Faure, 6th Barcarolle, Op. 70 in E flat

[rachfan]

I find Faure's music irresistable.   It's sad that he was not more appreciated during his lifetime.

Update: I deleted the CD cut (79 downloads) and replaced it with the original tape recording for better fidelity.

[rachfan]

Marguerite Long considered Faure's 13 Barcarolles to be the most characteristic works of his genius.  My own introduction to the Barcarolles was odd in retrospect.  I listened to all 13 in one sitting and at the end of it all declared "Hey, they all sound alike!"  But as I listened to them a second and a third time, I marveled at how markedly different each one was from the others.  One is of a boat on calm waters in the inner harbor; another is bobbing out on the open ocean; one is a sea chanty; yet another is the exhilharation of taking the salt spray.  The Barcarolles are a phenominal set, offering something for everyone.  Interestingly, they were not sequentially composed by Faure, as it might seem; rather, they span his entire ouvre.  In fact, the First was composed in 1883 and the Thirteenth in 1921!

Here is the very melodious "Sixth Barcarolle", Op. 70.  It is Late Romantic in style and sound.  The tonal center often shifts with the currents and swells of the sea, yet paradoxically Faure always controls his modulations, thereby ensuring an orderly structure throughout.  The mood is very uplifting, not unlike Watteau's painting "Departure for the Isle of Cythera" that inspired Debussy's "L'Isle Joyeux".  You can almost hear the waves washing against the bow and the spray running down the deck, or at least I can.   

I hope you enjoy listening!  Comments welcome.     

 

[rafant]

Very nice work, and great playing, as always. Your love for Faure's music moves me to adquire a CD with the complete Barcarolles. Do you recommend some recording or pianist in special?

I admire your capacity for learning so much pieces, increasing your repertory with beautiful and not overplayed pieces. Your relatives and friends should enjoy a lot!

Ah, you deserves a better recording sound. Are you thinking in improving that?
Regards

[rachfan]

Hi Rafant,

Thanks for your compliments!  Good to hear from you again.

The recording of the Barcarolles I have Jean-Philippe Collard's on EMI CD #7473582.  It was originally an analog recording remastered to digital (ADD).  I'm not sure if it's still available though.  On Amazon I noticed another possibility on the Brilliant Classics label, B000F6ZICE, "Faure Piano Music, complete".  It's a boxed set of 4 CDs for $19.98.  Collard is also the pianist for those recordings.

I'm really driven when it comes to repertoire.  I keep a constant "repertoire to do" list on hand.  It's nearly as long as my studied repertoire and changes frequently as I reevaluate my choices.  Right now I'm working on a big piece, Bortkiewicz's Impromptu, Op. 24, No. 3, "Eros".  When I'm doing a difficult work, I balance my practice time with easier music in a different style.  So I've paired the Bortiewiwz with Amy Beach's "Dreaming", Op.  15, No. 3, a totally charming trifle.

I have relatively little practice time compared to other pianists.  My wife dislikes serious music, piano, and practice in particular.  So to keep the peace, I practice only when she's away on errands.  I no longer attempt long works, as I cannot possibly get them playable and reasonably polished with so little time available.  My last effort in that regard was Chopin's "Fantaisie", Op. 49 in Fm.  It was a totally frustrating experience for me, and I finally put it away.  The Bortkiewicz "Eros" is a virtuoso piece, but 10 pages which is attainable in my situation.  There is so much music I want to do, but so little time.  I do like lesser known works.  But whenever I select a piece, I appraise it the same as if it were an investment--and it is: it's an investment in time, accomplishment, and enjoyment.

The other issue I have is that while I learn some wonderful pieces, with the limited practice time, I cannot possibly maintain them, as I'm already onto studying something new as soon as I put an earlier project piece away.  So if someone were to ask me to play something, I probably couldn't do it unless I was just completing a piece in progress, or if I were to dig out some sheet music (not too difficult a level), blow the dust off it, and give it my best.  Once I build my repertoire to where I want it, I plan to cull out those pieces of greatest importance to me.  Then I'll set them up on a rotation schedule to ensure that they're memorized and maintained.  I'll still leave a bit of time to study new works of interest though--but the minority of the time at that point.

