, most often lumped into the category of Impressionist. But he explored different styles as well, and Tzigane has him looking back to the virtuosic violin works of Romanticism for inspiration. It was composed in 1924, and was originally for violin and luthéal. The luthéal was an attachment for grand piano that added a mechanism that could be lowered on the strings that would give the approximate sounds of a harp, harpsichord or cimbalom (a hammered dulcimer used in Gypsy music). The luthéal was invented by a Belgian organ builder in 1919, and Ravel wrote Tzigane for the instrument and used it in one of his operas.  The attachment proved to be unreliable and sensitive. It required constant adjustment and soon disappeared. The original score of Ravel's composition lists the instrument as well as the stops to be used, but the piece was usually played on the piano with out it. There was an original luthéal found rusting away in the museum of the Brussels Conservatory that was restored. There has also been a copy made.

Roughly half of the length of the work is a violin solo that uses virtuiosic techniques to create a sound world of a master Gypsy violinist. When the piano with luthéal enters, it does sound like a cimbalom, but with possibilites that the cimbalom doesn't have.  The title of the work itslef is a European term meaning Gypsy, but as other composers, Ravel writes in the style of Gypsy music and uses no gypsy themes.

Ravel orchestrated the work shortly after he wrote it, and it is most often heard in that version. The chamber version for violin and piano are heard, but the rarity of the luthéal makes a performance of Ravel's original as rare as the attachemnt itself. The video included below is a recording of the original version including the luthéal attachment.

Haydn - Piano Trio No. 45 In E-flat Major, Hob. XV:29

The two visits Joseph Haydn made to London in the late 18th century inspired him to compose works to be performed while he was there. Both trips were highly successful, and concerts were sold out for performances of his works. But Haydn was a composer in all genres, and not all of his music was written to be performed in public concert. The drawing rooms and parlors of the elite English served as locales for his chamber music as well.

Haydn met many musicians during his tours of London, with one of them being Therese Jansen Bartolozzi, a German pianist that had been a student of Muzio Clementi, a piano virtuoso, piano maker and music publisher that settled in England. Therese had moved to London with her family when she was still young.  Her and family attended some of the concerts given by Haydn during his first tour of London. Her reputation as a performer must have been formidable as she received dedications of compositions by Clementi, Dussek, and Haydn. 

Haydn dedicated three piano sonatas to her, and what is believed to be the last three piano trios Haydn composed. Piano trio No. 45  Hob. XV:29 is the last of the three and is in three movements:

I. Poco allegro -  The movements begins with an E-flat major chord and a theme taken up by the piano and violin. As is often the case with Haydn's piano trios, the cello usually doubles the bass line of the piano part. The piano of Haydn's day was not the concert grand audiences know of today. The tonal qualities were not as robust, but had plenty of character. Haydn composes the trio with a solid knowledge of what the piano of his day could accomplish as the piano writing keeps to separate lines instead of chordal passages. He blends the piano and strings into a pleasant and expressive whole. The movement has elements of sonata form and theme and variation. The short first section consists of a theme (the only real theme of the movement) that is dominated by a gentle dotted rhythm and is repeated. The next section develops the theme somewhat, is longer and is also repeated. The 3rd section is in E-flat minor, and shortly has the return of the original theme in E-flat major. This theme is elaborated upon in a fourth section that serves the purpose of a recapitulation. Haydn was 65 years old when he wrote this trio, and his creativity was still sharp as a coda brings an end to a expertly crafted movement.

II. Andantino ed innocentemente - As the tempo indication indicates, this music is of an innocent feeling, but that doesn't mean it's boring. It is written in B major, quite distant from the home key of E-flat major. Haydn was not only a master (and stretcher) of form, his harmonic structure can be unique as well. The movement doesn't last long, as Haydn shows his harmonic mastery again by modulation back to the home key as the final movement begins straight away.

III. Allemande - Presto assai -  Again, the tempo indication gives an advance of the nature of the music, for it is a German dance, a ländler. Haydn was fond of rapid finales, and this movement moves at a brisk pace. There are hints of the gypsy music he no doubt heard at Eszterháza, the estate in Hungary where he was employed by Prince Nikolaus Esterházy for many years. The movement ends in high spirits.  

Boccherini - Guitar Quintet No. 4 In D Major G 448 'Fandango'

Luigi Boccherini was not only one of the most prolific Italian composers of the 18th century, he was a virtuoso cellist as well. His father was a cellist and double bass player that sent Luigi to Rome for study. Father and son traveled to Vienna in 1757 where they were employed in the court orchestra. Boccherini became so proficient on his instrument that he could play much of the repertoire of the violin on the cello at pitch, a skill he learned when he substituted for an ailing or absent violinist in the orchestra.  In 1770 he traveled to Madrid, Spain and was in the employ of a brother of the King of Spain. He stayed in Spain for the rest of his life, and died there in 1805.

