Emilie Mayer Violin Sonatas

[Alan Howe]

...in D, Eflat and F, forthcoming from cpo:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9640019--emilie-mayer-three-violin-sonatas

[Double-A]

The sonata in E flat is an early work and not all that memorable though certainly pleasant, especially the andante.  The one in F (op. 17) was published in 1863 ("middle period") and is a thoroughly reworked version of the earlier "Duet" for Violoncello and piano.  The one in D exists in manuscript (fair copy) and I'd guess was composed quite some time later.  I think it is really interesting and attractive.  There is also a presumably late one in c-minor I like (in a heavily corrected working copy).

I have been transcribing some sonatas by Mayer, so I allow myself to utter a judgement.

The E-flat sonata BTW has been recorded before, by Alexandra Masloravich and someone whose name does not appear in the Amazon listing.  The piano playing by this nameless person is fine but the violin is awfully badly played, too choppy and aggressive and the intonation is not always spot on.

[eschiss1]

Anne-Lise Longuemare. At least, according to Worldcat and at a guess!

[Alan Howe]

What would be your estimate for a composition date for the Sonata in D, Double-A?

[Double-A]

IMSLP does not include a date on the work page (where dates are included they seem to be from Runge's biography).  For her early works the handwriting helps with dating but by somewhere in the 1850 it stabilized; at least I can not see any differences.  I'd say the sonata was composed after the one in d-minor (published 1869).  It takes some liberties beyond that sonata, e.g. it begins with a highly chromatic introduction of 10 measures cadencing in D-Major, followed by a quite diatonic first theme. One may further guess that it was written before Mayer embarked on a whole series of cello sonatas. Three of them, op. 38, 40 & 47 were published in 1873, 1874 and 1883 (year of Mayer's death).  Six more (plus the first version of one of them) were never published.  The information about the cello sonatas comes from a thesis by Marie-Aline Cadieux (apparently an American in spite of the name) from 1999.

So my guess would be the early 1870s for the D-Major (as well as the c-minor) violin sonata.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks. Very good of you to have replied in such detail.

[eschiss1]

BTW, here are the liner notes to the earlier recording of the E-flat violin sonata that you mentioned.

[Double-A]

It turns out that a recording of the D-Major sonata exists:  It is part of a series called "Trouvez les femmes" (two disks so far apparently).  Available on Amazon and posted on youtube by Terragne (a year ago).

Actually it is an arrangement for flute and piano, played by Miriam Terragne (flute) and Catherine Sarrasin.  I listened to it on youtube and I think it could have been better, they use much too much rubato.  Example:  A nice detail of the composition is the piano repeating the end of a phrase (played by the violin/flute) in minor, pianissimo and at half tempo.  They slow this already slow measure down even more.  There are places where almost standstill occurs.  It almost looks as if they didn't trust the composition very much (in which case they shouldn't record it).

[Alan Howe]

CD now available from jpc:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/emilie-mayer-violinsonaten-vol-1/hnum/11166697

[Double-A]

The slow movement of the D-Major sonata is now on youtube.  Very well played (pretty much as I imagined it).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWsls6RvxGU

[eschiss1]

Double-A - your earlier post (re the flute/piano arrangement performances) reminds me of a concert I went to once (not of unsung music, and with performers who were terrific - I mean, assuming their recordings aren't _that_ edited, but I don't think they are - on their off days, but the memory stuck.)