Trois Pièces for cello and piano
1. in E flat minor - 2. in A minor – 3 in C sharp minor
The 1915 edition by Heugel of Nadia Boulanger’s Trois Pièces pour violoncelle et piano clearly states that they were originally written for the organ: “Ces pièces ont d’abord été composées pour orgue seul et ont paru dans la collection des Maîtres Contemporains de l’Orgue.” This helps to explain their unusual titles, just a number and a key (more typical of the organ repertoire), whereas short compositions for cello and piano generally bear either evocative titles or tempo indications. But the titles were different on the manuscripts of the organ versions (nos. 1 and 2) or at the time of the first performance (no. 3). In the original manuscript no. 1 in E flat minor is called Improvisation, and no. 2 in A minor, Prélude. The third piece, according to Alexandra Laederich, is without a doubt the work that Nadia played with the cellist Fernand Pollain at a gala evening organised by the Boulanger sisters at the Théâtre Léon Poirier in Paris on 18 November 1913. It was referred to in the programme as “Danse espagnole”. The cello-piano version brings out more clearly the connection between these pieces and the works of Nadia Boulanger’s composition teacher at the Conservatoire. The serene expressiveness of the first piece, the gentle melancholy of the second, and the mischievousness of no. 3, call to mind the chamber music of Gabriel Fauré. They also make us regret that the composer did not explore this field a little more.