Bourrée fantasque

Solo piano piece composed in April 1891, among the greatest French piano works of the 19th century and Chabrier's last completed major composition. The bourrée — a lively duple-meter dance from the Auvergne region of France — is subjected to explosive harmonic treatment and pianistic writing of remarkable brilliance. The piece is compact (about 6–7 minutes) but of enormous energy and concentration: its rhythmic motor never stops, its harmonic surprises are relentless, and its pianistic demands are substantial. Ravel later made an orchestration. Dedicated to Édouard Risler; the premiere was given by Madeleine Jaeger on 7 January 1893, after Chabrier's illness had made public performance impossible for the composer.

The rhythmic motor of the Bourrée fantasque must never stop — this is perpetual-motion music at its most fierce and witty. The articulation should be crisp and brilliant, not muddied by over-pedalling: the harmonic surprises (sudden modal shifts, abrupt key changes, unexpected bass notes) need to register clearly. The tempo should be relentless and the rhythmic vitality absolute. Any sentimentality or excessive rubato will undermine the piece's machine-like wit. Practise the inner voices: they carry much of the harmonic information and are easily swamped by the brilliant outer writing.