Presents
Gabriel Pierné
Sonata da Camera for Flute, Cello and Piano, Op.48
Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937) was born in the French city of Metz. His parents were musicians and he was eventually sent to study at the Paris Conservatoire, where his teachers included César Franck and Jules Massenet. A gifted and highly talented student, he won several prizes, including performance awards in piano and organ and composition awards in counterpoint and fugue. He also won the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1882. He enjoyed a successful career as an organist as well as a conductor at the Ballets Russes in Paris. He was also a prolific composer who left several works in most genres.
Pierne’s Sonata da camera was commissioned by the famous American patroness of chamber music, Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. Composed in 1926-27, it was dedicated to the memory of the flautest Louis Fleury, who had died prematurely. Pierne place's a quote from the fifth stanza of Virgil's ecologue as an epigraph and tribute to Fleury. "And so Mopsus, here we are / You skilled upon the reeds / And I can sing / Shall we not sit down together / Where the elm trees and hazel bushes blend." The work begins with a lively Prelude. The middle movement, Sarabande, on the name of Louis Fleury, is a moving lament. The finale features an modern, upbeat gigue followed by a more lyrical episode.
This is a work which should be investigated by professional ensembles looking for an important post-romantic era French work. It is sure to make an indelible impression if brought to the concert hall.
Parts: $29.95