On recording sound: My technician/tuner just completed a partial rebuilding of my 1983 Baldwin L grand (6'3") this past April.  The piano is settling in now and gaining tuning stability as the strings stretch.  All the replacement components were customized with advice from a former Baldwin design engineer (Del Fandrich).  The original Baldwin-Renner hammers were replaced with Ronsen-Wurzen hammers with new shanks and flanges.  The Baldwin Sycratone bass strings (which were dull and lifeless) were replaced with Arledge Bass Strings.  The treble is now Mapes International Gold musical wire.  The rest of the action was fully regulated.  I do believe that the sound now is much improved.  The base is far more vibrant.  The tenor has a nice nasal quality.  And the treble features an incredible clarity. Having said all that, the soundboard, what is still in perfect condition, stayed in the piano for better or worse. 

As far as recording equipment goes, frankly I'm trying to figure out what to do.  My recordings posted here were done with three condenser microphones (two at the instrument and one ambiant) with a mixing box feeding an excellent quality cassette tape deck.  The tapes were later transferred to CD (wav format).  Then those were reformatted to mp3 to meet this forum's requirements.  (mp3 compression does rob some fidelity in the data compression process.)  To switch from analog to digital recording, I'd have to do a lot of reading on it, as I know very little about the digital side of it.  Also, a "room recording" done at home will never compete with a professional recording studio or professional equipment set in a recital hall with a 7' or 9' piano.  So those are practical limitations that have to be considered too.

Sorry for so long a response, but your questions are all very interesting ones, and I enjoyed replying in some depth.  Thanks again for listening!
 

[rafant]

It's a shame you have so limited time to play and learn, and the reasons you gave for that, and so it's a lot more meritorious what you have reached. It happens the same to me, that is, most of my limited time is devoted to learn new pieces and it's impossible to maintain fresh the old ones, so in any moment I'm able only to play a tiny repertory of 3 or 4 short pieces If I am requested to. I recently started to appeal to recording as a way to save what I achieve. But I never have enough time to relearn my old pieces and so my project of recording a CD for friends remains pending...

About the sound quality I see that you have been quite diligent. But the sound I'm hearing in your recording is as when one turn off the equalizer. So, maybe the solution is simplest: Try some equalization provided by the same software you use.

[pianistimo]

this is cool.  thanks for posting it, rachfan!  the only thing i slightly wish for, is with some of the arpeggiation to be softer and only the melodious parts slightly louder (not a great dynamic variation) - as if - the boat is rocking one to sleep.  kind of like you naturally did near the end several times.

[rachfan]

Hi pianistimo,

I tried to pay close attention to Faure's dynamic markings in the score, including the loud phrases followed by the faint echo effects, so I probably wouldn't want to stray too far.  I could certainly look at the arpeggiation though, as that should be strictly background unless it happens to be the sole point of interest at any moment.  Yes, this is definitely a cool piece.  It's almost a blend of romantic and impressionistic idioms--very characteristic of Faure!  All of the 13 barcarolles are gems.  Where you're a good sightreader, you should check a few of them out if you have the sheetmusic at home.  I know you'd find them interesting.

[rachfan]

Hi Rafant,

Actually, the recording process I use is analog, not digital.  (Pretty old fashioned, ha-ha!)  The only point at which software comes into play for analog is the last step--uploading the tape to create PC electronic files in wav or mp3 formats. 

On equalization, I can say that I am usually careful when getting ready to record and ensure that the equalization switch is positioned to correspond to the type of cassette tape being used.  I usually use Denon type IV metal tape, so the correct equalization setting is 70us.  I leave the bias selector alone at midpoint, although I could do some testing to see if maybe it would be beneficial to add or subtract bias, which would alter the results for the equalization setting of 70us.  Having said all that, I have had the experience of finishing a recording only to discover that a Dolby switch was on, causing me to re-do the recording if the first take was too muffled!  So one does have to be alert and not overlook any setting.  Perhaps I "goofed" in setting the equalization on this recording. 

Anyway, the beauty of analog recording is that its much easier than digital.  The pianist (who is also sound engineer and page turner) has full control of recording session at every moment using a remote control.  Retakes are easy--you just back up the tape to the odometer (tape counter) starting position and re-record.  And, the whole process does not have to be anywhere near the PC, unlike digital recording.