Fauré’s
Barcarolle is to his
Tarentelle as Liszt’s languid
Venezia is to his energetic
Napoli (in the
Années de pèlerinage), or Mendelssohn’s brooding
Gondellied to the joyful
Saltarella of the ‘Italian’ Symphony. These are different sides of the same coin as well as different sides of the Italian coast. The sequel to this poem in Marc-Monnier’s
Poésies (entitled
Autre Tarentelle) makes clear that both these poems are indeed set in Naples, ‘au bord de l’eau’. We glimpse here that devilish side of Fauré the note-spinner by whom the solo pianist is challenged more often than the singer of the composer’s mélodies (there are a number of virtuoso piano pieces to make the hair stand on end, fewer songs by far). Here, however, the vocal duettists are comprehensively exercised in a mad moto perpetuo with runs and melismas and the setting of considerable hurdles of ensemble singing. The menace of the minor-key tonality adds a glittering erotic undertone to the proceedings. Fauré wrote the music for the daughters of Pauline Viardot, Claudie and Marianne. He was in love with Marianne at the time which may account for the infinite trouble he seems to have taken to lavish truly sophisticated music on a bagatelle of a lyric, as well as his obvious delight in providing the musical prelude for what promises, on paper at least, to become a Neapolitan debauch. With the help of Messager, Fauré orchestrated this duet circa 1875.
from notes by Graham Johnson © 2005
