Programme

Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): Suite Bergamasque (1905)

i. Prélude ii. Menuet iii. Clair de lune iv. Passepied

Debussy began work on his Suite Bergamasque in 1890, aged just 28, but it lay dormant for a further fifteen years until it was revised and finally published in 1905. In preparation for typesetting, Debussy altered the titles of third and fourth movements. Clair de lune (a reference to a poem of the same name by Paul Verlaine, which refers to ‘bergamasques’) originally bore the title of ‘Promenade Sentimentale’, and the closing Passepied (literally ‘Pass-foot’, a French court dance) was originally entitled Pavane.

A bergamasque or bergamasca, is a sixteenth-century rustic peasant dance local to the town of Bergamo in northern Italy. Debussy’s use is more likely a romanticised reference to antiquated, regional dance styles more broadly. Only the Menuet and Passepied bear obvious relevance to historic dance music, with neither of them being of Italian origin. In this instance, a suite of keyboard dance music, opening with a freely-flowing Prélude likely bears a more direct homage to the Baroque dance suites of Debussy’s predecessors, particularly those of Rameau and Couperin, whose work served of undeniable importance in establishing a history of French keyboard composition.

Cécile Chaminade (1857 - 1944): Poèmes provençaux, Op.127 (1908)

i. Dans la lande ii. Solitude iii. Le passé iv. Pêcheurs de nuit

Although once a prominent figure in France’s musical scene, Cécile Chaminade is a composer who seems to be continually overlooked in the history of French keyboard music. Her vast body of keyboard music remains largely underperformed on the modern concert stage, save for some of her more popular works, including her Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 21, and her Etude de Concert entitled ‘Automne’. Ironically, for a prolific composer of piano music, she is likely most well known today for her Concertino pour flûte, Op.107.

Chaminade’s talent and natural affinity for melody was recognised from an early age, At the age of ten, she was recommended for study at the Conservatoire de Paris by Félix de Couppey. Just two years later, she would have the opportunity to performsome of her compositions for Georges Bizet, who was impressed enough that he supplied ample encouragement to Cécile’s parents that she should commit to a more serious study of music. Bizet took to describing her as ‘My Little Mozart’.

In 1908, the very same year that these four ‘Poèmes provençaux’ were published, Chaminade wrote in an issue of The Etude magazine that ‘the piano was her favorite plaything and before she knew how to read correctly or write legibly she tried to express by it the naive thoughts which sang in her childish soul, and she told it to her confidences as other children tell them to their dolls.’

Chaminade’s reputation suffered somewhat in her later career, as she became pigeonholed as merely a composer of simple salon music, at a time when French music was making rapid progress. Although these later Op. 127 works retain much of what made her a successful salon composer, there is undoubtedly a greater sense of introspection and the hallmarks of a much more emotionally and technically mature composer than many of her critics might have given her credit for during her lifetime.

Biography

Órán Halligan is a Dublin-born pianist, currently pursuing his DMusPerf at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. His research focuses on keyboard music in early nineteenth-century Dublin. He holds both a DipMus and First Class Honours BMus from the RIAM, as well as an MMus from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Órán made his concerto debut performing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Dublin Concert Band at the National Concert Hall before going on to perform Poulenc’s Piano Concerto in C# Minor with the National Symphony Orchestra. He has given recitals both as a soloist and chamber musician in Ireland, throughout the UK and was guest-performer alongside clarinetist Cathal Killeen at the inaugural Madrid A Tempo Festival.

Órán was recipient of the ‘John O’Conor Cup for Outstanding Musicianship’ and was the 10th winner of the Irish Freemasons’ ‘Young Musician of the Year’ competition. His recently-released debut solo album ‘Visions’ was a featured album on RTÉ Lyric FM, which comprised the first ever recordings of piano works by historic Irish composers and included a new commission by Christopher Moriarty. Órán is an avid teacher, and in more recent years has expanded his teaching to focus on group piano tuition, within both the RIAM Adult Division and as an Assistant Lecturer in the RIAM’s Early Years faculty.