- Farrenc composed her piano trio 34 around 1844,1 and it was published around 1850-55.2
- Some editions (including the critical edition of Farrenc’s works published by Noetzel in 2001) label the key of this piano trio as d minor instead of D Major. That’s because the structure of its key areas is quite unusual, and it makes frequent use of both D Major and d minor.3
- The term for this is modal mixture (using more than one mode, i.e., major and minor, within one key area, i.e., D.
- Listen for: The first movement begins in D Major and ends in d minor. So does the work as a whole: the last movement closes in d minor.
- More technical explanation: In the opening sonata form movement, Farrenc presents the first theme in the Major mode, then repeats it in the minor mode before moving to the second theme. The minor version of the first theme becomes as important a player in the movement as the Major version. (In a sonata form movement, it would be normal to pick either Major or minor for the first theme – not both. It’s a fascinating bit of play with the genre.) The contrast / dialogue / conflict between D Major and d minor is a major structural element in this work.
- If you’re not sure whether to announce this trio as D Major or d minor, just saying “In D” is appropriate in modal-mixture situations.
Sources
- Nicole Grimes, “Formal Innovation and Virtuosity in Clara Schumann‘s Piano Trio in G minor,“ in Clara Schumann Studies, ed. Joes Davies (UK: Cambridge University Press, 2022), 163.
- Bea Friedland, “Farrenc family,” Grove Music Online, (2001), accessed August 6, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000009336.
- Louise Farrenc, Piano Trios Op. 33 and 34, ed. Freia Hoffman (Wilhelmshaven: Florian Noetzel Verlag, 2001).
Cut IDs
23841