Fauré the practical interpreter

The element of constant surprise in Fauré’s musical lines, harmonies and rhythms has undoubtedly contributed to the ‘ineffable’ reputation long tagged to his music. The present chapter takes the epithet just as a launching point, to argue that at worst it represents inability to keep up with Fauré’s quickness of thought and musical manœuvre, and has long fed habits of soggy or overly refined performance at odds with much of what is reported of his own wishes for directness and cogency. Examples are drawn from his songs and piano and chamber music, exploring nuances of his performance markings, variants across sources, and the odd way that a few works appear, in later sources, to draw back in interpretative boldness from earlier sources. Was he also wryly reflecting on his own music when he once remarked that ‘The main problem with masterpieces is that they are surrounded by excessive respect and this ends up making them boring’? Perhaps the label ‘effable’ would have left him more gruntled.