Fauré

Gabriel Fauré · French composer, organist, pianist and teacher (1845–1924) · 1845–1924

Appears in 17 videos · 18 passages, 3 of them in depth.

Summary

Dominique Pagani places Fauré within the renewal of French music under the Third Republic. He presents him as the one who begins the French reaction against the diktat of German music1 and ranks him alongside Debussy and Ravel in the great triad of musical impressionism2. He often links him to Brahms: Fauré is "Brahms minus Protestantism"3, with Brahms's languors but without the spirit of gravity. In Fauré, pleasure takes over the music, and a science of composition keeps this enjoyment under control. The second sonata for violin and piano is his example4. He stresses the gentleness of the Requiem, which has none of the terrifying pomp and which Fauré himself called dreamy, without trumpets of death5. Several times he counts him among the possible models for Vinteuil's sonata in Proust, the model of charm. He also reports that on hearing his variations played by Clara Haskil, Fauré found more music in them than he had written, and he sees in this what interpreting is6. Finally, he notes that Fauré set Baudelaire to music, that jazz musicians love him, and that, being so French, he took a long time to be appreciated abroad.

Summary produced automatically from 18 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.

Who is this?

Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. Among his best-known works are his Pavane, Requiem, Sicilienne, nocturnes for piano and the songs "Après un rêve" and "Clair de lune". Although his best-known and most accessible compositions are generally his earlier ones, Fauré composed many of his most highly regarded works in his later years, in a more harmonically and melodically complex style. […]

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Text: Wikipédia, CC BY-SA 4.0, excerpt · Portrait: Eugène Pirou, Public domain

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Series · 25 Mar 2021#17 Interpretation

50:50He discovers in his variations, played by Clara Haskil, more music than he had written: this remark shows what interpreting is.

Series · 11 Jan 2021#8 Happiness and unhappiness in music

1:18:18In his work pleasure pervades the music: Brahms's languors without the spirit of gravity.

Series · 11 Dec 2020#5 Happiness versus the death drive in music

1:10:59Violin Sonata No. 2Overflows with pleasure mastered by a science of writing; his second sonata concentrates the pleasures of musical impressionism.