How to Play Chausson’s ‘Poème’ for Violin & Orchestra _ ORCHESTRA _ Repertoire _ All Things...

7212019 How to Play Chaussonrsquos lsquoPoegravemersquo for Violin amp Orchestra _ ORCHESTRA _ Repertoire _ All Things Strings

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06022016 How to Play Chaussonrsquos lsquoPoegravemersquo for Violin amp Orchestra ORCHESTRA Repertoire All Things Strings

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How to Play Chaussonrsquos lsquoPoegravemersquo for Violin amp

Orchestra

This work can be elusive but with a little practice you can master its enigmatic nature

By posted January 2012

French romantic composer Ameacutedeacutee-Ernest Chausson (20 January 1855 ndash 10 June 1899)

Amedee Ernest Chausson (1855ndash99) composer extraordinaire appears to have been a man

mercifully afflicted by the elusive idea that less is more I learned this in the early 1960s as a newly

matriculated violin student at university when I first was introduced to Chausson and his

phantasmagoric Poegraveme for violin and orchestra Op 25 I had already been apprised of Poegravemersquos

many attractive qualities but one afternoon I decided casually to inquire of my violin teacher-to-be

what the prospects were for learning and ultimately performing Poegraveme at some point during my

college career





I donrsquot recall his exact response but I do remember the word anathema blasting a hole through m

skull while he informed me that Chaussonrsquos Poegraveme was not on the list for our violin departmentrsquos

required repertoire

For years nary a mention of that incident found its way to the ldquofor further discussionrdquo box relative t

my and Monsieur Chaussonrsquos beloved Poegraveme

So be it

Still I did promise myself that at some point I would create a gaping hole in space from which I

could manifest to the best of my limited abilities an effort that would support a workable less-is-

more truism

I would perform Poegraveme

With that in mind and having recently recorded this staple of the concerto repertoire I have gone

on to marvel at the joys and challenges presented by this elegant piece

The Soul of Poegraveme

The product of a prominent French family Chausson enjoyed ldquoplaying at workrdquo by virtue of his

management of the Chausson familyrsquos famousmdashand lucrativemdashsalon situated at 22 Boulevard de

Courcelles in Paris During his earlier years the timid Chaussonmdasha close associate of Cesar

Franck and of Claude Debussymdashconcluded there was need for a new order of French music and

encouraged all who would listen to dispose of any remnants that survived the Wagnermania then

sweeping Western Europe

And he took his own advice

The lyrical Poegraveme a single-movement work published in 1896 just three years before his death

based on ldquoThe Song of Triumphant Loverdquo a short story by the Russian novelist short story writer

and playwright Ivan Turgenev Itrsquos the tale of two young men Fabio and Muzio who fall in love wit

the same woman Valeria (some have suggested that Chausson also was inspired by a real-lifelove triangle involving his friend Fauregrave and a popular mezzo-soprano)

Itrsquos advisable to read the short story to fully grasp Chaussonrsquos inspiration for Poegraveme Here is an

excerpt of Turgenevrsquos story from a program note written by the violinist Nicholas DiEugenio in

which Muziomdasha musicianmdashreturns from a long journey in the Far East to visit his old artist friend

Fabio and Fabiorsquos now wife Valeria ldquoHe ordered the Malay to bring him his Indian violin It

resembled present-day ones except that instead of four strings it had three the top of it was

covered in bluish snakeskin and the delicate reed bow had a semi-circular appearance and on





the end of it glittered a pointed diamond

ldquoFirst of all Muzio played several melancholymdashas he called themmdashfolk songs strange and even

savage to Italian ears the sound of the metallic strings was mournful and feeble But when Muzio

began the final song the very sound suddenly grew stronger and quivered resonantly and

powerfully a passionate melody poured out from beneath the broad sweeps of the bow poured

out in beautiful sinuous coils like that very snake whose skin covered the top of the violin and the

melody burned with such fire was radiant with such triumphant joy that both Fabio and Valeria

were pieced to their very hearts and tears came into their eyes and Muzio with his head bent

forward pressed over the violin his cheeks grown pale and his brows drawn together in one

straight line seemed even more concentrated and solemnmdashand the diamond on the end of the

violin bow shed sparkling rays as it moved as if it had also been ignited by the fire of the wondrou

song

ldquo lsquoWhat is it Itrsquos a melody I heard once on the isle of Ceylon The song is considered by the

people there to be a song of happy and satisfied love rsquo

ldquo[And] on saying goodbye he pressed her hand ever so firmly pushing his fingers into her palm

and looking her so insistently in the face that she though she did not raise her eyes nonetheless

felt the look on her suddenly burning cheeksrdquo

Heady stuff in the post-Romantic era

ldquoWritten for famed violinist-composer Eugene Ysayumle Poegraveme is a work about a violinist for a

violinist and prescribing to the Italian myth of the violinrsquos very lurerdquo DiEugenio concluded in his

program note ldquoIt blends the French impressions of the East with the Italian affect of drama and is

a unique masterpiece in the history of musicrdquo

To hone the workrsquos poetic quality Chausson pored meticulously and laboriously over Poegravemersquos

manuscripts when three years before his death he decided that he had finally produced a worthy

and palpable score

Indeed in the months leading up to his death and confident that he had eliminated what he called

ldquomy window dressingrdquo he endeavored to pare down most of his extant compositions which

included Poegraveme

Thanks to his editing Poegraveme plays like a poem a stripped-down emotive work that personifies

that less-is-more compositional ethic I find Poegraveme to fit the mantle that was destined for

