What do you mean, Fauré's not Perfect?
But at least he's Authentic.

Gabriel Fauré's Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120, opens the James D’León and Friends concerts at both Scottsdale's ASU Kerr Recital Hall on Saturday, February 17, 7:30 pm, and Prescott’s Ruth Street Theater on Sunday, February 18, 3 pm.

This piece, completed a century ago, showcases Fauré's distinct musical approach during a period of radical changes in Western music. Unlike contemporaries such as Debussy, Stravinsky, and Schönberg, who were transforming the very foundations of music, Fauré remained aligned with the Romantic era's principles, drawing from traditional harmonies and forms.

Perhaps Fauré's education helped shape his unique sound: he studied at the École Niedermeyer, distinct from the more common French-composer path through the Paris Conservatoire. This exposed him to Gregorian chant, Renaissance polyphony, and modality. This background, coupled with his resistance to Wagner's influence and his isolation from leading compositional schools, contributed to Fauré's distinct style.

James D'León's very interesting video (above) provides insightful context on the program. As a composer, I’d like to offer you something new to listen for, to help you understand why Fauré's music sounds so unique while remaining “Romantic” at its core.

Most of the Western music we enjoy (Classical, popular, folk, jazz) is based on what we call “Common Practice”. This cultural tradition solidified in Europe around 400 years ago. Common Practice utilizes 7-note scales, with the 8th note mirroring the first (e.g., C D E F G A B C), and builds harmonies from chords that skip every other note in the scale (for example, a "C" chord consists of C E G).

A key feature of Common Practice is its harmonic method of concluding a musical phrase, typically by transitioning from the fifth chord in a scale (known as the Roman numeral V chord, like the G chord in the scale mentioned above) to the first chord (the I chord, like the C chord of our scale). This V to I chord progression is known as an Authentic Cadence. The most definitive form of this closure is called the Perfect Authentic Cadence (a bit of a snobby term, eh?), which in Common Practice signals the strongest possible harmonic ending.

This cadential formula underpins the endings of countless melodies across many genres, from "Mary Had a Little Lamb" to "In A Sentimental Mood," and it is dramatically exemplified by the repeated V - I chords at the close of the first movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. (Don't remember it?  Click here to hear it!)

As Western music evolved, Common Practice composers worked to delay and blur cadences through a variety of techniques. Yet they almost always included points of closure marked with a Perfect Authentic Cadence.

Fauré, however, diverges from this norm in the first movement of his Piano Trio. Remarkably, he omits any Perfect Authentic Cadence, despite the piece's roots in Common Practice principles. 

Avoiding the Perfect Authentic Cadence (PAC, for short) is one of many tricks Faure employs to maintain the music's momentum. Even when there is a resting point, you can hear how the ending moment is suggested gently, without the finality of a PAC. This technique keeps the listener engaged and propels the music forward.

At the end of the movement, Fauré still avoids a Perfect Authentic Cadence. Instead, a strong melodic closure, harmonized with a “Modal Authentic Cadence” (the V chord is minor instead of major), offers a sense of conclusion that, while strong, lacks the "definitive end" characteristic of a Beethoven Perfect Authentic Cadence.

To me, this work’s harmonic language evokes the image of a feather caught in a breeze, repeatedly falling for a bit and lifting with the air, never touching the ground until the piece's final moments. As in watching a feather, I feel invited to follow Fauré's harmonic progressions without expecting a predetermined direction nor conclusion. It is a gentle experience, with a handful of surprising and delightful turns.

In the video below, listen to the first movement of Faurê's trio and see if you experience similar nuanced shifts in energy and harmony that carry you forward. Should you attend the James D'León and Friends concert in Scottsdale or Prescott and spot me in the audience, I would be delighted to hear your impressions of what you heard. See you there!

- Henry Flurry, Artistic Director

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