Servais - Fantaisie sur des Motifs des Huguenots (Urtext Edition, Piano Version)

In 1876, a decade after Servais’s death, the publisher Schott undertook the posthumous publication of four of his fantasias. Three of these were composed for cello and orchestra (or piano), and one for two cellos and piano. Among them, the Fantaisie sur des Motifs des Huguenots de Meyerbeer appeared under the catalog number Œuvre posthume No. 3.

Servais must have had a particular fondness for Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots, as he composed three separate fantasias on its themes: one as a solo work, one in collaboration with Jacques Gregoir, and one with Henry Vieuxtemps. The admiration was mutual; Vieuxtemps (in collaboration with Gregoir) also dedicated his own Huguenots fantasia to Servais.

The Fantaisie sur des Motifs des Huguenots de Meyerbeer begins with a solemn, almost funereal introduction based on Urbain’s aria, “Une dame noble et sage.” A lighter 6/8 section follows, transitioning to a literal presentation of the aria at bar 60. This statement of the theme also appears in the collaborative fantasia with Gregoir. A festive polonaise-style variation follows, succeeded by a lyrical slow section based on Raoul’s aria, “Beauté divine enchanteresse.” The finale draws on several powerful choral excerpts from the opera: the Chœur des Meurtriers, the Catholic men’s chorus “Abjurez, Huguenots, le ciel l’ordonne,” which includes a brief quotation of “Ein feste Burg,” and the Vision scene “Ah! voyez, le ciel s’ouvre et rayonne.” This fantasia is among the shorter fantasias in Servais’s catalogue.