Chausson: Concerto in D major, Op. 21 / Poème, Op. 25

When Ernest Chausson was born, the Berlioz era was still underway. His future teacher, César Franck, was 33 years old; Jules Massenet, who would also later become his professor, was 13; and Gabriel Fauré, who would later become “the greatest musical authority in France at the time,” was only 10. Claude Debussy had not yet been born. Interestingly, Chausson’s earthly journey came to a tragic end through a cruel twist of fate—a bicycle accident while on vacation—almost at the close of the 19th century, even though his late works already hinted at the future direction of music. Nota bene: in 1894, the so-called musical Impressionism burst onto the scene in France with the premiere of Debussy’s Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un faune. Nevertheless, it is hard to escape the thought that Ernest Chausson occupies a special place in the galaxy of French composers of the second half of the 19th century. And it is not merely because he is, to use a catchy slogan, “the link between Franck and Debussy.” Without Chausson, European music—and not just French music—would have been deprived of a gifted lyricist, a composer of extraordinary melodic inventiveness, receptive to poetic moods and sensitive to the nuances of the text. Even in the realm of purely instrumental works, Chausson proves to be a rare kind of sensitive soul, a creator of the utmost tenderness and delicacy.