Palazzetto Bru Zane - Centre de Musique Romantique Française

Chamber works written for large forces rarely spring to mind when we think of the Romantic period in music. Indeed, this genre – midway between the full-blown symphonic work (powerful orchestra, broad palette of colours) and the intimacy of compositions intended for soloist – corresponds more to the Viennese Classical tradition, from Beethoven to Schubert, than to the representatives of a musical avant-garde (Berlioz, Liszt or Wagner).

During the nineteenth century, composers in France continued to produce chamber music in response to the demands of the musical salons that wanted new contemporary works to go with the Viennese repertoire. Often inspired by the latter, the pieces written by Reicha, Onslow, Blanc and others thus followed the explorations of Beethoven (Septet, op. 20) or Schubert (Octet D.803), using an increasing number of musicians. In so doing they revived a French musical tradition that dated back to the late eighteenth century: that of the symphonie concertante, in which several solo instrumental parts were highlighted.

Gouvy, with his Petite Suite gauloise and his Septet and Octet, anticipated the modernity that was to be a feature, above all, of the turn of the twentieth century, when composers such as Saint-Saëns, d'Indy, Caplet, Magnard and so on, up to and including Enesco, were to show great innovativeness in the genre.