July / August 2013

The Piano Trios of Cécile Chaminade

Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944) was born in Paris to a well-to-do middle class family. Her musical talent showed itself early on as she began studying the piano. She also exhibited skill at composing when at the age of eight she wrote several pieces of sacred music which were said to have impressed Bizet, a family friend. Though she wished to attend the Paris Conservatory, her father was opposed to it. Nonetheless, he allowed her to study with the professors who taught there, but on a private basis. Her main teachers were Savart, Marsick and Benjamin Godard. With the help of her influential teachers, some of her compositions were publicly performed, but in general, the French public was indifferent to her work. Her piano playing was another matter. A fine pianist, she developed an international touring career during the 1890’s, championing her own music as she went. Chaminade and her music were especially popular both in Britain and America. Her marriage in 1901 to a music publisher meant that the bulk of her compositions were printed. Most were for solo piano or piano and voice. She only wrote two chamber works, both piano trios.

Piano Trio No.1 in g minor, Op.11 was composed in 1881 and is in four movements. The opening Allegro is logically laid out and despite the key, not particularly tragic. The thematic material has a touch of the mediaeval to it but also bears some affinity to Faure. As the movement progresses, the use of counterpoint becomes more pronounced, but the music never loses its sense of lightness. The writing for the strings is accomplished and shows she was familiar with the instruments. The second movement might be a textbook example of the music from the mid-Romantic period. It is a heartfelt love duet between the violin and cello, at times passionate and always lyrical. The piano is tastefully used throughout as the harmonic underpinning of the music which has the strong perfume of Schumann about it. A marvelous scherzo, Presto leggiero, follows. It opens with a sparkling series of fast, but light passages in the piano which set the mood for the entry of the first theme given out by both the cello and violin. At its completion, the cello presents the particularly tuneful second theme. This movement is especially noteworthy and shows the excellence of Chaminade’s chamber music style. This is a superbly conceived scherzo—elegant, charming and beautiful. In the finale, Allegro molto agitato, once again, there is a whiff of Faure, but the music is also fresh and original sounding.

Piano Trio No.2 in a minor, Op.34 dates from 1887. In three movements, it lacks a scherzo. The opening bars of the Allegro moderato set a completely different mood from that of First Trio. It is heavier, more muscular. The music almost has a Brahmsian credo to it—a kind of austere, dark and brooding nobility. Much of the thematic material involves scale passages. In two highly dramatic and striking episodes, the piano restates the opening theme, first in a soprano register then again in the bass, making it somehow sound as if there were an extra voice—all against the tremolo (the first time) and triplets (the second time) in the strings. In the middle movement, Lento, the strings, in one voice much of the time, state and develop the lovely first theme which has an undeniable vocal quality to it. The delicate lyricism of the music shows the influence of her teacher, Benjamin Godard. The finale, Allegro energico, begins with much of the power and resoluteness that appeared in the first movement. The thematic material is stronger and more memorable and there are several exciting chromatic bridge passages as well as other original effects along with a very effective coda.

You can hear generous soundbites of the two string quartets and the string quintet discussed above on our website and the sheet music to all are  available from Edition Silvertrust.