Selected Works for Cello and Piano by Auguste Franchomme, Edited and with Introduction by Louise Dubin (Dover Publications, 2017) headlines the recommended scores in Le Violoncelle‘s September 2017 issue! This is the magazine of the Association Française du Violoncelle…my copy arrived just recently, so this post is a bit late.
Click here for more information about the edition:
Info Sheet Selected Works for Cello and Piano Franchomme ed intr Dubin
© Louise Dubin 2017
On February 16, 1848, Chopin gave his first concert in Paris since 1842, at the Salle Pleyel, nº 22 rue Rochechouart. The cost of tickets was unprecedented: 20 francs for each of the 300 seats available (the best seat at the Opera went for 12 francs). The program included Chopin’s first public performance of his new sonata for piano and cello, Op. 65, with its dedicatee, Auguste Franchomme. Little did anyone know that this would be Chopin’s final publication; nor that this concert would be Chopin’s last in Paris, ever. Less than a week later, the 1848 Revolution erupted, forcing King Louis-Philippe to flee and eventually to abdicate the throne. Chopin left Paris shortly afterwards, and when he returned he was too ill to perform.
Franchomme and Chopin played only the last three movements of the sonata in 1848 because, according to Frederick Niecks, a misguided listener at a house run-through had criticized the first movement as “too obscure, involved too many ideas.” After Chopin’s death, Franchomme returned to the Salle Pleyel to perform the complete Op. 65 on April 6, 1853, with Thomas Tellefsen, who’d studied with Chopin for a few years and become his friend. This time, nobody complained about the first movement.
Léon Kreutzer published his account in the Revue et Gazette Musicale de Paris on April 10th, 1853: “Le morceau principal était une sonate de Chopin, pour piano et violoncelle…cette oeuvre a quelque chose d’intime et de mystérieux, c’est que tout en elle est plaintif et mélancolique… Franchomme, sur son eloquent violoncelle, a trouvé des accents admirables, qui donnaient aux belles melodies de Chopin une suavité pénétrante et pleine de religieuse poésie.”
“The main piece was a sonata by Chopin for cello and piano…the piece has something intimate and mysterious, everything in it is plaintive and melancholic… Franchomme, on his eloquent cello, found admirable expression, giving the beautiful melodies of Chopin a penetrating sweetness, full of religious poetry.”
They sure knew how to write about a great concert back then!
Performance Today is the fabulous MPR/APR nationally syndicated radio show hosted by Fred Child. This performance was from our album release celebration concert at John Street Church in lower Manhattan, picture above. Find our world premiere recording of this same nocturne (and many other pieces) on our album The Franchomme Project.
Thanks for the recording, Robert Olmsted, and thank you Julia Bruskin Wunsch, Katherine Cherbas, Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir, and Helene Jeanney for making this concert great!
©2017 Do not copy, publish or reproduce without the written permission of Louise Dubin
On May 17, 2017, Dover Publications released Selected Works for Cello and Piano by Auguste Franchomme, with Introduction by Louise Dubin. Many libraries have already acquired it, including Juilliard, Columbia and University of Chicago; check the constantly updating list on worldcat to find a copy near you.
These works have been out of print for over a century, and are reprinted here from their first editions, which include Franchomme’s original fingerings and bowings. The Introduction includes a good representation of my research, as well as some unpublished photos from Franchomme’s descendants. It should be interesting reading for any historian of early Romantic music (he was best friends with Chopin after all), and provide repertoire for cellists looking for unknown pearls. Please read below for more details, in English and French!
Selected Works for Cello and Piano by Auguste Franchomme, with Introduction by Louise Dubin. Dover Publications: Mineola, New York, 17 mai 2017.
