Following the enthusiastic reception of his first Violin Sonata (HN 980), it was clear to Faure that he would continue to write chamber music. In 1880 he wrote a little piece for cello and piano that was intended as the slow movement for a sonata. However, Faure gave up the sonata project, instead publishing the piece under the title ''elegie''. It was so successful that Faure was urged by the publisher to write further pieces. The conductor edouard Colonne commissioned a version of the ''elegie'' for orchestra in 1895, which was premiered two years later. As usual, our Urtext edition contains both a marked and an unmarked solo part.