Ravel claimed that he had influenced him more than any other composer. Poulenc wrote a biography of him. Grove’s Dictionary calls him “one of the most inventive composers of the 19th century.”
And yet the only music that you’ve likely heard composed by Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894) is “España.” A shame. Not that it isn’t a wonderful piece. It’s one of my favorites, in fact.
The reason for Chabrier’s neglect is the subject of a recent column in the Wall Street Journal by Terry Teachout. Teachout’s premise is that Chabrier is essentially a witty and comic composer and we do not regard such cheerfulness as “serious.”
True enough. But Chabrier is also one of any number of late 19th century French composers relegated to the fringes of the repertoire, along with composers such as Chausson, Franck, Lalo, Fauré and D’Indy, among others. Contemporary programmers (I won’t say “audiences,” because they haven’t heard the music) seem to have a decided preference for the German and Russian composers of the period.
Chabrier’s music is characterized by rhythmic vitality and a pungent harmonic language that was a forerunner of Impressionism. His music also makes you feel good.
Other works by Chabrier worth checking out include his piano masterwork “Pieces pittoresques” (recorded by Alain Planes), his orchestral music including the “Joyeuse marche” (recorded by Ernest Ansermet) and his comic opera “Le roi malgre roi” (recorded by Charles Dutoit and company, and which Ravel supposedly knew from memory).
Chabrier’s “Idyll” from “Pieces pittoresques,” by the way, is simply one of the most beautiful pieces ever written. On YouTube, you can hear Alfred Cortot playing it.
In his researches, Teachout discovered an interesting tidbit too delectable not to share. The popular 50s tune “Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)” is based on “España.” I did not know that. Hear for yourself.
classical life 
Thank you for posting ‘Idyll” by Chabrier. It is a real journey of rhythm and sound in a beautifully sculpted piece! It reminds me Brahms’ use of the piano in part of his first Sonata No. 1, nicknamed by some–“Raindrop” Sonata.
You’re right, Mari (about “Idyll”), and yet no one seems to know it. It would make the perfect encore on a piano recital. The orchestral version is lovely as well.
His music also makes you feel good.
I think that tends to make society’s tastemakers or the so-called intelligentsia uneasy or apprehensive. In other words, things that are too “feel good” seem somehow not sophisticated or erudite enough. That definitely applies to today’s world of, as one example, oh-so-hip contemporary art. Or, more in keeping with the subject, to today’s era of rather atonal, monotonous or bombastic (percussion-infused) new “classical” music. That’s where the more obscure or unapproachable something is, the more correct or sophisticated it seems to be.
Beyond that, when I see the video of Perry Como from the 1950s, and place it against the backdrop of our culture today — with things like rap music, Lady Gaga, tattoos and pierced ears and pierced tongues galore — it’s hard to believe they’re both from the same planet, the same species, the same country.
From one extreme to the other!
As for the video of the Chabrier piece, the sound — naturally and understandably (since the performance was held outdoors and the recording was captured and then posted by who-knows-what to Youtube) — is compromised enough that, for example, the harp is almost inaudible.
By contrast, I’m listening to a recording of Dudamel leading the LA Philharmonic play Mozart #38. While Mozart is not my favorite, the sound quality of the performance is so good I find myself drawn into it. I’m not sure if even the intelligentsia (if not technicians too) is aware of just how much a new paradigm — in terms of the quality of the listening experience — has been created in Los Angeles.
Finally, allow me to congratulate you on having a new blog!!