Considered "dangerously modern", the French composer Gabriel Fauré was turned down for the post of professor of composition at the Paris Conservatoire when it became vacant in 1892. But he was offered another position: inspector of music schools in the French provinces. Fauré was almost fifty years old, and married, so, the position suited him well as it provided him with a steady income. He could then give up the private lessons he gave to poorly endowed pupils, but it also meant he had to embark on long journeys across the country. He had been married for less than ten years to Marie Fremiet. The marriage got along conveniently well but Marie began to resent the frequent travels, and as, it is said, Gabriel was very sensitive to female beauty, it was not long before he set his eyes on a new companion.
Meeting Emma During the 1880s, Fauré wrote songs and short pieces for piano, but he felt insecure about tackling compositions of greater relevance. Slowly, however, his works began to show greater harmonic complexity and melodic lines. It would be in the next decade, inspecting in the provinces the paths along which French music was marching when the author would find his own way. It was precisely in those years that he met the cultivated singer and brilliant conversationalist Emma Bardac.
Emma Bardac (1862 - 1934)
Yes, indeed. Emma Bardac is the second wife of Claude Debussy, whom Emma accompanied until his death in 1918. But in 1890 she was still the happy wife of a banker and remained so, intermittently until she met Debussy. In the meantime, she fell under the spell of Gabriel Fauré who, unlike Debussy, had no intention of abandoning his wife, Marie. They remained good friends (he had two children with her), and Fauré, from wherever his travels took him, would send Marie affectionate letters almost every day.
Gabriel Fauré (c. 1889) (1845 - 1924)
But Fauré had fallen in love with Emma. For the first time, at almost 50 years of age, he was experiencing a passionate relationship that satisfied him entirely. According to scholars, the affair would have provoked an explosion of creativity in Fauré, as evidenced by a famous song cycle for voice and piano on verses by Verlaine, La Bonne Chanson, opus 61, and the delightful piano suite "Dolly".
"Dolly" Suite for piano four hands, op 56 Emma had a daughter, Helena, called "Dolly", in the family. The six short piano pieces that make up the suite are dedicated to her. Composed between 1893 and 1896, they are intended to celebrate birthdays and other family events in little Dolly's life. Contrary to his custom, Fauré gave the pieces descriptive names: Berceuse - Mi-a-ou - Le Jardin de Dolly - Kitty-valse - Tendresse - Le pas espagnol. The most popular of these is the first, Berceuse, which for years accompanied a famous BBC program in Great Britain.
Thus, Emma Bardac added a first musical gift to one of her daughters. Later will come the cycle Children's Corner, by Debussy, dedicated this time to Chouchou, the nickname of Claude-Emma, their daughter.
The performance is by the Dutch brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen. In about ten minutes, they perform four of the six pieces that make up the suite:
00:00 Berceuse 03:06 Mi-a-ou 05:02 Le Jardin de Dolly 07:39 Pas Espagnole
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