Barcarolle No. 2, Op. 41

The autograph manuscript of Barcarolle No. 2 bears the inscription “Taverny-aout, 1885 (Taverny – August, 1885)” (*1). In the summer of 1885, following the death of his father (July 25), Fauré briefly stopped in Toulouse. Without much time to grieve, by the end of July, he had traveled to the Universal Exhibition held in Antwerp, Belgium. This was to attend the re-performance of his Symphony in D minor, Op. 40, scheduled for August 3 (its premiere having been in March of the same year). This performance was eventually canceled and postponed until October, when it was conducted by d'Indy. In any case, after returning from Antwerp, Fauré appears to have stayed with his family in Néris, central France, until mid-August (*2).

Only these facts are known from his correspondence, and unfortunately, no direct testimony from Fauré himself regarding Barcarolle No. 2, Op. 41, has been found. However, according to Fauré's second son, Philippe, Fauré's wife Marie and their children stayed with friends in Taverny, a town in the northern suburbs of Paris, around the time of Fauré's father's death, as indicated in the autograph score (*3). Therefore, it can be inferred that Barcarolle No. 2 was written around the time this series of travels concluded.

Furthermore, Fauré undertook revisions of his first six Barcarolles between 1922 and 1924, and these revised versions were published in 1926 as Six Nocturnes and Five Impromptus. Regarding the content of the revisions, Fauré himself, for instance, mentioned the ending of the fifth Barcarolle in a letter (*4). As for this second Barcarolle, discrepancies between the autograph manuscript, the 1886 edition, and the 1926 edition are noted in the Fauré Complete Works (*5).

First, there are differences in the initial expression and tempo markings between the “autograph manuscript and 1886 edition” and the “1926 edition.” In the autograph manuscript and the 1886 edition, in addition to the initial Allegretto quasi Allegro, the expression mark leggiero is present, whereas it is omitted in the 1926 edition. Regarding the tempo indication, the autograph manuscript and the 1886 edition specify dotted quarter note = 76, while the 1926 edition revises this to dotted quarter note = 58.

Next, a comparison between the “autograph manuscript” and the “1886 and 1926 editions” reveals a significant difference in the application of arpeggio signs. While arpeggio signs are generally applied only to the bass and inner voices, excluding the highest note, in the autograph manuscript, they are occasionally applied to all notes, including the highest note. Specifically, such instances occur in measures 1-2, 7, and 10-12, and the critical edition of the complete works reflects the autograph manuscript. If one follows the arpeggio signs in the autograph manuscript, the phrasing could be interpreted as shorter. Furthermore, considering this in conjunction with the initial tempo and leggiero markings, it could be argued that the work originally possessed an even lighter character.

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Notes

• *1 Ms. 17740 (held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France). The accent on “aout” is missing.
• *2 In a letter dated July 1, 1885, addressed to his friend Peugeot, Fauré announced that he would be in Néris until August 16. Cf. Gabriel Fauré, Gabriel Fauré Correspondance, textes réunis, présentés et annotés par Jean-Michel Nectoux, Paris : Flammarion, 1980, p. 121.
• *3 Gabriel Fauré, Lettres intimes, présentées par Philippe Fauré-Fremiet, Paris : Bernard Grasset, 1951, P.11.
• *4 Op. cit. 1980, p. 330.
• *5 Christophe Grabowski (éd.), Gabriel Fauré œuvres complètes, Série VI œuvres pour piano, volume 2, Ballade op. 19, Barcarolles, Valses-Caprices, BA 9468 Bärenreiter 2012, éditées par Christophe Grabowski, Kassel, Basel, London, New York, Praha : Bärenreiter, p. 214-215.

This work, written in ternary form (ABA'-Coda), is one of Fauré's larger-scale Barcarolles. Each section is structured as follows: A from measures 1-74, B from measures 75-124, A' from measures 125-168, and the Coda from measures 169-183. The harmonic rhythm, arising from melodies with frequent leaps and the corresponding shifting harmonies, can be considered a characteristic feature found in this composer's Barcarolles; here, we will particularly focus on the sense of meter.

Although it begins in the characteristic 6/8 meter of a "Barcarolle," the composition occasionally interweaves 9/8 meter, as seen in measures 25-47, for example. Of particular note here is the phrase beginning at measure 56, which returns from 9/8 to 6/8 meter. Even after the meter change, the three-beat subdivision is maintained in measures 56-65, without reverting to a two-beat feel. This creates a change in the musical flow without relying on a tempo indication change, and combined with the ascending melodic figures, it imbues the piece with a lively, barcarolle-like dynamism. In the 1926 manuscript, a note "Conservez le rythme à 6/8 (Maintain the 6/8 rhythm)" is added at measure 56, but this instruction is absent in the autograph manuscript and the 1886 manuscript. This suggests that Fauré himself recognized the unique nature of this writing, which maintains a three-beat feel within a 6/8 meter. This compositional technique of freely manipulating the sense of meter without altering the basic metrical framework is also observed in works such as Barcarolle No. 5, and can be considered one of the crucial elements for understanding Fauré's style in this genre.