Psyché

César Franck, organist, composer, mystic and composition guru to some of Paris’ finest young musicians, carried the influence of Wagner into territories entirely his own. The last of his six symphonic poems, Psyché, displays particularly potent language, blending mystical religiosity with languid sensuality. His students, including Chausson, Duparc and Lekeu, all drew upon this intriguing mix; later, Debussy was its heir. Psyché is based on a Greek myth—told in Metamorphoses by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (c.124-c.170 CE), the sole surviving Latin Roman novel—of a woman so beautiful that Eros, the god of love, fell in love with her. Franck’s tone poem is in three parts, each subdivided into two or three movements. First Psyché is awakened by zephyrs and taken to the mountains; here she is united with Eros, on condition that she does not look at his face. But, of course, she can’t resist taking a peek. Part III (beginning with “Amour, elle a connu ton nom”) shows her punishment and, finally, redemption. The composer revised the score to include a chorus, but the work is often performed without it. The work was premiered in 1888, then included in Paris’ Concerts du Colonne series early in 1890. Here, one critic noted, “The audience was swept away, and Franck was glowing with happiness.”