The four Valses-Caprices all belong to the first half of Fauré's career. The last of them significantly comes just before the Sixth Nocturne , which opens a new phase in his artistic evolution. But it is all too easy to patronize their drawing-room charm and their somewhat surperficial brilliancy. They are highly effective pieces in their own right. and their worldly appeal remains an acute reflection of the social life of their day. In that sense, their human and documentary value stands in no way behind that of Chopin's Waltzes. But above all, they are good and well-written music, in which Fauré transcends the Waltz to the level of the archetype, while blending it most successfully with a sense of fantasy akin to that of his Impromptus, the result being at the same time a Waltz and a Caprice, thus justifying the chosen title. The First Valse-Caprlce, in A major, at once sets the formal frame and the mood of the whole set, with its two contrasting themes (there are two secondary ideas as well) and its festive and sensuous atmosphere. The Second. in D flat major, is darker and more passionate, and, as its key may suggest, closest in inspiration to the model of Chopin. The Third Valse-Caprice, in G flat major, while retaining the former's charm and lustre, shows a more mature and concentrated musical thought, and this is even more true of the Fourth, in A flat major, one of Fauré's most refined pieces in the way of harmony and modulation.
Harry HALBREICH
Marinkyo's School > Gabriel Fauré > Harry Halbreich > Gabriel Fauré / The Valses-Caprices
