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This Pièce dates from Langlais' second period of chamber music, which began in the 1960s, after a long interruption due, in part, to his activities as organist and church musician.
The work was commissioned by the publisher Combre, at a time when the combination of trumpet and organ was all the rage with the public and music lovers, taken to a pinnacle by the famous duo of Marie-Claire Alain and Maurice André.
To distance himself a bit from this vogue and widen his field of investigation, Jean Lunglais took especial care to indicate, in the score's instrumental nomenclature, trumpet, flute or oboe and organ, piano or harpsichord. It is thus that we hear the work here - and this is a first - in the trumpet-piano configuration.
The hierarchy of the two instruments evolves in the course of the various movements: in the first, Introduction, the trumpet goes it practically alone, every now and then borne by a few chords on the piano, able to give free reign to its lyricism and virtuosity. In the following Andante, the piano is quite present and, with its harmonies, sustains an increasingly intense melody in a free, chromatic mode. Finally, all throughout the Finale, both instruments carry on a dialogue in a furious allegro, each in turn taking on a fast part and taking up the motifs stated by the other. After a recapitulative coda, the Pièce abruptly comes to a humorous, light-hearted end.
Marie-Louise Langlais
Extract from CD booklet Musique de Chambre avec Piano (March 2001)
