The Music of Albert Roussel

Deux melodies, Opus 55
for voice and piano

Written: 1935 Premiered:
Paris, Jan 24,1936, Mme Blanc-Audra
Length:
No. 1, 1.5 minutes
No. 2, 1.5 minutes		 Two songs:
Vielles cartes, vielles mains
Si quelquefois tu pleures
Words by: George Ville Voice(s): No. 1, middle
No. 2, soprano or tenor
Publisher: Durand Dedication:
No. 1, Mme Blanc-Audra
No. 2, Mlle Madeleine Vhita

About this Work:

These are the last of Roussel's 36 melodies, as the French call art songs. The most interesting aspect of these songs is the sense of leavetaking, of the nearness of death; written within a year and a half of the composer's death, they are the only works that contain any such traces.

There are striking difference between these songs and a couple of well-known "leavetaking" works: Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony and Mahler's Ninth Symphony. Roussel's songs have none of the angst and despair of Tchaikovsky, and their length is nothing compared to Mahler's massive, 90-minute symphony. Instead, Roussel left two extremely short songs, calm if melancholy, less than three minutes combined. Clearly Roussel was as much a master of miniatures as Mahler was of vast landscapes.

Vielles cartes, vielles mains
Two old cousins, playing cards, muse about the nearness of death. Without ever saying as much, Roussel leaves the distinct impression that death isn't something to fear, merely one more step along the path of life.

Si quelquefois tu pleures
"If sometimes you cry, look for me near you. I will be there." Thus begins the last song that Roussel wrote; a very touching and personal promise.

Other opinions:

In them [the songs of opus 55] one sense the nostalgia of a composer whose race is almost run. Vieilles cartes, vielles mains, with its leaping rhythm, full of allusions, pales somewhat before Si quelquefois tu pleures, an infinitely tender piece in superb counterpoint, once again imbued with profound humanity. [Dom Angelico Surchamp]

The final songs, written in 1935, are more free and ask for more care from the singer. "Vielles cartes" does not lie as easily for the voice as the earlier songs, but it is in no way difficult; it merely requires more careful preparation. "Si quelequefois tu pleures" is more declamatory than melodic and again has a continuously moving piano part. [Norman Demuth]

This extraordinary reticence, this consummate art of evoking the unutterable, is found again in... the so brief and late Si quelquefois tu pleures. The Roussel of these songs, the one that is of the highest value, is also the least well-known. [Laurent Barthel]

The two songs of Op. 55... are also ironical in tone. Vieilles carts, vielles mains, has libidinous implications, while Si quelquefois tu pleures has an undercurrent of bitterness expressed in the chromatic harmonies of the accompaniment. [Basil Deane]

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