Dover Publications a juste publié Selected Works for Cello and Piano by Auguste Franchomme, with Introduction by Louise Dubin. Les œuvres que j’ai sélectionnées ont été épuisées pendant plus d’un siècle, injustifiablement, et sont réimprimées ici des premières éditions qui incluent les doigtés et les coups d’archet indiqués par Franchomme. La Préface comprend une bonne représentation de mes recherches et quelques photos jamais autrefois publiées pas ses descendants. Ce devrait être une lecture intéressante pas seulement pour les violoncellistes, mais pour tous historiens de la musique romantique (Franchomme était le meilleur ami de Chopin après tout). Également, ce livre offre un répertoire nouveau pour les violoncellistes qui cherchent les perles inconnues.
Le violoncelliste Auguste Franchomme (1808-1884) est souvent rappelé comme l’ami et le collaborateur de Chopin. Mais en son temps, il était reconnu comme l’un des meilleurs violoncellistes en Europe. Ainsi que jouer la musique de chambre avec Chopin, Alard et beaucoup d’autres, il était également le violoncelliste solo de la Musique du Roi du Louis-Philippe, de l’Orchestre du Théâtre Italien et plusieurs autres orchestres, enseigné le violoncelle pendant 38 ans au Conservatoire de Paris, et publié plus de 50 œuvres originales pour son instrument. Les compositions de violoncelle de Franchomme sont des exemples superbes des genres popularisés par les violonistes et les pianistes au début du 19ème siècle, notamment les airs variés, les fantaisies, les caprices et les nocturnes (Franchomme a composé les premiers nocturnes en style Chopin pour le violoncelle). Ils comprennent souvent des airs et des thèmes d’opéra qui étaient familiers à son public.
Beaucoup de compositions de Franchomme démontrent sa technique virtuose de la main gauche et ses motifs élégants de l’archet, augmentant des pratiques de ses prédécesseurs Bernhard Romberg, Charles-Nicolas Baudiot, Jean-Louis Duport et les autres. Alors que son écriture de violoncelle atteint les nouveaux sommets de virtuosité, elle provient d’un tempérament raffiné; souvent douce, mélancolique ou humoristique, mais jamais inélégante, ironique, ou enflée. Ses pièces laissent de l’espace pour la réflexion. Dans l’Introduction, je discute des innovations de dans sa technique de violoncelle et ses compositions, y compris les influences sur et par Chopin.
Les Caprices, op. 7 et les Études, op. 25 de Franchomme ne sont pas épuisés, et ils sont dans les collections aux nombreux violoncellistes. Mais beaucoup de ses autres œuvres, y compris les compositions que j’ai sélectionnées pour ce volume, ont été épuisées depuis la mort de Franchomme en 1884, sinon plus longtemps. Plusieurs de ces pièces ont de grandes histoires attachées, comme j’explique dans ma Préface.
Ce volume offre aux violoncellistes des pièces charmantes à ajouter à leur répertoire. Certaines de ces œuvres sont déjà connues à cause des enregistrements de Roel Dieltiens, Anner Bylsma, et moi-même. Ce volume comprend également certains des arrangements de Franchomme des œuvres de Chopin, ainsi que sa collaboration avec George Osborne. Avec la recherche originale incluse dans ma Préface, ce volume devrait intéresser pas seulement les violoncellistes, mais aussi tous personnes qui s’occupent aux sujets de technique d’instruments à cordes, Chopin et musique du XIXe siècle en général.
English version:
The French cellist-composer Auguste Franchomme (1808-1884) is often remembered as Chopin’s friend and collaborator, but in his day he was renowned as one of the best cellists in Europe. In addition to performing chamber music with Chopin, Alard, and many others, he also served as the solo cellist of Louis-Philippe’s Musique du Roi, the Théâtre Italien and several other orchestras, taught for 38 years at the Paris Conservatoire, and published over 50 original works for his instrument. Franchomme’s cello compositions are superb examples of the genres popularized by violinists and pianists in early 19th century Paris, especially airs variés, fantaisies, caprices, and nocturnes (Franchomme composed the first ever Chopin-style nocturnes for the cello). They often feature tunes and opera themes that were familiar to his audiences.
