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celebrating three hundred years of music by women |
Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944)
Chaminade wrote prolifically, and nearly all her approximately 400 compositions were published in her life time. As a young child she composed pieces for her cats, dogs and dolls. The musicologist François-Joseph Fétis (1784-1871) remarked on the vigour with which she approached her composing ‘giving proof that if she was not a genius, she was at least genuinely talented.’ Her friend Bizet called her 'mon petit Mozart'.Her most popular works were her piano pieces, many of them character pieces, and more than 125 mélodies. In 1875 the first reviews appeared of her as a salon pianist. Her music is attractive, tuneful and highly accessible, with clear textures and mildly chromatic harmonies, and typically french wit and colour her Scarf Dance is still popular. She made extensive concert tours as a pianist, performing regularly in England, including as a welcome guest of Queen Victoria. Her piano caprice Guitarre was published in 1885 and she recorded it on a Piano Roll Duo-Art 001; she made several piano rolls between 1901 and 1914. Her only Piano Sonata, Op 21, was dedicated to her brother-in-law Maurice Moszkowski, and published in 1895. Many Chaminade Clubs were formed in the USA around 1900; in 1908 she made a tour of twelve American cities, from Boston to St Louis and in Canada. She was the first European composer to be published in America: in 1893, the New York company G. Schirmer issued two anthologies of her Songs. They have been included at the Oxford International Song Festival. In the 20th century, criticism of late-Romantic French music meant that interest in her music died after her death. There is a substantial collecion of piano pieces on Dover Publications. She married the music publisher Louis-Mathieu Carbonel in 1902, which accounts for her success in publishing; she lived off this income later in life. She won many Awards; in 1913 she was the first female composer to be elected a Chevalier de La Légion d'Honneur. Among her orchestral works are Suite d'orchestre, Op 20 (1881), the Spanish-sounding comic opera La Sévillane (1882), the symphonic ballet Callirhoë, Op 37 (based on Greek mythology; 1888, including the much admired Scarf Dance), and the dramatic symphony Les Amazones (1888). BBC Radio 3 combined her with Augusta Holmès on Composer of the Week in 2014. The pianist Stephen Hough includes some of her piano pieces in his recitals; organist Jonathan Scott's recital at the BBC Proms 2024 did likewise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9cile_Chaminade#/media/File:Cecile_Chaminade_as_sketched_by_Marguerite_Martyn_in_St._Louis,_November_1908.jpg
For Chaminade's compositions click list. Back to Contents Trio No 1 in G, pour Piano, Violon et Violoncelle, Op 11. 1881 1. Allego, G minor; 2. Andante - Animato - Tempo primo, E flat major; 3. Presto leggiero, G major; 4. Allegro molto agitato G minor. 22' A relatively early work, Chaminade shows great poise in this Trio. Its memorable melodies, its elegance and attractiveness are typical of her. Graceful tunes with flowing momentum characterise the first movement. A gorgeous string tune frames a brief Animato in the second. Feather-light semiquavers shimmer through the Presto, with nimble chromatics and arpeggios. The Finale concludes in Étude-mode. Published by Editions Durand (HL.50561349) & Hildegard.com. Her most played piece, the Flute Concertino, Op 107, is one of Chaminade’s most popular works. Some strange stories about it have circulated in English musical texts, including one claiming that Chaminade wrote it just after seeing her lover (an eminent flautist with whom she had been carrying on an ill-concealed love affair) become engaged to someone else. Perhaps it was necessary to create a aura of passion around this work in order to explain its extraordinary success. In fact, its genesis was quite different. The Concertino was commissioned in 1902 by the Directeur of the Paris Conservatoire, Théodore Dubois (1837-1924), who asked Chaminade to provide a technically difficult piece to be used for the flute students taking part in the annual Concours (Awards competition). Published by Schott-Music.com; Sharon Bezaly included it in her CD BIS 1675. The Piano Concertstück, Op 40, shows Wagner's influence in the Germanic spelling of the title; it is published by Edwin Kalmus. Chaminade has four themes in this one-movement composition. The orchestra presents the first theme, in the key of C sharp minor and then the more lyrical second theme featuring an upward opening fifth, introduced by the cellos and bassoons in the key of A major. The soloist enters with a transitional passage featuring Lisztian-like passage work for alternating hands, then presents the first theme in the left hand while the right hand has broken chords and tremolos. For the second presentation of the second theme in E major, the violins introduce it while the pianist plays ascending scales with frequent grace-notes. The resultant texture expresses exotic Janissary influences that Chaminade builds on later by using natural minor scales and the Turkish percussion instruments of the orchestra (triangle, cymbals, and bass drum). At a slower tempo, the orchestra introduces the third theme in A major, and the piano soon picks up this lyrical idea that also features prominent usage of the perfect fourth interval. Gradually returning to the opening animated tempo, the piano introduces the fourth theme, that is in the key of D flat major, the enharmonic tonic major of the opening key area. Unlike the other themes, it features a falling sixth interval. In the presentation of these four themes, Chaminade does not build on a motive of one theme, but instead often contrapuntally combines gestures from two different themes. Scores Performers Edition. Kaiser Productions. Hildegard.com. Enoch-Editions. Schott-Music. Writings Cécile Chaminade, A Bio-Biblography, Marcia Citron, 1988, Bloomsbury . Notes for Flautists, Dr Kyle Zdapo, 2016, OUP. A New Approach: The Feminist Musicology Studies of Susan McClary, 2017. 'How to Sing and Play my Compositions' by Cécile Chaminade in the Ladies’ Home Journal, vol 22 (1905), page 19. Portrait de Cécile Chaminade, Cécile Tardif, 1993 Open Library. Recordings Hyperion: 3 vols piano music: CDA66846; BIS 1679, 2546; BruZane BZ2006; Deutsche Grammophon; Indesens; APR 6044; Steinway & Sons / Joanne Polk; Pentatone; Divine Arts; Doorway Music; Cascavelle; IBS Classical; Dal Segno; Pierian; Piano Classics PCL10249; Helios; Azul Music; dB CD 149; APR; Analekta; Albany; Calliope; Da Vinci Classics; Ligia; Sony; Albany Classics Troy 1778; LAWO CLassics; Dorian; Chandos Records; Warner Classics.
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