Fauré, Gabriel : Impromptu No.2 f-moll Op.31
Work Overview
Composition Year:1883
Publication Year:1883
First Publisher:Hamelle
Instrumentation:Piano Solo
Genre:inpromptu
Total Playing Time:4 min 00 sec
Copyright:Public Domain
Commentary (1)
Author : Saitoh, Noriko
Last Updated: September 1, 2007
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Author : Saitoh, Noriko
Composed in 1883, this piece was published by Hamelle in the same year. This year also marked Fauré's marriage to Marie Fremiet, the sculptor's daughter, and many of his early piano works were composed.
This Impromptu in F minor, marked Allegro, is structured such that after a three-part form, elements of the middle section are revisited, followed by a coda that concludes the piece. The main theme is written with a lively, tarantella-like rhythm. In this section, the melody, ascending and descending in curves, is striking. Conversely, in the middle section, the melody takes on longer note values, tracing beautiful lines.
In this work, even when the melody transforms into a more leisurely, singing character in the middle section, the left hand accompanies with eighth notes spanning a wide range, reminiscent of Chopin, thus maintaining the eighth-note value throughout the entire piece. This technique—the sustained note value combined with contrasting melodies in each section—can be said to imbue this Impromptu, which takes less than five minutes to perform, with a profound elegance.