Ernest Chausson
Romantic · 1855–1899
Ernest Chausson had the rare problem of not needing music to pay. Born in Paris in 1855 to a wealthy family, he trained as a lawyer to please his father before committing to composition, studying with Massenet and then with César Franck, whose rich harmonic style marked him deeply. His Paris home became a gathering place for artists, and the young Debussy was among his friends.
Comfort did not make the work easy. Chausson was self-critical and slow, and his catalog stayed small: songs, chamber music, a single symphony, and a handful of orchestral works, most of them tinged with a refined melancholy. He died at 44 in a bicycle accident on his own property, just as his reputation was gathering strength.
Start with the Poème for violin and orchestra, a single sweep of longing that has stayed a favorite of violinists ever since.
34 works in the catalog, across 4 genres. Log what you listen to with Opus, the classical music journal for iPhone.
Chamber
- Concerto in D major, for piano, violin, and string quartet, op. 21
- Quartet for Piano and Strings in A major, op. 30
- Piano Trio in G minor, op. 3
- Pièce in C major, for cello and piano, op. 39
Keyboard
- Quelques danses, op. 26
Orchestral
- Poème, for violin and orchestra, op. 25
- Symphony in B flat major, op. 20
- La tempête, incidental music for solo voices and small orchestra, op. 18
- Soir de fête, symphonic poem, op. 32
- Viviane, symphonic poem, op. 5
Vocal
- Poème de l'amour et de la mer, for voice and orchestra, op. 19
- 2 Duos, for 2 voices and piano, op. 11
- 2 Mélodies
- 2 Mélodies, op. 36
- 2 Poèmes de Verlaine, op. 34
- 3 Mélodies, op. 27
- 4 Chansons de Shakespeare, for voice and piano, op. 28
- 4 Mélodies, op. 8
- 4 Mélodies, op. 13
- 7 Mélodies, op. 2
- Amour d'antan, op. 8, no. 2
- Ballata, for 4 voices, op. 29
- Chanson perpétuelle, for soprano and orchestra, op. 37
- Chansons de Miarka, 2 songs, op. 17
- Epithalame
- L'Albatros
- L'Albatros, song for voice and piano
- La caravane, op. 14
- Le Temps de Lilas
- Le temps des lilas, for voice and piano
- Marins dévots à la Vierge Marie
- Nous nous aimerons
- Poème de l'amour et de la mer, for voice and orchestra, op. 19
- Serres chaudes,5 songs, op. 24
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