Fauré, Renée de Brimont et les Mirages

Fauré’s decision in 1919 to base a song cycle on Renée de Brimont’s Mirages has often prompted surprise or puzzlement, usually in critical terms of the poetry being perceived as inferior to that of Fauré’s ensuing cycle, L’horizon chimérique. The music for Mirages, however, is easily argued as being on Fauré’s highest level. What, then, drew Fauré to Brimont’s poetry as a spur for some of his finest music and word-setting? Possible answers involve consideration of Brimont’s own musical knowledge and skills, aspects of which appear to be embedded in the organisation and titles of her Mirages collection. Analysis of Fauré’s music for the cycle suggests that he played and built compositionally on Brimont’s musical allusions, including references to his own music as well as that of Debussy and Ravel. This presentation will illustrate various of those reference, on both audible and underlying structural levels of the music, with comparative reference to Debussy’s piano Images and Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit. It represents joint research by Roy Howat and Emily Kilpatrick, co-editors of the Peters critical edition of The Complete Songs of Gabriel Fauré.