*Pelléas et Mélisande ~ Suite Op. 80

Gabriel Fauré Pelléas et Mélisande ~ Suite Op. 80

Gabriel Fauré Pelléas et Mélisande Suite Op. 80 from incidental music to the drama by Maurice Maeterlinck Prélude: Quasi adagio 00:00 Fileuse: Andantino quasi allegretto 05:15 Sicilienne (Allegro molto moderato*) 08:17 Chanson de Mélisande** (orch. Koechlin) 11:48 Mort de Mélisande: Molto adagio 15:00 *Patricia Nagle, solo flute **Federica von Stade, mezzo-soprano Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, Michel Plasson, conductor Painting: Thomas Dewing, The Song and the Cello Pelléas et Mélisande, Op. 80 is a suite derived from incidental music by Gabriel Fauré for Maurice Maeterlinck's play of the same name. He was the first of four leading composers to write music inspired by Maeterlinck's drama. Debussy, Schoenberg and Sibelius followed in the first decade of the 20th century. Fauré's music was written for the London production of Maeterlinck's play in 1898. [...] After the run of the play in London, Fauré drew on the music for a short orchestral suite in four movements. […] This version of the suite was published in 1909. The suite is sometimes performed with the addition of Mélisande's song "The King's three blind daughters"*, in his pupil Charles Koechlin's orchestration. The Prélude is based on two themes; the first is tightly restricted, with no large melodic intervals between successive notes. The second theme is introduced by a romantic solo cello with woodwind. La Fileuse is an orchestral representation of a spinning song. A gentle oboe melody is accompanied by the strings, who maintain a theme imitative of spinning. The movement although in the traditionally sad key of G minor, represents "the one moment of happiness shared by Pelléas and Mélisande". The last movement, in D minor, is inescapably tragic, with a theme of lamentation for clarinets and flutes. There are echoes of Mélisande's song throughout the movement. The opening theme returns fortissimo on the strings "before a last echo of the song and a sadly modal approach on solo flute to the final chord" This movement was played at Fauré's own funeral.