Autograph Musical Manuscript of the arrangement for piano four hands. Title (v.b.); "Légende"; 1 - 20 pp. In brown ink, with occasional insertions (mostly instrumentation notes) in red ink, pencil or blue crayon. Despite the title page designation, the manuscript is entirely in Chausson's hand and is dedicated on the title page to Jeanne Escudier, whom he married in June, 1883.
This is an important and rare manuscript from the composer who died tragically young, at age 44, after a bicycle accident where he lost control of his bike and crashed into a brick wall. His music, a stylistic bridge between Romanticism and nascent Impressionism, is marked by its refined chromaticism and introspective lyricism.
The symphonic poem Viviane, Op. 5, was Chausson's first true composition for orchestra. He had attended the world premiere of the Wagner's Parsifal at Bayreuth in July and this work was begun shortly thereafter, in September, 1882, and is clearly influenced by Wagner and by his teacher, César Franck.
Named after the fairy Viviane of Arthurian legend, Chausson's piece concentrates on the episode of her affair with the wizard Merlin in the forest of Broncéliande. Chausson's deep interest in Arthurian legend would lead him to spend many years finishing the only opera of his career, Le roi Arthus, Op. 23 (1886–95).
Chausson completed Viviane in December 1882 and dedicated it to Jeanne Escudier, whom he was going to marry in June. The work was premiered at a concert of the Société Nationale de Musique in the Salle Érard on 31 March 1883, conducted by Édouard Colonne, which also featured the premiere of Franck's Le Chasseur maudit. In 1887, Chausson made a major reorchestration of Viviane, which was first presented by Charles Lamoureux on 29 January 1888.
Autograph Musical Manuscript of the arrangement for piano four hands. Title (v.b.); "Légende"; 1 - 20 pp. In brown ink, with occasional insertions (mostly instrumentation notes) in red ink, pencil or blue crayon. Despite the title page designation, the manuscript is entirely in Chausson's hand and is dedicated on the title page to Jeanne Escudier, whom he married in June, 1883.
This is an important and rare manuscript from the composer who died tragically young, at age 44, after a bicycle accident where he lost control of his bike and crashed into a brick wall. His music, a stylistic bridge between Romanticism and nascent Impressionism, is marked by its refined chromaticism and introspective lyricism.
The symphonic poem Viviane, Op. 5, was Chausson's first true composition for orchestra. He had attended the world premiere of the Wagner's Parsifal at Bayreuth in July and this work was begun shortly thereafter, in September, 1882, and is clearly influenced by Wagner and by his teacher, César Franck.
Named after the fairy Viviane of Arthurian legend, Chausson's piece concentrates on the episode of her affair with the wizard Merlin in the forest of Broncéliande. Chausson's deep interest in Arthurian legend would lead him to spend many years finishing the only opera of his career, Le roi Arthus, Op. 23 (1886–95).
Chausson completed Viviane in December 1882 and dedicated it to Jeanne Escudier, whom he was going to marry in June. The work was premiered at a concert of the Société Nationale de Musique in the Salle Érard on 31 March 1883, conducted by Édouard Colonne, which also featured the premiere of Franck's Le Chasseur maudit. In 1887, Chausson made a major reorchestration of Viviane, which was first presented by Charles Lamoureux on 29 January 1888.