ABSTRACT
Nuance was of paramount importance to Gabriel Fauré. Always moved by the sensitive expression of detail, Fauré never ceased to encourage performers to bring out subtleties in the musical text. Marguerite Long, who studied with the composer at the piano, relates that one of his favorite and most frequently-repeated admonitions was “Nuances — and without changing speed!” 1 Fauré’s own music offers even more convincing testimony. Every work seems distinguished by uncommon richness and depth, and every phrase speaks with an earnest and irresistible intimacy. Jean Roger-Ducasse, in the preface to Fauré’s collected Nocturnes, declares that his teacher’s compositions incorporate “thousands of nuances whose indication is virtually impossible.” 2 Such density of detail challenges both performer and listener, yet also offers untold rewards. Nuance surely must be among the most characteristic features of Fauré’s musical style. 3
