Written seven years after Op.15, the G minor quartet was completed in 1886. and dedicated to Hans von Bulow. although this dedication not appear in the published version. Since the C minor quartet of 1879 Faure's developement as considerable and the G minor, Op. 45 occupies the same place in Faures output as does the "Rasmovsky" quartets in Beethoven's. There is some controversy among scholars as to whether Faure's Op.45 should be placed at the end of his "first" period or the beginning of his "second" period. Bearing in mind that it is extremely difficult to arbitrarily categorize a development so unifield and sustained as Faure's e present writer places the G minor quartet in the latter period . Since the first stnrg quartet, Fuare had written some thirty works : the majority of his second collection of songs, the Ballade or piano solo ( 1881 ) and, from 1883, the year of his marriage to Marie Fremiet, a number of his plano pieces. In 1884 He wrote his first, and from all accounts, only symphony but Faure was not satisfied with it and destroyed after its first performance . he did use elements of the symphony in is opera Penelope, and in the sonatas of Op.108 and 109. A year after the completion of the G minor quartet he undertook composition of another of his greatest works the Requiem .
The year 1886 , as a milestone i nineteenth century French music. Not only did it produce Faure's G minor quartet, but also Casar Franc's Sonata, the Symphonie avec orgue of Saint-Saens, the Symphonie Cevenole of d'Indy. and Lalo's Symphonie in G minor. Together w ith his second quintet, Faure's G minor Quartet is the largest and most imposing work in the whole of his chamber music, the first Allegro and slow movement especially surpassing those of Op. 15. The G minor quartet is also Faure's most romantic work, at the same time forthright and dynamic. This work alone would suffice to prove that Faure was not just a composer of pretty and superficial music.
The song-like opening theme rises, ardent and proud, to the unison of heavy chords over angrily swelling triplet Quavers in the piano (which frequently appear in short, hammer-like thrusts). The theme grows and develops to such epic proportions that it completely dominates the entire movement. Repeated by the piano, it is extended. by the strings in polyphonic dialogue, The more gently, expressive second theme appears in B flat major, throughout the bass line is constantly secure and steady, a charactenstlc feature of Faure's later work and a result of his study with Niedermeyer. The importance of this bass line was once expressed in a famous phrase by Marguerite Long : "A nous les basses!" ("To us the basses!"). The stormy first theme is recalled in short bursts, giving way to a quiet passage In B flat major, marking the end of the exposition. The development continues in the same subdued vein, sobrety opening in C minor and introducing a calming element, which soon alternates with the first theme. soon to combine with It In Its diminished form (quavers instead of crochets) woven in a web of contrapuntal mastery. The recapitulation explodes f ortissimo. The coda brings back for the last time the forceful initial theme, eventually dying away pianissimo.
Schema. Exposition: bars 1-60; Development: bars 61 -132; Recapitulation : bars 133-176; Coda: bars 177-220. N.B. Because of Its length and importance, the coda could almost be called a second development .
This Scherzo is shorter than that of Op. 15 and underlines the more serious nature of Op. 45. In fact, the dark sombreness of this scherzo can be compared. with some of Brahms' scherzos and even with that of Schumann's piano quartet, Op.47. Tension is maintained through rhythmic equivocation (6/8 and 3/4). The strings take up the orginal piano theme in doubled notes. The ensuing Trio has a somewhat mystenous character due to the enharmonlcs of the strings. Their theme is none other than it variation on that of the first movement, a rare example of cyclic form in Faure. The final Scherzo reverses the role of the Instruments With the Viola first presenting the theme in quavers (A minor) followed by the piano in crochets (C flat major).
Schema;Scherzo : bars 1-133; Trio: bars134-197; Scherzo: bars 198-296.
The supremely beautiful Adagio is one of the rare instances in which Faure has given some indication as to the inspiration behind the work. In a letter to his wife, dated Sept. 11, 1906, he writes: "In the Adagio of the Second Quartet I have expressed - almost involuntarily - the distant memory of bells chiming which, in the evening at Montgauzy - you see how far this goes back - we arrived at a village in Cadirac, when the wind began to blow in from the west. The whistling of the wind conjured up a hazy dream which, like all obscure dreams, was incapable of literal description. Is it not sure that external forces often give rise to ideas so imprecise that translated into reality they are not ideas at all but are nevertheless somehow pleasing to us ? The desire for something which does not exist; this surely is the domaine of music". In just a few bell-like notes the piano establishes the dreamy, poetic atmosphere, with syncopated rhythm creating an allusion of 4/4 time in a 9/8 bar, as well as indeterminate pitch, ie. E flat major/G minor. Then the viola enters alone, intoning the chant of an ancient ballad. Of this very beautiful passage Charles Koechlin writes: "If this beautiful song did not already exist, it would have had to be invented for this noble instrument". "The effect is one of nocturnal solitude in a rustic graveyard hugging the side of a hill". The second theme preserves the same atmosphere. The development section modulates via dominant sequeuences, and rever~es the order of things so that the bell-like chimes are given to the strings and the recititivo to the piano. After a condensed yet varied repeat, the muted strings sing a gently modulating coda, concluding the movement on a note of almost unreal serenity.
Schema: Exposition: bars 1-39; Development : bars 40-73; Recapitulation: bars 74-100 . Coda : bars 101-115.
The Finale is frequently the object of criticism and reservation. Perhaps it suffers from comparison with the sublime Adagio. However, with its energy and sweeplng rhythm It can perhaps better be linked the Finale of Op. 15, although it does not contain the same youthful spontaneity and if the themes the Finale of Op. 45 are more numerous, they are: less clearly defined. But It IS still and admirable piece of music although it does not crown the quartet IS as deCISive a manner as might be wished. The first theme, stormy and threatening, moves from the strings to the piano where it becomes softer and more melodic. A second theme, In C major, vigorously sets out with heavy Brahms-like chords from a bridge passage to another set of two themes. The first (question) is gray and austere, tightly woven in the manner of a cantus firmus; the second (answer), radient and flexible, evolving towards purity and light with Schumannena seventh. These two themes are alternated, then superimposed. The exposition terminates on decrescendo in B flat major. The short development consist of a dense contrapuntal tapestry woven with the two terminal elements of the first theme. A thundery crescendo leads to the recapitulation, which in turn leads optimistically to G major, the key of the Coda-Stretto, radient and glowing, on the first theme, to which joined (Piu mosso) the seconde "Brahmsian" theme in a final triumphant fortissimo.
Schema: Exposition: bars 1-188; Development: 189-282; Recapitulation: 283-521; Coda: bars 522-562.
Brussels, June 1970
Harry HALBREICH
Marinkyo's School > Gabriel Fauré > Notes by Harry Halbreich > SECOND QUARTET IN G MINOR Op.45 FOR PIANO AND STRINGS
