Sunday, January 20, 2019

Ernest Chausson - Poème de l'Amour et de la Mer

Photo de la Wik
Life takes unexpected turns, upending lives without warning.  This is what happened to the French romantic era composer Ernest Chausson.  Just as his career was hitting its peak he was out riding one of those newfangled bicyclettes and lost control, crashing into a brick wall.  He died at the scene.

He was a reluctant lawyer, following rather unwillingly in his father's footsteps.  He didn't like it, and encouraged by his friends in fin de siècle Paris enrolled in Jules Massenet's music composition class at the Paris Conservatoire.  Massenet thought that he had an exceptional talent and Chausson went on to become not only a very well known composer but friend or acquaintance of basically everyone in the Parisian arts community - Claude Debussy, Cesar Frank, Claude Monet, and Gabriel Faure among others.

And then he got up on two wheels, and that was that.  You wonder what else he would have composed had he not died at the age of 44.

1 comment:

  1. libertymanJanuary 22, 2019 at 6:08 AM

    Dear Professor Borepatch,

    I am very late for class this weekend, I can bring a note to explain though. That will be a story for our next visit.

    Very interesting about this new (to me) fellow. Yes imagine what another 40 years of creativity would have yielded.

    I am reminded by looking at the score of my own illiteracy in reading music. I can sort of puzzle it out as I go, as I did in my instrument playing years, but not with the fluency of a real master.

    As always , thank you for the education, it is very much appreciated.

    Your student,

    libertyman

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