The composer called E. Chabrier –
Though his name is so very francais –
Was in no way too clannish,
Sang in German and Spanish!
We just love it: Ja, wohl! and Ole’!
After learning a little about Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-92), the listener will probably find it unfortunate that the PIP’s upcoming end-of-summer concert will not include his Souvenirs de Munich. Chabrier was composing during the heyday of Wagnerian opera, of course, and was actually so impressed with that phenomenon that he once took an unauthorised vacation from work to go to Munich and hear Tristan und Isolde. In tears, he told his friend Vincent d’Indy that he had waited ten years to hear that ‘A’ in the ‘cellos. However, another result of his trip was the Souvenirs, a little piece arranging five themes from the opera into a “quadrille”, which another friend (Francis Poulenc) described as "irresistibly funny … Tristan's principal themes with false noses and added beards.” Move over, Peter Schickele.
This kind of good-humored jollity seems to have been a trademark of Chabrier’s personality and music. Though his great musical gifts were evident in childhood, he followed his father’s aspirations for him (why does this story sound so familiar?) and studied law, eventually working for about twenty years for the French Interior Ministry. During all that time, however, he continued to study all aspects of music, and composed as he could find the time. (One cannot but think of Charles Ives, insurance executive and musical humorist extraordinaire….) His several operas and stage works never got much of a reception from contemporary audiences (among other disadvantages, Chabrier always worked with impossible libretti) and none has survived in the repertoire. They were dogged by disaster: Gwendoline premiered in Brussels but had to close after two performances because the impresario ran out of money; Le roi malgre’ lui (The King in Spite of Himself) seemed on the way to being a hit at the Opera-Comique, but the theater burned down! However, Maurice Ravel loved that piece so much that he said he would rather have written it than Wagner’s Ring cycle.
And Chabrier just went on writing piano pieces (some of which were later orchestrated), songs, choral and orchestral “occasional” works, and, of course, his immortal rhapsody Espana. His work was much admired by his fellow composers – Poulenc, d’Indy, Ravel and others were all fans. He was a remarkable pianist – Auguste Renoir’s wife described his playing of Espana as sounding “as if a hurricane had been let loose. He pounded and pounded the keyboard. [The street] was full of people… listening, fascinated. When Chabrier reached the last crashing chords, I swore to myself I would never touch the piano again “. (Besides, he had broken several strings and put the piano out of action.)
Cesar Franck called his piano cycle, Pièces pittoresques, “music [that] links our time with that of Couperin and Rameau". Espana – a suite of Spanish dances including actual folk-material and Chabrier’s own inventions – caused a sensation all over Europe – except (go figure) in Spain. Despite that, Manuel de Falla said that Chabrier had gotten the jota down more authentically than anyone else (presumably including him). The piece has remained popular through the next century. The Habanera (a dance originating in – where else? – Havana), with its dotted rhythms and pulsing beat, is the section of Espana that our concert will feature.
Chabrier’s artistic connections extended far beyond music. Renoir and Manet were some of his best friends, and he collected paintings by the Impressionists long before they were million-dollar items; his other friends included poets like Verlaine and Mallarme’, and the great novelist Zola. He died much too soon, at 51, leaving too many good ideas and half a lifetime of joyful accomplishment undone. He would have been so much fun to know.