Description
Godefroid Mélodie Russe (Russian Melody)
On the back cover, Godefroid’s Mélodie Russe is listed under the rubrick of Morceaux de Genres. It is connected in the composer’s mind to his other pieces evoking the folk music of different cultures he encountered in his travels, whether from different French regions or different countries. As in his other character pieces, Godefroid uses a typical ABA’ form.
As the piece begins, the left-handed Godefroid indulges himself with an intricate virtuoso part for the left hand. The mood is mainly pentatonic, as in most folk music, with few accidentals or modulations.
At the end of page 4, the B section starts, with quick leggiero (light and airy) fingered scales appearing in the right hand and ending in 4-finger tremolos, while the left hand is singing the tune in a chord pattern. After falling into a cadenza featuring arpeggios, we return to the theme of the beginning. But soon the scales reappear and build momentum, stringing us along to gradually dissolve into infinite Gb chords produced with en-harmonics.
Most unique in this piece are the molto espressivo repeated note-patterns played insistently by the second finger. Is it a supplication? A lament? Godefroid certainly likes to tug at the heart strings.
Mélodie Russe is another example of Godefroid’s predilection for exoticism, but in this case he came by it honestly. When he traveled to Russia, he visited and collaborated with a good friend from Belgium, the father of future Russian composer Reinhold Glière. The texture is thicker, more intense than usual, as if the two hands were fighting for supremacy. In reality, he achieves poignancy of expression through repeated notes and pentatonic note patterns that melt into delightful filigree, ending in quick arpeggio patterns with synonym notes contributing to the effect of a magic rush.
