Franck was heavily criticized
in his time by the elite circle of
critics and musical intelligentsia. The problem was that Franck's music is so
ethereal, so
celestial and in harmony with divine reality, that the normal musical
intelligentsia could not
comprehend it at all. Read what Norman Demuth said
about Franck's student Vincent
d'Indy:
"[d'Indy's] loyalty [to Franck] caused him to
exaggerate and even dramatize situations at times. His
reverence for Franck almost passed the bounds of reason.
with the best will in the world, d'Indy, in his book on
Franck, gives an overdrawn picture of the saintliness and
mysticism of the man. Readers of this book are led to
believe that Franck was...far too pure for this earth. No
one can blame d'Indy. One invariably has a highly colored
picture of one's idols, and it so happens that d'Indy's
picture of Franck was rather too roseate in hue."
We wonder on what authority Mr. Demuth refutes what
d'Indy said, as Demuth had no personal experience of
Cesar Franck at all. It is difficult for people to grasp
spirituality in a person, but judging from the music that
both Franck and d'Indy created, we say d'Indy must have
understood that spirituality well. It
takes a spiritual person to understand spirituality in
another. Corinne Heline called Franck a spiritually
illuminated music messenger and wrote that "his
inspired music seems to draw heaven closer to earth and to
lift earth to heaven. Cesar Franck was a saintly
individual who dedicated himself entirely to the noblest
meaning and purpose of spiritual music. It is not
surprising, then, that much of his inspiration was
received from angelic beings. For this reason his music is
deemed to possess great healing and revitalizing qualities
by those engaged in the profession of music
therapy."
Franck was considered to be a minor composer by
music critics in the 20th Century, a century that idolized
negative and shallow music.
Now in this 21st Century, it is time to reconsider the great spiritual
music created by this gentle French composer.
Franck left a large heritage in France among his students.
Visit the DoveSong page devoted to them by clicking here.
"Parfum
tres doux qui, par un ciel pur, guide les pas du voyageur
meurtri sur le sentier de la vérité,
de l'amour." - Charles Tournemire
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Background
Cesar Franck was born at Liege, Belgium, in 1822
and was the son of a banker. His father was a
keen music lover and gave his two sons, Cesar and
Joseph, a decent musical education. He wanted
Cesar to travel as a virtuoso pianist and placed both
sons in the Paris Conservatory in 1836, studying under
Reicha. Cesar achieved great success from an
early age, and won first prizes in piano, organ, and
fugue. It was during the finals of a
sight-reading competition in Paris that he impressed
the judges by breaking the rules when he transposed a
piano fugue concerto from Eb to C. For this, he
was awarded a special 'Grand Prix d'Honneur', thus
establishing his potential as a promising pianist.
The Church Organist
Unfortunately, Franck's career as a
pianist faded quickly and at age 30, he turned to the
organ. Upon leaving the Paris Conservatory, he
began to teach and play as a church organist.
His brother, Joseph, later also became a church
organist, but his career was not as distinguished as
Cesar's. For the next forty years beginning in
1858, Franck, being a devout Christian, was the
organist at St Clotilde. It was here that Liszt
stated that his organ improvisational skills were the
greatest since Bach. Franck revived the
'classical' organ playing style in France and his
first important series of organ works, called Six
Pieces pour grand orgue, came out in 1862. He was
hailed as one of the great hopes of French
music, and also gained a reputation as a piano and
organ virtuoso.
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Later
Life and Criticism
The Six Pieces pour grand
orgue were his only notable works before the 1880's,
when he composed most of the music by which he is
known. But even these did not make him famous,
and Franck was still considered to be unimaginative as
a composer. Franck spent the rest of his life in
Rue de Rennes with his wife and four children, moving
there in 1865. Madame Franck disliked his music,
and their marriage was made even worse when she
clearly expressed her hate of the F minor Piano
Quintet and the D minor symphony.
