Emmanuel Chabrier – I
This is the first of two episodes on French composer Emmanuel Chabrier. Chabrier was born in 1841 in Auvergne. His father, Jean Chabrier, was a lawyer, and he wanted his son to follow in his footsteps, despite his undeniable musical talents. The family moved to Paris in 1856 so that Emmanuel could go to law school there. However, he continued to take music lessons as well. After he graduated, he joined the French civil service and started working as a lawyer for the Ministry of the Interior. He would continue to work there for nineteen years before he before fully turning to music. He died at the age of 53 due to a late stage of syphilis.
As a composer, Chabrier is best known nowadays for some orchestral works, most notably his rhapsody “España”. However, he also wrote a couple of operas, piano pieces and songs. Curiously, he did not write any symphonies, solo concertos, string quartets or religious music. His limited academic musical training allowed him to develop his own musical language, independent of written rules. French composers that came after him considered him an important innovator and someone who showed the way to French modernism. This hour features a number of songs and piano pieces by Chabrier.
Playlist:
- Emmanuel Chabrier: ‘Les Cigales’. Felicity Lott, soprano; Graham Johnson, piano
- Emmanuel Chabrier: ‘Villanelle des petits canards’. Felicity Lott, soprano; Graham Johnson, piano
- Emmanuel Chabrier: ‘Ballade des gros dindons’. Stephen Varcoe, baritone; Graham Johnson, piano
- Emmanuel Chabrier: ‘L’invitation au voyage’. Felicity Lott, soprano; Ursula Leveaux, bassoon; Graham Johnson, piano
- Emmanuel Chabrier: Duo de l’ouvreuse de l’opéra-comique et de l’employé du bon marché. Geraldine McGreevy, soprano; Toby Spence, tenor; Graham Johnson, piano
- Emmanuel Chabrier: Ode à la musique. Geraldine McGreevy, soprano; Polyphony; Graham Johnson, piano
- Emmanuel Chabrier: Pièces pittoresques (No. 1-4). Alain Planès, piano
- Emmanuel Chabrier: Trois valses romantiques. Robert & Gaby Casadesus, piano
Picture: Emmanuel Chabrier painted by Edouard Manet
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