Gabriel Pierné: Piano Quintet in E minor, Op. 41 / Piano Quintet, Op. 42

Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné

Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné (16 August 1863 – 17 July 1937) was a French composer,

conductor, and organist.

Piano Quintet in E minor, Op. 41

I. Moderato molto tranquillo 0:00
II. Sur un rythme de zortzico 12:13
III. Allegro vivo ed energico 22:10

Stéphane Lemelin, piano
Quatour Arthur LeBlanc

Piano Quintet, Op. 42

- Composer: Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 -- 2 June 1937)
- Performers: Anne Robert (violin), Marcelle Mallette (violin), Neal Gripp (viola), Elizabeth Dolin (cello), Jamie Parker (piano)
- Year of recording: 1994

Quintet for 2 violins, viola, cello & piano in C minor, Op. 42, written in 1917-1918.

00:00 - I. Poco lento - Moderato
10:16 - II. Larghetto sostenuto
21:24 - III. Maestoso - Allegro risoluto

Vierne's Piano Quintet is inspired by one of the many sorrowful trials that he was subjected to throughout his life; the death of one of his sons (the only surviving) killed in action[전사] in November 1917. Written

in early 1918 in a fit of feverish activity, the composer pours out all his despair, anguish and bitterness,

and yet the work also has a streak of tenderness that lays bare all the superb fatherly qualities of this extraordinary artist. Vierne confided to a friend that he was "…building a votive offering, a Quintet of vast proportions,

to convey the inspiration born of my tenderness and my child’s tragic death."

Of special interest is the first theme, which consists of 9 different notes, until the F# (which was played before).

The Piano Quintet is dedicated: "En Ex-voto: à la mémoire de mon cher fils Jacques, Mort pour la France à 17 ans." [In votive: to the memory of my dear son Jacques, Died for France at age 17].