Harmonies Du Soir. A festival of French chamber music. A beautiful way to bring the year together.
Could the Adagio of Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 1 have inspired the fictional sonata by Vinteuil, the “little phrase” in Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time? In the novel it marks the deepening love between Swann and Odette and later the heartache of their separation.
Fauré himself was grieving after the end of his engagement to Marianne Viardot, and pianist Marguerite Long later recalled being unable to hide her tears when performing the quartet while Fauré quietly turned pages for her.
The program places this emotional centre alongside other voices of French music. Louise Farrenc’s Nonet brings together a wind quintet and a string quartet in a four-movement design that follows classical forms while giving each instrument an equal role. Mel Bonis’s Scènes de la forêt offers a sequence of short, nature-themed pieces that evoke quiet woodland scenes. Pauline Garcia Viardot, singer, pianist, composer and sister of Fauré’s former fiancée, adds a different intimacy with the salon elegance of her Romance and the lively Tarantella from Six Morceaux.
Louise FARRENC Nonet
Mel BONIS Scènes de la forêt
Pauline GARCIA-VIARDOT Romance and Tarantella from Six Morceaux
Gabriel FAURÉ Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor
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For this event, tickets booked in advance are offered on a "pay what you wish" basis. In addition to a Standard price, we offer the option of paying A Little Extra for those who would like to contribute a little more, as well as the option of paying A Little Less. Read more about the change here. If you are booking over the phone, simply tell us your preferred ticket price. Tickets purchased at the door will be available at the Standard price and are subject to availability. |
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Image: Édouard Manet, Méry Laurent au Chapeau Noir, 1882. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Méry Laurent was a celebrated Parisian courtesan and salon host who inspired several of Marcel Proust’s characters in In Search of Lost Time, including aspects of Odette de Crécy.