Many of Franchomme’s compositions showcased his virtuosic left hand technique and elegant bowing patterns, expanded from the practices of his predecessors Bernhard Romberg, Charles-Nicolas Baudiot, Jean-Louis Duport, and others. While his cello-writing reaches new heights of virtuosity, it comes from a refined temperament and is often sweet, melancholy or humorous, but never bombastic or angst-ridden. I discuss Franchomme’s innovations both in his cello technique and his compositions, including possible influences on and from Chopin, in the Introduction.
Franchomme’s Caprices, Op. 7 and Etudes, Op. 25 are in print and owned by many cellists. But many of his other works, included the compositions I selected for this volume, have been out of print since Franchomme’s death in 1884, if not longer.
This volume offers cellists charming, challenging new pieces to add to their concert repertoire. Several have great stories attached to them, as I explain in the Introduction. I included some of the works that are already becoming known through recordings released by Anner Bylsma, Roel Dieltiens, and myself. Also featured are some of Franchomme’s arrangements of Chopin’s piano works, as well as his collaboration with George Osborne. Due to the original research included, this volume should be of interest not only to cellists, but also to any scholar of string instrument technique, Chopin, and 19th century music in general.
Chopin Prelude Op. 28, No. 9 arranged by Auguste Franchomme for 4 cellists, Transcribed from unpublished manuscript by Louise Dubin. Performers: Louise Dubin, Raphael Pidoux, Gauthier Boutin, Philippe Muller, cellists
Salle Gaveau, December 2nd, 2016 “La Nuit du Violoncelle,” gala concert of VioloncellenSeine, biannual convention of the French Cello Society. World premiere studio recording on The Franchomme Project album: http://www.louise-dubin.com/shop
Happy Birthday Franchomme! The Cello-Bration begins today and goes all week, with one new live video here each day, and giveaways! Here is the first: Franchomme’s Nocturne Op. 15, 1 performed by cellists Louise Dubin and Philippe Muller, at the recent edition of VioloncellenSeine in Paris, on 12/4/2016. https://youtu.be/ed9KuJN8EwU
Or you can hear me perform it with Philippe Muller at our May concerts in NYC and at the Festival de Violoncelle de Beauvais in France:
www.johnstreetchurch.org 212-269-0014
Concert with cellists Louise Dubin and Philippe Muller and pianist Hélène Jeanney. Sonatas by Debussy, Pierre de Bréville, Charles Koechlin, and shorter works by Jean Cras, Chopin and Auguste Franchomme. Click for program
Maladrerie Saint-Lazare, Beauvais, France
3 PM: UNE GÉNÉALOGIE DE VIOLONCELLISTES lecture by Philippe Muller
4 PM: FRANCHOMME PROJECT CONCERT featuring music on the album + 2 premieres, performed by Louise Dubin, Philippe Muller and Hélène Jeanney
6:30 PM: PERLES RARES Pt 1: Koechlin Sonata for cello and piano Louise Dubin with Hélène Jeanney, + performances by cellists Emmanuelle Bertrand, Philippe Muller, and Mathieu Lejeune
9 PM: PERLES RARES Pt. 2: Debussy Sonata Louise Dubin with Hélène Jeanney, + performances by cellists Philippe Muller, Emmanuelle Bertrand, and Mathieu Lejeune
©2016 Do not copy, publish or reproduce without the written permission of Louise Dubin
When I performed in Paris in September, I was thrilled that about a dozen direct descendants of Auguste Franchomme were in attendance. One of them presented me with this 1864 medal that had belonged to Franchomme—a real treasure! This was Franchomme’s medal commemorating his service as a founding member of the The Société des Concerts du Conservatoire under François Habeneck. Both Franchomme and Habeneck were in the group from its inception in 1828.
