String Trio

Less privileged than the string quartet, the string trio does nonetheless demand a similar expertise, by virtue of its homogeneity of timbres and its harmonic constraints. Jean Cras seemed however to be conscious of the challenge: “I would like to give to all three instruments their maximum in order to give the impression of plenitude, difficult to obtain with three bows. But by adapting the writing to the resources of the three instruments it is possible to considerably increase the effect produced, and it is very interesting to build something with limited means.” His Trio, composed from the 14 March to the 14 June 1926 aboard the cruiser Lamotte-Picquet anchored in Lorient, was first performed the 8 April 1927 in Paris, at the Salle Érard, by its dedicatees Carmen Forté (violin), Pierre Brun (viola) and Louis Fournier (cello). Overall, it gives a sense of spontaneity, notably in the fast movements. The diversity of colours arises from the modal richness: one example in particular is the pentatonicism and the Lydian mode of the first allegro, of the polymodality of the second section of the slow movement. As with numerous works by Cras, the dancing rhythms and the stylisation of popular timbres (open fifths, melismas, and playing without vibrato at the beginning of the slow movement which recalls the sound of the hurdy-gurdy) combine with the exploitation of resources of counterpoint (the fugal introductions of the finale in the style of a jig). We can also hear here a fine balance between the ambiences, the complaint in archaic colours from the Lent bringing a welcome contrast to the invigorating tonicity of the fast pieces.