Composed 1887, 1890-94, 1903-5; 31 minutes

Fauré’s First Piano Quintet is a work of striking emotional ambiguity and structural refinement, shaped by an unusually protracted creative process. First sketched in 1887, the work wasn’t completed until 1905 after several intense summers of revision and re-writing. The opening is ethereal: high, shimmering piano arpeggios support a seamless, modal theme in the strings, first led by violin, then joined in unison. The effect has often been likened to the In Paradisum from the Requiem. A second theme, rhythmic and sonorous, emerges from the strings, with the piano soon adding an idea of its own. Fauré threads these elements together with apparent ease. Beneath the surface spontaneity, however, lies a finely wrought architecture, rich in contrapuntal intricacy and rhythmic interplay.

The slow movement turns inward, unfolding a berceuse-like melody that gradually intensifies. A second, falling theme adds rhythmic energy and eventually evolves into a grounding bass line, guiding the music to a place of luminous serenity. In the Allegretto moderato finale, Fauré is at his most inventive. He constructs a sweeping arc from a simple, passacaglia-like theme, building momentum across a sustained crescendo. A more angular complementary theme, driven by forceful left-hand piano octaves, deepens the musical tension. The music builds to a highly effective conclusion over a movement that has the character of a combination Scherzo–Finale. 

— All program notes copyright © 2025 Keith Horner. 
Comments welcomed: khnotes@sympatico.ca