Chamber music is not the first musical form one would think of
when the name of Claude Debussy is mentioned. True, there's the
early String Quartet, the three late Sonatas and the Rhapsody
for clarinet and piano but that's it. It's only in recent years
that this Piano Trio has become an occasional visitor to
concert programmes. It was written when he was 18 years old, still
finding his way, and, more importantly, seeking his own voice
which, when he found it and gave it musical expression, would
shake the world with the Prélude à l'après
midi d'un faune. But we're getting ahead of ourselves here.
The Prélude is 12 years away and in 1880 Debussy
was hired by Tchaikovsky's patroness Nadezhda von Meck to tutor
her daughters, and he spent some time, in Russia. Would it be
too fanciful to, perhaps, hear a slight Russian influence at work
in this Trio? No it wouldn't, but no matter how much Russianness
Debussy may have absorbed, this is still very much French music,
even if of the generation Debussy was so soon to leave behind.
Like the trifles from La Demoiselle élue and Ariettes
oubliées, it's a pleasant piece which fills in 20 minutes
without doing anything too interesting. I would happily have done
without the arrangements, Printemps included, because they
are the work of others and really aren't that interesting.
What
makes this disk so important is the handful of pieces by Lili
Boulanger. Sister of the famous teacher Nadia, herself a composer
but never one to come anywhere near the genius of her younger
sibling, Lili lived a short life filled with music. She was the
first woman to win the Prix de Rome and whilst in Rome her music
radicalised and became more severe and personal. In a few short
years she progressed from Conservatoire fodder with the cantata
Faust et Hélène (1912), which won her the Prix de
Rome, to the major figure who produced the quite astonishing setting
of Psalm 130, Du fond de l'abime (1914/1917) for soloists,
chorus and orchestra, not to mention the song cycle Clairieres dans le Ciel and several chamber
pieces.
D'un
soir triste is a trio of deep seriousness, impressionist to
some extent, but entirely herself, written in her final months,
is as fine a piece as Lili ever wrote. It is indeed a sad night
but not one filled with tragedy – more like resignation at what
must be. This is an elegy of great seriousness and it is very
beautiful and constantly questing; typical Lili Boulanger. As
if to show the opposite side of the Boulanger coin, at the same
time as she wrote D'un soir triste she wrote the light
hearted D'un matin de printemps, a dramatic scherzo for
trio, and as exciting a work as you could want. The Nocturne
and Cortège are both described as being for either
violin or flute with piano, but surely this is purely for financial
reasons for both pieces suit the stringed instrument so much better
than the wind. The Nocturne is sweetly lyrical and contains
a very brief quote from Debussy's famous Prélude,
and the Cortège is a fun, dance-like, piece. The
solo piano works, D'un vieux jardin and D'un jardin
clair, compliment each other perfectly. Again impressionistic,
but with a simpler language than the other works, they transcend
their background and aim for a finer pedigree.
This
is a must for the still far too rare appearances of the music
of Lili Boulanger on disk. Fine performances, good notes, excellent
sound, very attractive packaging, all go to make this an issue
to cherish.
Bob
Briggs
