Unlike the Nocturnes or the Barcarolles, they do not cover the whole of Fauré's career, but break down into two groups of three, separated by more than twenty years. Though the very term suggests a free fantasy, Fauré's Impromptus are written with the same care and the same formal poise as his other works, though their style and expression definitely class them on the lighter side. The First Impromptu, in E flat major, almost recalls a fast Barcarolle or a Waltz, but it does not reach the charm and significance of the Second, in F minor, one of the best-loved and most frequently played of all Fauré's piano pieces, a kind of airy and impetuous Tarantelle of great and effective pianistic brilliancy. The brief and ebullient Third Impromptu, in A flat major, a dashing piece of irresistible youth and freshness, completes this early trilogy which shows the best features of Fauré's "first" style. The Fourth Impromptu, in D flat major, probably the most significant of the six, is quite another matter. While its outer episodes succeed in reconciling the ebullience of the earlier Impromptus with the demands of Fauré's mature style, its middle section, an Andante, adds an unexpected note of nostalgic introspection. Nothing of the kind is to be found in the witty Fifth Impromptu, in F sharp minor, a kind of perpetuum mobile in semiquavers in which. in response to a challenge, Fauré made a systematic use of the whole-tone scale. ThIs unusual piece clearly forecasts the Scherzo of the Second Quintet. As to the Sixth Impromptu, in D flat major, it is nothing but a transcription of the Impromptu for Harp, originally written before the Fourth Impromptu (hence the lower opus number). In it's original version, it is a gem of the harp's scanty literature. and the transcription. though in with Fauré's unerring mastery, does not quite succeed in recapturing the made maaic of the original. It is written on a larger scale than the remaining Impromptus, and would more appopriately be called a Ballade or Fantasy.
Harry HALBREICH
Marinkyo's School > Gabriel Fauré > Harry Halbreich > Gabriel Fauré / The Impromptus
