Pierre-Alain Volondat - Piano Music: Mazurka Op 32 / Pavane Op 50 [CD]

This disc is part of a series of Fauré's complete piano music and contains two works better known in orchestral form with some less well known originals. The four pieces from Pelléas et Mélisande in their original version are some of the most subtle of the composer's music written for the stage. The opening Prélude sets the scene and introduces themes representing the naivety of the heroine and the passion she is unable to escape. This is followed by a Fileuse, the introduction to Act 3 where Mélisande is at her spinning wheel. The Sicilienne, introduction to the fountain scene of Act 2, is the one part of the suite Fauré composed some years earlier and scored himself for sextet. Finally, La mort de Mélisande (The Death of Mélisande) is an intense parallel to the heroine's music in the Prélude, portraying her Act 5 death scene. The Pavane was orchestrated at a later date and the original version for piano of this well-known piece shows that the simple archaic melody should be played at a faster speed than is the case with the orchestral or choral versions. The four Valses-caprices are not a cycle. The two earlier pieces were written in the early 1880s, the later pair a decade later. Although Saint-Saëns enjoyed Opp. 30 and 38. Their indebtedness to Chopin and their attempt at capriciousness does not suit Fauré's introverted nature. The later pieces are more successful and. #despite retaining traces of the virtuoso style, are more introspective, nearer to the true nature of the composer. The Mazurka hints again at a tribute to Chopin, but shows no debts to Polish folk rhythms. Similar in style to the Valses Caprices, it has a haunting central slow section.