Octuor

Mouvement de Valse

Just as Schubert’s Octet was commissioned as a sequel to Beethoven’s Septet, so Françaix’s Octuor was commissioned as a companion piece to the Schubert. Written for the Vienna Octet in 1972 and scored for the same combination of wind and strings as the great Octet in F, it is dedicated “to the revered memory of Franz Schubert.” That does not mean, however, that it is anything but absolutely characteristic Jean Françaix: there is little that is Viennese in it, much that is Parisian, little serious thought, much wit and no less charm.

The first movement opens with a slow introduction, but that is as near to the Schubert Octet as it gets. The irrepressibly perky little tune introduced by the clarinet as the main theme of the Allegrissimo is pure Françaix. So is the artful but unpretentious way in which, on the recapitulation of that theme, the melody of the opening Moderato is reintroduced as an elegant counterpoint on the horn. The process of thematic integration continues in the clearly related Scherzo and Trio but apparently not in the Adagio, which has its own tenderly expressive melody for muted strings. Intended no doubt as a tribute to Vienna even though it is more café-concert than Johann Strauss in style, the waltz-time finale cheerfully and discreetly seals the thematic unity of the work.