Franck's music was more recognised
prior to the 1880's. In 1871, one of his works
was put on the very first program of The Societe
Nationale de Musique, and a year later he was
appointed professor of organ at the Conservatory. A
group of pupils gathered together to advocate his
music around Paris. They helped Franck steer
French composition toward symphonic and chamber music,
and away from the more conservative opera. Franck
passed on his ideas of harmony to his pupils, and
became well known for his penchant for frequent
modulations. At the premiere of his Piano
Quintet in 1880, Saint-Saens, the pianist, hated the
continual key changes so much that he didn't wait for
applause.
Franck's Symphony in D minor also
attracted criticism for similar reasons. Other
'failed' works include his oratorio Redemption
(1873), Les Beatitudes (1869-79) and his
oratorio Rebecca (1881). It is said that
his first real success as a composer came when his String
Quartet was warmly applauded at a concert of the
National Society of Music. He died a few months
later as a result of a car accident.
His Best-Known Works
Unfortunately, it was only after he
died that Franck's music became popular. The
popular works include: the Symphony, the Symphonic
Variations for piano and orchestra (1885), the A
major Violin Sonata (1886), his Prelude,
Chorale and Fugue for solo piano (1884) and his Prelude,
Aria and Finale (1887). The three
Chorales of 1890 were composed when his organ
style reached its peak, and his Piano Quintet (1878),
his tone poems Les Eolides (1875-76), Le
chasseur maudit (1882), Les Djinns (1884),
and Psyche (1887-78), and even the D minor
Symphony helped to establish his growing
reputation. Organists still perform his Chorales and
the Grand Piece symphonique.
The Wagnerian chromaticism of
Franck's harmonies, along with his extensive use of
cyclical form (in which a single theme recurs in each
section of a work, often modified or transformed),
confused audiences of his day, but his music is now
recognized for its harmonic richness and structural
innovation. The D minor Symphony is generally regarded
as the French answer to the monumental symphonies of
Bruckner.
- Thanks to an unknown contributor |
Web Sites
->
Biography
->
Universfranckiste
MP3 Examples
->
Beatitude Number Four
->
Excerpt from Psyche and Eros
Franck's Students: The Great French School
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> The Great French School
Selected
Compositions on CD
Psyché
Unbelievablely beautiful. Stay clear of the many 'shortened' versions. This
composition must be performed by both Orchestra and choir.
Les
Béatitudes
Long ridiculed, this is a glorius work, filled with the highest praise and
glory. A great work of spirtual music.
Complete
Organ Music
Franck was a master of organ composition, and it is in the field of organ
that he is perhaps the best known. We recommend purchasing one of the CD sets that
contains all of his organ music. After you have the CDs, start by listening to Prière.
Redemption
This is the 'full' version. For years, there was only a 'shortened' version
(containing an instrumental extract, often known as the Redemption Symphony) available of
this work.
Symphony
in D Minor
This beautiful symphony is Franck's most famous
work
Works for Harmonium
Amongst
his works from this outdated instrument are some wonderful
compositions
Piano Quintet
One
of the masterpieces of the literature for this combination
Piano Music
Franck
wrote some beautiful piano compositions
Mass
An
early mass, simple, yet beautiful.
Violin Sonata
This
is Franck's very famous violin sonata.
String Quartet
Franck
wrote a beautiful string quartet.
The famous Panis Angelicus
Books
César
Franck, by Leon Vallas
César
Franck and his Circle, by Laurence Davies
César
Franck, by Vincent d'Indy
César Franck
(en français)
by Charles Tournemire
Librairie Delagrave
Paris
Historical
Recordings
Symphony in D minor
Wiener Philarmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting
January 28, 1945 and December 14-15, 1953
Arlecchino (Italy) ARL 140
Les Béatitudes
L'Academie Symphonique de Paris
Pierre Cochereau, organ,
Editions André Charlin
22, av du Gal de Gaulle - 94160 Saint-Mandé
Paris
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