Jaren Hinckley

I’m Listening to Everything Composed by Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931)

It’s the third week of October and this is the third piece I discuss this month that uses the Dies Irae (if you don’t know what the Dies Irae is, please refer to the previous two posts).

 

TITLE: Sonata for Solo Violin, Op. 27, No. 2 “Jacques Thibaud”

by Eugène Ysaÿe (Jacques Thibaud—the dedicatee—was one of Ysaÿe’s good friends who was also a professional violinist).

 

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE:

Here’s the full title and the movement titles

 

Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 27, No. 2

I. Prelude, “Obsession”: Poco vivace

II. Malinconia: Poco lento

III. Sarabande, “Danse des ombres”: Lento

IV. Les furies: Allegro furioso

 

I. Prelude, “Obsession”: Poco vivace

The first movement is only two and a half minutes long. It begins with a direct quote from Bach’s Partita No. 3 (the Prelude). It is also LITERALLY littered with the first few notes of the “Dies Irae.” Listen to the Bach here:

 

 

And here’s a reminder of what the “Dies Irae” sounds like:

 

 

Now listen to the entire first movement.  Again, it is only two and a half minutes.  That’s shorter than most pop songs. Listen to it here:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yrtjq1ASpk4

 

The first really obvious statement of the Dies Irae is at about the :30 mark, but seriously, after that, you hear the Dies Irae either in its entirety or in fragments from then on for the duration of the movement.

 

II. Malinconia: Poco lento

A slow, melancholy, beautiful movement. Right at the end of this movement the Dies Irae is played quite slowly. On the video, it occurs at the 2:10 mark. Listen to the entire movement here (it is less than three minutes). I’ve also included a close up of the score at the moment the Dies Irae occurs:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9QbXVhpMYo

 

 

 

III. Sarabande, “Danse des ombres”: Lento

The very first melody you hear in the opening pizzicato section is the Dies Irae.  The remainder of the movement is a set of six variations on the Dies Irae.  Listen to it here:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJy01pKvIwY

 

HIGHLIGHT:

 

Movement FOUR

 

IV. Les furies: Allegro furioso

As you may have guessed by now, this movement also quotes the Dies Irae quite frequently throughout.  The coolest moment is at 1:44 in the video (link below) when she plays it sul ponticello (bowing really close to the bridge of the violin) which gives it a creepy eerie scratchy feeling.  This is really perfect music for the Halloween season!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqBDi_ZVI3I

 

I really hope you listen to all four movements. In total, it’s about twelve minutes of your day. That’s really not that much time to give yourself some culture and a LOT of “Dies Irae” moments!

 

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY YSAŸE?: Perhaps a 100 or so works—not impossible, but no small feat.  However, this piece has me intrigued enough to keep going!