Violin Sonata No. 1 (Fauré)

[1] The sonata was conceived in the summer of 1875 during a stay in Sainte-Adresse with the family of Camille Clerc, a prominent industrialist and supporter of his work, and completed in the autumn of 1876.

The first recorded performance of the sonata took place on the eve of the premiere at the home of the Clercs, with Paul Viardot on the violin and Fauré himself playing the piano part.

[2] The premiere itself, at a concert of the Société Nationale de Musique in the Salle Pleyel, with young violinist Marie Tayau, was a great success, with the third movement having to be encored.

[3] The work quickly found its way into the programmes of artists such as Benjamin Godard, Camille Saint-Saëns, Eugène Ysaÿe, Jacques Thibaud, George Enescu, Alfred Cortot and others.

[3] After a brief dialogue between the instruments, a more discreet second theme (B, p ed espressivo) is introduced in the violin, modulating to the dominant E major over a rising chromatic bass.

The reticent slow movement begins in the rhythm of a barcarolle, the violin imitating the singing of a Venetian gondolier, "sighing languorously above the heartbeat of repeated chords".

[3] The dramatic finale has a tripartite form with a central development section, with the numerous melodic and rhythmic elements combining in a long, lyrical flow.

[3] The Revue et gazette musicale de Paris wrote: "This work, remarkable in more than one way, and very well performed by the composer and M. Marie Tayau, was warmly appreciated and applauded.

"[6] Camille Saint-Saëns praised the work highly: "This sonata has everything that will seduce the gourmet: novel forms, exquisite modulations, uncommon tone colours, the use of the most unexpected rhythms.

[3] Today, the violin sonata is perhaps the most popular chamber music work by Fauré, cherished for its "freshness and verve, its characteristic Fauréan balance of elegant restraint and romantic ardour".