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At first I assumed it was a retirement gift, but Franchomme actually retired from the job 5 years later, on October 12, 1869, when his 2nd consecutive request for a year’s leave was turned down. So there was probably a ceremony in 1864 at which all founding members were awarded these medals engraved individually with their names. (Unfortunately Habeneck was not among them, since he had died in 1849).
I have already written about Habeneck and the Concert Society of the Conservatoire elsewhere-
https://blogdaysofauguste.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/ams-post-franchommes-debut-solo-performance/
http://musicologynow.ams-net.org/2014/09/the-franchomme-project.html/
https://blogdaysofauguste.wordpress.com/2016/02/21/franchommes-etude-2/
Suffice it to say, this was an important orchestra in Paris, and an important job for Franchomme. In addition to performing the solo part of the William Tell Overture countless times with this group as its principal cellist,* he also played all the Beethoven Symphonies (including the Paris premiere of Beethoven’s 9th), as well as premieres of works by Mendelssohn and Berlioz, and concertos by and with Chopin, Alkan, and Kalkbrenner. The Society’s concert series also is where Franchomme has his solo debut. He performed one of his own compositions, probably a Caprice without the optional cello accompaniment, in the concert on March 29, 1829. Here is what critic François-Joseph Fétis wrote in La Revue Musicale a few days after the concert (also discussed in the notes to my album The Franchomme Project):
Un jeune homme, un enfant, M. Franchomme, est venu, ignore, jouer sans pretention un solo de violoncelle, de manière à se mettre tout à coup sur la ligne des plus grands artistes. Il a dit un thême, sans aucun ornement, et toute l’assemblée fut transportée de plaisir…Trois, quatre, cinq salves d’applaudissemens ont à peine suffi pour exprimer le plaisir qu’avait éprouvé l’assemblée.
*(starting in 1846- before that time, he was 2nd cellist sitting next to his teacher, Martin Louis Pierre Norblin)
********************************************************************************Lorsque j’ai joué à Paris en Septembre, j’etais ravie de voir que environ une douzaine de descendants directs d’Auguste Franchomme étaient présents. Un d’eux m’a présenté cette médaille datant de 1864, qui avait appartenue à Franchomme—un vrai trésor!
Voici l’information que j’ai apprise à propos de la médaille: ce fut la médaille de Franchomme commémorant son service comme membre fondateur de La Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. Il était avec l’orchestre depuis son commencement par François Habeneck en 1828.
La médaille est datée 1864; 5 ans avant la retraite de Franchomme, le 12 Octobre 1869, quand sa 2ème demande de prolongation d’activité a été rejetée. Donc, une ceremonie a probablement eu lieu en 1864, au cours de laquelle tous les membres fondateurs ont reçus ces médailles gravées individuellement avec leurs noms. (Habeneck ne figurait pas parmi eux, puisqu’il était malheureusement décédé en 1849).
J’ai déjà écrit à propos de Habeneck et la Société dans les postes mentionné ci-dessus. Bref, ce fut un orchestre important à Paris, et un boulot important pour Franchomme. En plus de jouer la partie solo de l’Ouverture de Guillaume Tell d’innombrables fois avec ce groupe comme violoncelliste solo*, il a joué toutes les symphonies de Beethoven (y compris la Première a Paris de la 9ème de Beethoven), aussi bien que les Premières des œuvres de Mendelssohn et Berlioz, et les concertos par et avec Chopin, Alkan et Kalkbrenner. Dans l’un des premiers concerts de la Société, Franchomme a été présenté à Paris comme soliste lui-même, jouant l’une de ses propres compositions, probablement un Caprice, dans le concert le 29 Mars, 1829. Voici ce qu’a écrit le critique François-Joseph Fétis dans La Revue Musicale quelques jours après le concert (aussi dans mes notes de l’album The Franchomme Project):
“Un jeune homme, un enfant, M. Franchomme, est venu, ignore, jouer sans pretention un solo de violoncelle, de manière à se mettre tout à coup sur la ligne des plus grands artistes. Il a dit un thême, sans aucun ornement, et toute l’assemblée fut transportée de plaisir…Trois, quatre, cinq salves d’applaudissemens ont à peine suffi pour exprimer le plaisir qu’avait éprouvé l’assemblée.”