Chaussonrsquos anticipated ldquoperfect compositionrdquo It is up to those who perform it to honor the spirit of

the work and find personal meaning within its passages





Indeed tone and expression are two important elements you must consider when interpreting

Poegraveme But there is more A few years ago someone on the violinistcom chat forum asked me to

describe the technical challenges of Poegraveme Herersquos what I told them there was once a motion

picture mystery thriller titled The Deep Thatrsquos perhaps perfect imagery of how enigmatic

wonderfully elusive and mysterious Poegraveme can bemdashand thatrsquos only on the surface

How to Play Poegraveme

Poegraveme starts off dark and brooding and deeply intimate before shifting moods and adding

pyrotechnics The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians refers to the work as possessing

an ldquoalmost morbidly fantastic qualityrdquo To the best of my knowledge the composer never admitted

to having any ldquosecretsrdquo regarding how to play Poegraveme To tame the work technically is not the

primary objective of discussing Poegravememdashmost accomplished violinists can play the piece well

enough to do what Chausson expected of them But prepare yourself for an almost endless

onslaughtmdashChaussonrsquos deceptively simple opening cadenza sets a voracious trap for unwary

violinists The piece then escalates to a formidable exercise in conquering a challenging patch of

nasty double-stops Watch your intonation in this spot and constantly wax robust while keeping

your sound on edge Do a considerable amount of playing close to the bridge so that you can

easily cut through the concertina wire Utilize varying speeds of consistent vibrato and never forge

that Chausson is always the power monger and sound brokermdashhe loves to beat you with tzigane

esque fervor

In high tessitura as a rule the less-is-more approach will generally get you the best results

Poegraveme is a long difficult and sensually gripping playing experience so you must save as much

energy as you can But spend as much energy as your kaleidoscopic palette can handle

because rarely do you get the opportunity to freewheel in such copious amounts of violinistic

splendor

Remember there is no obvious set-form here so you are pretty much on your own but donrsquot

knowingly fall victim to gilding the lily Everything you deliver to the audience must be done while

honestly exhibiting impeccable taste and style On the other hand consciously try to perform with

ldquotrue gritrdquo regarding projection

And do make a viable artistic statementmdashthe audience wants to know what you are not

necessarily who you are

Finally and this is a quintessential aspect of performance that will lend itself to a successful and

meaningful performance of Poegraveme donrsquot let Chausson play you

Learn more about Chicago violinist Vincent P Skowronski at skowronskiplayscom





This article appeared in Strings January 20

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Take a seat in this Ida Kavafian master class





I donrsquot recall his exact response but I do remember the word anathema blasting a hole through m

skull while he informed me that Chaussonrsquos Poegraveme was not on the list for our violin departmentrsquos

required repertoire

For years nary a mention of that incident found its way to the ldquofor further discussionrdquo box relative t

my and Monsieur Chaussonrsquos beloved Poegraveme

So be it

Still I did promise myself that at some point I would create a gaping hole in space from which I

could manifest to the best of my limited abilities an effort that would support a workable less-is-

more truism

I would perform Poegraveme

With that in mind and having recently recorded this staple of the concerto repertoire I have gone

on to marvel at the joys and challenges presented by this elegant piece

The Soul of Poegraveme

The product of a prominent French family Chausson enjoyed ldquoplaying at workrdquo by virtue of his

management of the Chausson familyrsquos famousmdashand lucrativemdashsalon situated at 22 Boulevard de

Courcelles in Paris During his earlier years the timid Chaussonmdasha close associate of Cesar

Franck and of Claude Debussymdashconcluded there was need for a new order of French music and

encouraged all who would listen to dispose of any remnants that survived the Wagnermania then

sweeping Western Europe

And he took his own advice

The lyrical Poegraveme a single-movement work published in 1896 just three years before his death

based on ldquoThe Song of Triumphant Loverdquo a short story by the Russian novelist short story writer

and playwright Ivan Turgenev Itrsquos the tale of two young men Fabio and Muzio who fall in love wit

the same woman Valeria (some have suggested that Chausson also was inspired by a real-lifelove triangle involving his friend Fauregrave and a popular mezzo-soprano)

Itrsquos advisable to read the short story to fully grasp Chaussonrsquos inspiration for Poegraveme Here is an

excerpt of Turgenevrsquos story from a program note written by the violinist Nicholas DiEugenio in

which Muziomdasha musicianmdashreturns from a long journey in the Far East to visit his old artist friend

Fabio and Fabiorsquos now wife Valeria ldquoHe ordered the Malay to bring him his Indian violin It

resembled present-day ones except that instead of four strings it had three the top of it was

covered in bluish snakeskin and the delicate reed bow had a semi-circular appearance and on
















song













and palpable score



included Poegraveme



























esque fervor





splendor

























native land


















song













and palpable score



included Poegraveme



























esque fervor





splendor

























native land

























esque fervor





splendor

























native land


















native land



How to Play Chausson’s ‘Poème’ for Violin & Orchestra _ ORCHESTRA _ Repertoire _ All Things...

Documents

Transcript of How to Play Chausson’s ‘Poème’ for Violin & Orchestra _ ORCHESTRA _ Repertoire _ All Things...