"Madrigal", Op. 35 is a four-part song by

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...

to words by

Armand Silvestre Paul Armand Silvestre (18 April 1837 – 19 February 1901) was a 19th-century French poet and ''conteur'' born in Paris. He studied at the École polytechnique with the intention of entering the army, but in 1870, he entered the departmen ...

, composed in 1883. It is written to be sung by vocal quartet or choir, with piano or – a later addition – an orchestral accompaniment. The song was reused in 1919 in the composer's '' Masques et bergamasques''.

Composition

Fauré had a liking for Silvestre's poems, and set several of them. This one, titled "Pour un chœur alterné" by the author, is from Silvestre's 1878 collection, ''La chanson des heures''. With its theme of young men and women accusing each other of selfishness and cruelty in affairs of the heart, Fauré set it as a mischievous wedding present for his friend and ex-pupil

André Messager André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty , opérettes and other stage works, among which his ballet (1 ...

, who was the dedicatee. The pianist and scholar Graham Johnson comments that the song has "the wittiness and suggestiveness of a speech by the best man at a wedding."Johnson, pp. 145–146 The opening line of the music quotes a theme by J. S. Bach which may have had some private significance for the two friends. The song was first performed at a concert of the

Société Nationale de Musique Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

on 12 January 1884 by the société's choir. It was published by Hamelle in the same year. The premiere of the orchestral version was given by solo quartet and the société's orchestra on 30 April 1892.Nectoux, p. 538 Fauré later incorporated the song in its orchestral form into his incidental music to '' Masques et bergamasques'' (1919).Jones, pp. 179–181

Composition

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Notes, references and sources

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