*(à partir de 1846- avant ce temps, il était 2ème violoncelle, à côté de son prof, Martin Louis Pierre Norblin.)
©2015 Do not copy, publish or reproduce without the written permission of Louise Dubin
In the engraving of the Alard-Franchomme Quartet at the head of this blog, we can see that Franchomme is playing his Duport Strad (more info about it in my earlier post) using a basically modern bow grip (just a bit higher on the stick) and NO endpin. He held the cello off the floor with his calves, which given the difficulty of his compositions is a remarkable thing. According his late descendant, M. Laurent Pénicaud, Franchomme refused to use an endpin because he thought it made the cello sound unnatural. He also refused to let his students at the Conservatoire use them, even as they were becoming widely adapted elsewhere due to the influence of the Belgian cellist Servais. I’ve included a never-published photo (from the collection of his descendants) of an elder Franchomme sitting with his endpin-less cello in the forthcoming Dover Selected Works for Cello and Piano by Auguste Franchomme.
Servais was a large man with a large tone who played a large 1701 Strad with its own fascinating history. And apparently, Servais was a man who liked to eat. Some have theorized that for Servais, the endpin may have become a real necessity for him to navigate the cello around his rotund belly! And, it may have enabled Servais to come across as more outgoing performer. Contemporary music critic Henri Blanchard, in his desire to differentiate Franchomme from Servais, called Franchomme elegantly precise but cold, and Servais passionate but out of tune:
Franchomme can be called the king of the French school of cello playing….he plays the cello in a manner that is elegant, easy, clean, but without inspiration or passion. His style is pure, but cold…[in contrast] Servais, head of the Belgian school… has a generous manner; he sings with expression on his instrument, but his intonation is not very accurate, a pretty common fault of cellists. Franchomme peut passer a juste titre pour le chef, pour le roi de l’ecole francais…[il] joue de violoncelle d’une maniere elegante, facile, nette, mais sans inspiration, sans passion. Son style est pur, mais froid…. Servais, chef de l’ecole belge avec Batta… il ya a de l’ampleur dans sa maniere; il chante avec expression sur son instrument, mais son intonation n’est pas tres sure, defaut assez ordinaire aux violoncellistes.”
Revue et Gazette Musicale, 1842
Probably out of respect for Franchomme’s opinion, endpins were not used at the Paris Conservatoire until 1884. It is probably no coincidence that 1884 happens to be the year when Franchomme died, and his student Jules Delsart took over the cello class there. (Delsart is most remembered today for his cello transcription of Franck’s violin sonata in A major). Even after the endpin became officially accepted at the Conservatoire, other illustrious cellists in the late 1800s refused to play with one, including Piatti and Grutzmacher.
Today, The Franchomme Project album (Delos Label) became available worldwide, through Naxos distributors. You can also buy @ http://www.louise-dubin.com, where your purchase goes directly to the artists, and includes a bonus cello duo not on the CD. (We ship everywhere, and also have a limited-edition T-shirt available!). 
In early 2016, Dover Publications will release a volume of Franchomme’s cello-piano compositions with my introduction. Included in the score are several pieces also on the album–including his Nocturnes Op. 15, Caprice sur Preciosa, and Chopin arrangements– and other facsimiles of his first publications (which include Franchomme’s fascinating fingerings!)
Our two September concerts were both Time Out NY Critic’s Picks, and now we’ve added a date! Please see http://www.louise-dubin.com/schedule for info about our 10/18 gig at Mezzrow in the West Village (we’re an opener for Bucky Pizzarelli!)