He composed mostly chamber music; about 100 string quartets, string trios and solo sonatas, and over 100 string quintets. Boccherini's string quintets didn't follow the usual instrumentation of the time; 2 violins, 2 violas and one cello. He did away with the second viola and replaced it with a second cello. In the 1790's he got a commission from a guitar playing Spanish nobleman to arrange some of the string quintets for guitar. Boccherini replaced the second cello with a guitar, revamped and arranged about a dozen string quintets.

Boccherini was influenced by the music he heard in Spain, and this influence shows in some of his compositions, especially the final movement of the Guitar Quintet No. 4. This guitar quintet is arranged from two previous string quintets. It is in 3 movements:

I. Pastorale -  With muted strings and a gentle guitar accompaniment, the first movement is a good example of the type of music Boccherini was known for. With gentleness, charm, and the slightest touch of melancholy, the music unfolds and leads to the quiet ending.

II. Allegro maestoso - The second movement opens with the cello, which is spotlighted throughout the movement. Boccherini gives a glimpse at what his virtuosity on the instrument must have been as the cello plays solo passages that include extended passages in harmonics. The guitar's role in this movement is as an ensemble instrument that adds to the texture, seldom being heard on its own.

III. Grave assai - Fandango - The finale starts with a short, slow introduction. The guitar is heard more as the music slowly transitions into the fandango. A Spanish dance that developed early in the 18th century, the fandango is a passionate and lively dance for two people. There are fandangos that can be sung as well. It is a dance that is most often played on guitars and is accompanied by castanets, and Boccherini includes parts for castanets as well as the sistrum. These percussion instruments aren't always included in performance. The guitarist in the video at the bottom of the page taps out castanet rhythms on the body of his instrument. The fandango builds in intensity until it ends.

Rimsky-Korsakov - String Sextet In A Major

In 1871, Rimsky-Korsakov was offered the position of professor of composition and orchestration at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory of Music.  He accepted the position although he was still an officer in the Russian Navy and had to teach his classes in uniform. Of more immediate concern was Rimsky-Korsakov's lack of formal musical education. He had already composed works for orchestra that had received glowing reviews, but he composed them by his natural talent and keen ear. He consulted his friend and mentor Pyotr Tchaikovsky who suggested he best get busy studying. Rimsky-Korsakov spoke of these years of study:

I practiced a lot and studied Bach’s oeuvre in particular, appreciating his genius, whereas before when I didn’t know his works well, I was inclined to follow the opinion of Balakirev, who called him a “composition machine”

Rimsky-Korsakov threw himself into a rigid program of self-education and came out of it a master. While he was studying he concentrated on technical exercises and did next to no original composition. After his crash course in theory and counterpoint, he began to compose works for smaller chamber ensembles and in 1876 entered a competition for compositions for chamber ensemble in two categories; works for strings alone and works for piano and one or more instruments. He entered a work in each category; the String Sextet In A Major and the Quintet in B-major for Piano, Flute, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon.

Neither one of his compositions won a prize, although the String Sextet got an honorable mention. The composer set aside the sextet and it was almost forgotten. It was finally published in 1912 after Rimsky-Korsakov's death, but that addition was lost after the Russian Revolution of 1917.  The sextet was reprinted during the soviet era, but went out of print. The work has since been reprinted and is heard on occasion.

The String Sextet is in 5 movements:

I. Allegro vivace - The first movement begins with a theme theme that is solidly in the home key of A major. This theme is passed along the instruments until the next theme begins. This second theme resembles the first in mood, and the exposition gives a feeling of charm and grace.The development section is short and maintains the mood. Rimsky-Korsakov's study of counterpoint is in evidence periodically as themes are played off against each other. A slight repetitive climax leads to the recapitulation as the main theme returns with a more elaborate accompaniment. The movement ends with a short coda.

II. Rondo fugato. Allegretto grazioso - The composer was rather proud of this movement, a six-voiced fugue, along with other contrapuntal sections.

III. Scherzo. Vivace alla saltarello - A saltarello is a fast Italian dance. This one is just that, fast and somewhat furious. The middle section is in contrast as it is slower and has a theme that is treated contrapuntally.

IV. Andante espressivo - The only slow movement in the sextet begins with a mellow theme for the cello. The music proceeds slowly and the tune is highlighted with complex counter melodies and a rich accompaniment as it moves from the cello to violin.

V. Finale. Allegro molto - The instruments bounce a rondo theme back and forth and in unison. Slight slower episodes give way to the rondo theme, and the movement ends with a short coda.