TRIO VIBRART

In the history of instrumental ensembles, the trio and the quartet are musical formats definitely linked to Western music development. All the same, this term is used here concerning a historical and not so much an ethnomusicological approach – instrumental trios and quartets arise in very diverse cultures around the world. There is kind of a tradition within the Music Academy in considering string quartets as a litmus test for composers. Besides, one could add that the instrumental trios also benefit from this musical format aura, capable of challenging the musical creator’s technique. The reasons are clear: firstly, harmony and counterpoint mastery levels are evident in writing for just three or four instruments because everything is heard in a highly refined way; secondly, wit and creativity are required in the melodic, rhythmic and formal treatment in order to offer a variety within a single timbre ensemble. That is to say, the composer is left alone with their resources in the trio and the quartet, without the support of the orchestra or the voices ‘ lavishness.

Chamber music mastery is displayed by Antonín Dvorak (1841-1904) in Trio for Piano no. 4, in E minor, op.  90, «Dumky Trio» (1891). With a piano slow and abrupt opening, Lento maestoso – Allegro quasi doppio movimento, the cello voice takes off, followed by the violin in an intimate piece where the two voices of the string instruments speak, paving the way for playing and a folk game vibe. However, a thoughtful gravitas always returns, an exploration of the trio’s shared language with short motifs that recover energy.

The second movement, Poco Adagio – Vivace non-troppo, opens with repeated chords on the piano that act as a backdrop for a lyrical albeit obscure piece by the strings. Solo and soothing, the piano speaks melodically. The canvas is delicate, almost like being in the middle of a dream. Dvorak plays with sound transparency while exploring the common timbre that eventually invites joint debauchery. Clarity accompanies a piano and a violin open to dialogue within the third movement, Andante – Vivace non-troppo. The piano searches melodically, scrumptiously accompanied by an exploration that the violin and the cello initiate. Might they be tracing the presence of a memory? The remembrance of days of beauty gone by? The vital energy breaks through within these sections that keep querying each other, and in turn, break through to the beats and elegant language by the instrumental trio, including, at times, a chiaroscuro nuance. Over the fourth movement, Andante moderato – Allegretto scherzando, a leisurely and expressive dialogue follows between the piano, the violin and the cello alike. Rhythmic changes bring vitality and open up to the interplay of sounds and the recovery of the light elements.

A lyrical heading clears the way for the fifth movement, Allegro – Meno mosso.  The so lightly written modulations lead to development sections, constantly interrupted by flashy fragments. The drama leads the closing movement, Lento maestoso – Vivace, capable of unleashing unstoppable vitality. However, a called-forth inner and gloomy feeling that oversees much of the work emerges in the background.

Going over this description, one can see it feels more like a baroque suite structure that entails fast and slow movements alternating than the classical form of the trio, namely a sonata form. Everything is explained by the title «Dumky Trio,» which stems from the term dumka– dumky in the plural, a folk genre originating in Ukraine and which spread to Bohemia and Poland throughout the 19^th century. Its main feature is alternating the nostalgic and emotional sections with much livelier and faster sections. This is how one can fathom the beautiful changes of these six dumky featured by the Trio. Dvorak simply longed for the Slavic soul’s passion and emotional volatility, which he masterfully draws in this work.

The brilliant universe of Felix Mendelssohn’s (1809 – 1847) music presides over this Trio for piano no. 1 in D minor, op. 49 (1839 – 1840). As opposed to Dvorak’s Trio, it shows more balance in the instrumental interventions with elaborate piano writing. Still, Mendelssohn loves the violin and the cello melodic lines, hence minding their contrast and the clarity of their openings.

Fissures are reminiscent of his Songs Without Words for piano solo at the second movement opening, Andante con moto tranquillo. Mendelssohn here knows how to find the expressiveness of romanticism without jeopardising even an ounce of his compositional solidity. The third movement, Scherzo, brings out a blazing start on all three instruments at once, exploring their joint voice. The Finale starts somewhat solemn and builds to a frenzy with a thick and condensed texture.

Mendelssohn balances each instrument part and might be more inclined towards working on the trio’s joint sonority. Regardless, some motifs are beautifully sung by the violin and cello versus the powerful piano voice. The piano holds the whole together and binds the generation of musical material, although this solid architecture is hidden under the mild elegance that shines throughout the piece.

A trio is still, after all, quite a challenge.