I’ve just submitted my Introduction to the forthcoming Dover publication of selected works for cello and piano by Auguste Franchomme. There were some great stories that I just couldn’t fit within their word limit. Here are some, to give you an idea of what else you can read when the score comes out. I’ll post another one very soon.
One of the 2 images heading this blog is the only known depiction of Franchomme performing- a plate from an 1877 book written by one of his former cello students, Antoine Vidal,* showing an older Franchomme performing with the Alard Quartet. Violinist Jean-Delphin Alard (1815-1888) was, like Franchomme, the son of an amateur musician father, and like Franchomme, taught at the Conservatoire. In 1847, Alard had begun a new chamber music society, the Société Alard and Franchomme—partly to phase out his previous group’s cellist, Pierre-Alexandre Chevillard. Unlike Alard, Chevillard wanted to perform Beethoven’s late string quartets, and proceeded to do so in his next group. Alard’s new group with Franchomme performed sonatas, trios, quartets, and quintets of Mozart, Haydn, and (early-middle period) Beethoven. The late Beethoven string quartets were avoided, as were his final two cello sonatas. The society lasted, with many guest artists around the core of Alard and Franchomme, until 1870, by which time it had developed into the most prestigious chamber music series in Paris (there were at least four others in 1864). The other musicians in the engraving sitting to Franchomme’s left are violist Desire Trombetta and violinist Jules Garcin.
Alard happened to be the son-in-law of Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, the renowned Parisian luthier and instrument dealer who helped Franchomme acquire the 1711 Duport Stradivarius cello, which he is playing in the engraving. (Vuillaume also made a small cello for René Franchomme, Auguste’s son, who was already a fine cellist and budding composer when he died at age 18). The Duport Strad had been owned and played by both of the Duport brothers, and Anner Bylsma calls it the “greatest cello ever made.” Early on, it came close to serious damage in the Tuileries Palace, where Jean-Louis Duport was performing as solo cellist of the court of the Emperor. Napoleon seized the cello from Duport, put it between his legs (dangerously close to his sharp riding spurs!) and said, “How the devil do you play this thing, Duport?” Fortunately, Duport cried out “Sir!” in such a dire tone that Napoleon stopped his jesting immediately and returned the cello to Duport.
The Duport Strad was handed down to Jean-Louis Duport’s son, who played the instrument as the principal cellist of Lyon for a few years before establishing himself in Paris as a piano builder. At first, he had no interest in selling the cello. Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume had told Franchomme, “vous êtes le successeur de Duport; vous seul devriez posséder son instrument.” In 1842, after some cajoling by Vuillaume, the cello was finally put on the market for an unprecedented price: either 22,000 francs (according to Franchomme’s descendants) or 25,000 francs (according to other sources). Franchomme struggled to come up with this amount, but somehow bought it the following year, possibly with the help of his wife’s dowry, which, according to this linked footnote, was large.
Franchomme’s daughter Cécile sold it to Hill and Sons in London in 1892 for 40,000 francs. Rostropovich played on this incredible cello for many years, and in fact he used it to record both Chopin’s Op. 65 Sonata and his Introduction and Polonaise Brillante. Franchomme performed both pieces with Chopin, using the same cello. Despite rumors that it was sold in 2008 for 20 million dollars to Japan’s Nippon Foundation, it is apparently still in the hands of Rostropovich’s descendants. http://www.allthingsstrings.com/layout/set/print/News/News/Where-is-the-Duport-Strad
*Plate LXXXVIII, “Musique de chambre en 1878,” Volume 3 of Antoine Vidal’s Les Instruments A Archet: Les feseurs, Les Joueurs D’Instrument, avec planche gravées a l’eau-forte par Frederic Hillemacher. Paris: Imprimerie de J. Claye, 1877-78. Reproduced with permission of Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library, Harvard University.
© Louise Dubin Do not copy, publish or reproduce without written permission
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