PROGRAM
NOTES by Steven Lowe
GABRIEL FAURÉ
Elégie for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 24
BORN: May 12, 1845, in Pamiers
DIED: November 24, 1924, in Paris
WORK COMPOSED: 1880 (cello and piano); 1895 (orchestral version)
WORLD PREMIERE: January 23, 1902, in Monte Carlo, Carlo Sansoni, cello; Léon Jéhin, conductor
The gentle, understated beauty of Fauré insinuates itself into the listener’s consciousness
through nuance and suggestion. Quintessentially French in its economy and deftness of musical
stroke, it is music that ingratiates itself by increased intimacy and clarity. Still, it is a mistake to
think that he could not deal with deep emotion. The Elégie is a prime example of Fauré’s ability
to distil anguish into a short, but touchingly effective musical statement. The choice of a cello,
with its baritonal human timbres, is the perfect voice for so personal a statement. Charles
Koechlin, a fine if neglected composer and a disciple of Fauré, wrote of this music: “Grief is not
far from this essentially human work.” The organist at Fauré’s funeral used the Elégie’s main
theme as the subject for an improvisation.
Fauré composed this lovely work in 1880 as the slow movement for a proposed cello sonata that
never materialized—though two such sonatas emerged from his pen some four decades later.
The composer was evidently quite pleased with the reception the cello/piano version received
at its unofficial first performance at the home of Camille Saint-Saëns in 1880 and at its first
public performance at the Société Nationale in Paris on December 15, 1883. Although he didn’t
complete the sonata, he recast it for cello and orchestra in which guise it ripened considerably.
The warm string and wind tones—and especially the plaintive clarinet’s elaboration on the
work’s basic ineffably sad theme — enhance the somber coloration of this affecting music.
Scored for solo cello, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns and strings.
© 2016 Steven Lowe
