Franck, César

Franck, César – Prélude, Choral et Fugue, orchestré par Gabriel Pierné

(b. Liège, Kingdom of the Netherlands [Belgium since 1830], December 10, 1822 – d. Paris, November 8, 1890)

orchestrated by Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937)

Preface
César Franck was born in Liège, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium. Early showing musical talent, his father, a tyrannical man, wanted him to have a career as a virtuoso pianist. For this reason they moved to Paris, where young Franck studied at the Conservatoire, also starting to play the organ. He gave concerts and wrote virtuoso piano music. As a return to Belgium was not a success, the family went back to Paris. Ruth, his biblical oratorio was given its premiere in 1845 but when the music was not well received, Franck abandoned public performance for teaching and held a succession of increasingly important posts as a church organist, the last and most significant being at the Sainte-Clotilde basilica. He finally broke with his father and married Felicité Desmousseaux in 1848. His reputation as an organist grew and he wrote a number of works for the instrument, particularly championing the organs of the great organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. In 1872 he was appointed Professor at the Paris Conservatoire, and took French nationality. He inspired a whole group of pupils who were devoted to him and who became leading composers of the next generation, including Vincent d’Indy, Ernest Chausson, Henri Duparc, Augusta Holmès and Louis Vierne. It was in these later years that he wrote the music for which he is remembered today, the orchestral Symphony and some tone poems, the choral and orchestral work Psyché, chamber works like the Piano Quintet, Violin Sonata and the String Quartet, his last composition. His opera Hulda, though neglected for many years, has recently been performed and recorded. His mature piano works are the Prélude, Choral et Fugue of 1884 and its companion, the Prélude, Aria et Final of 1886-7. …

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