Symphony in B-flat (Chausson)
Encyclopedia
Ernest Chausson
's Symphony in B flat major (Op. 20), his only symphony
, was written in the year 1890 and first performed on April 1891 at a concert of the Société Nationale de Musique
conducted by the composer. It was dedicated to the French painter and art collector Henry Lerolle
. As with César Franck
's sole Symphony the critics were divided. The work may be arguably named as Chausson's masterpiece.
s, piccolo
, 2 oboe
s, cor anglais
, 2 clarinet
s in B flat, bass clarinet
, 3 bassoon
s, 4 horns
in F, 4 trumpet
s, 3 trombone
s, tuba
, timpani
, 2 harp
s and strings
.
, it also employs the cyclic form of recurring themes.
The first movement follows a personal adaptation of sonata-form, dividing the development section into several sections, with a highly dramatic slow introduction, introducing the solemn main theme of the symphony. It slowly builds to an anguished climax only to be followed by a very swift and light-hearted allegro vivo in the key of B flat major. The second subject is more relaxed and harmonised in chromatic-impressionistic chords. After a sudden heightening tension the Allegro Vivo theme is restated and the movement closes triumphantly.
The second movement is an A-B-A' structure and brings in mind Chausson's songs. It begins darkly in the key of D minor. The second subject, in B flat, is more optimistic. This builds up in a double climax, the second being a rather bold restatement of the first subject.The movement ends in D major.
The third movement is a rondo structure supplemented by an epilogue, not unlike the finale in Franck's Symphony in D minor. The beginning is rather tempestuous, expressed in swift 16th figures alternating inexorably between strings and woodwind. The second theme is a brass chorale, reminiscent of Franck. The conclusion of the symphony is undoubtedly the most moving of all with the theme of the first movement stealing in and fading away in the end.
The Symphony takes Franck's concept of three-movement pattern with cyclic form one step further, making the form more dramatic and compressing symphonic form, a task taken to its extremes by Jean Sibelius
. Harmonically it takes Franck's chromaticism towards something more impressionistic.
Another curious parallel with the Franck Symphony is the key relationships between the movements.
Franck. Symphony in D minor
op. 48 (1886–1888)
Chausson. Symphony in B flat major op. 20 (1890)
Ernest Chausson
Amédée-Ernest Chausson was a French romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish.-Life:Ernest Chausson was born in Paris into a prosperous bourgeois family...
's Symphony in B flat major (Op. 20), his only symphony
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
, was written in the year 1890 and first performed on April 1891 at a concert of the Société Nationale de Musique
Société Nationale de Musique
The Société Nationale de Musique was founded on February 25, 1871 to promote French music and to allow young composers to present their music in public...
conducted by the composer. It was dedicated to the French painter and art collector Henry Lerolle
Henry Lerolle
Henry Lerolle was a French painter, art collector and patron, born in Paris. He studied at Académie Suisse and in the studio of Louis Lamothe....
. As with César Franck
César Franck
César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....
's sole Symphony the critics were divided. The work may be arguably named as Chausson's masterpiece.
Instrumentation
The score calls for 2 fluteFlute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s, piccolo
Piccolo
The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
, 2 oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, cor anglais
Cor anglais
The cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
, 2 clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s in B flat, bass clarinet
Bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
, 3 bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, 4 horns
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
in F, 4 trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, 3 trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, 2 harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
s and strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
.
Structure
The symphony follows the 3-movement form as established by Chausson's teacher and mentor César FranckCésar Franck
César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....
, it also employs the cyclic form of recurring themes.
- I. Lent-Allegro vivo
- II. Très Lent
- III. Animé
The first movement follows a personal adaptation of sonata-form, dividing the development section into several sections, with a highly dramatic slow introduction, introducing the solemn main theme of the symphony. It slowly builds to an anguished climax only to be followed by a very swift and light-hearted allegro vivo in the key of B flat major. The second subject is more relaxed and harmonised in chromatic-impressionistic chords. After a sudden heightening tension the Allegro Vivo theme is restated and the movement closes triumphantly.
The second movement is an A-B-A' structure and brings in mind Chausson's songs. It begins darkly in the key of D minor. The second subject, in B flat, is more optimistic. This builds up in a double climax, the second being a rather bold restatement of the first subject.The movement ends in D major.
The third movement is a rondo structure supplemented by an epilogue, not unlike the finale in Franck's Symphony in D minor. The beginning is rather tempestuous, expressed in swift 16th figures alternating inexorably between strings and woodwind. The second theme is a brass chorale, reminiscent of Franck. The conclusion of the symphony is undoubtedly the most moving of all with the theme of the first movement stealing in and fading away in the end.
The Symphony takes Franck's concept of three-movement pattern with cyclic form one step further, making the form more dramatic and compressing symphonic form, a task taken to its extremes by Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
. Harmonically it takes Franck's chromaticism towards something more impressionistic.
Another curious parallel with the Franck Symphony is the key relationships between the movements.
Franck. Symphony in D minor
Symphony in D minor (Franck)
The Symphony in D minor is the most famous orchestral work and the only symphony written by the 19th-century Belgian composer César Franck. After two years of work, the symphony was completed 22 August 1888. It was premiered at the Paris Conservatory on 17 February 1889 under the direction of ...
op. 48 (1886–1888)
- I. Lento - Allegro non troppo. D minor (ending in D major)
- II. Allegretto. B flat minor (ending in B flat major)
- III. Allegro non troppo D major
Chausson. Symphony in B flat major op. 20 (1890)
- I. Lent - Allegro Vivo. B flat major
- II. Très Lent. D minor (ending in D major)
- III. Animé. B flat minor (ending in B flat major)