Rhythmically lively barcarolle

Théodore Gouvy (1819-1898), born in Goffontaine near Saarbrücken, on the border between Prussia and France, was active as a composer and conductor in both countries. He was particularly recognized in Germany for his symphonic works and in France for his chamber music.

The Sérénade vénitienne for viola and piano, dedicated to the Belgian violinist Louis van Waefelghem in 1875, is a pleasant but rhythmically demanding four-minute piece in E minor, ending in a radiant and gently exhaling E major. The viola sighs over harmonically richly changing semiquaver waves in the piano. It sings in large arcs, which are carefully differentiated dynamically and agogically, with trailing or upbeat thirty-second notes. The tonal range remains in the lower three strings and is best presented in the half to third register.

The Ponticello Edition - founded in 2009 and specializing in string and especially cello literature - deserves great praise for making this forgotten pearl accessible.

(Louis) Théodore Gouvy: Sérénade vénitienne for viola and piano, edited by Wolfgang Birtel, PON 1034, € 10.95, Ponticello Edition, Mainz 2018