Customer Reviews

Chabrier: Espana/Suite Pastorale, etc.

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I can't say enough about Chabrier's larghetto for horn and orchestra- it is one of the most thoroughly enjoyable pieces of music in existence. don't be expecting a bunch of fast scales and arpeggios and malarkey, the solo line isn't technically showy at all; but nonetheless this is one of the most evocative and emotionally moving pieces ever written for french horn. listen instead to the purity of Janezic's tone- it is really really incredible, and if you have older speakers the first few bars of unaccompanied horn might even make your mid-range cones clip because the notes are so wondefully resonant.

also, a note on the special horns used by the Vienna philharmonic- they are equipped a special type of valve (actually called a "Vienna valve") that is much more acoustically efficient than a standard rotary valve, but these valves are also much more cumbersome to use. this valve design is what gives a Vienna Philharmonic horn its rich vocal quality and variability of character. this exceptional tone in the hands of a player as talented as Janezic gives a result, leaving no hint of the valve's cumbersome nature, that must be heard to be believed- even the pedal tones sound effortless. if you buy this cd, which i highly recommend that you do, you can see a photo of Janezic with his odd-looking horn on the last page of the booklet.

Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894) is a very fine composer of the nineteenth century. He was born in Ambert, France, a city better-known for its cheeses, among others the Fourme d'Ambert, and its unique round city-hall.

He composed many pieces for the good society of that century. So it is light, entertaining, at times slightly country-minded. Some of the pieces on this record are universally known, such as España, though nearly no one knows the composer. The main point of this recording shows an essential element about France. This French composer is directed by an English Director, played by an Austrian orchestra and recorded under a German label. France looks down upon her own artistic production. It is a drama for France today. Our composers, playwrights and artists are better known in foreign countries than in France herself.

You will like this light and very expressive music. And you will enjoy this music as a music that is practically never performed in France. Shame on this country that should invest heavily in her heritage and that rejects it massively. Luckily, the English, the Austrians, the Germans and the Americans are saving France's heritage and arts. Enter this delicate world of music and you will be mesmerized by its subtlety and its joyfulness.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Paris Universities II and IX.

Chabrier's whipped-cream confections were a staple in the kit bag of Sir Thomas Beecham, and I guess DG decided somewhere along the line that Gardiner was his heir apparent. For a brief while they put the Vienna Phil., no less, at Gardiner's disposal, so there's a guarantee that the recordings would glow. The orchestra plays this mostly unfamiliar music with lovely tone and finesse. The missing ingredient is Beecham's infectious good humor and panache. Nothing goes wrong, but your spirits don't soar, either.

I think the chief value of this CD is to gather so many little gems from Chabrioer's output. You're unlikely to hear any but Espana and the Marche joyeuse on pops concerts, but here they are gleaming bright.

I approached this CD with caution. An English conductor and a Viennese orchestra playing Chabrier? Turns out my suspicions were correct. This is an unfortunate example of pairing the wrong conductor and the wrong orchestra with the wrong music. I like John-Elliott Gardiner in many works -- he's about the best conductor of Percy Grainger you're ever likely to hear, for example. Similarly, the VPO is a very good orchestra for German music ranging from Beethoven to Richard Strauss and even to Johnann Strauss. But in Chabrier, the result is disappointing. There is no lilt to the music -- in fact, it's blared out to us in an abrasive manner that is highly offputting. (The DGG early-digital sound is no help -- steely loud but with no depth.) There is absolutely no finesse and no joy; instead, the music is just being pounded out. On top of that, Gardiner seems to be attempting to win a relay race in some of the numbers, chief among them being an "Espana" performance that's played so fast, it turns into one big smear.

Although you might not guess from this recording, Chabrier's music really can sing and dance. And to prove it, turn to one of several French interpreters. My personal favorite is Paul Paray's Detroit Symphony CD on Mercury -- absolutely the most thrilling Espana ever committed to disk, along with a Suite Pastorale that is the epitome of charm and style -- pure gossamer. Under Paray, even the echt-Wagnerian overture to the opera "Gwendoline" comes across far more convincingly than with Gardiner/VPO. Other good French conductors in this repertoire are Michel Plasson and Pierre Dervaux, both on EMI CDs. Ansermet and Mari are less convincing.

So you have a couple other good alternatives to choose from in this program of music. Unless you like rude surprises, I'd suggest you avoid this particular recording.

The Penguin Guide (which is my favorite reference for recordings) referred to this CD as "disappointing". Now, before this CD, I was only familiar with España, which has been recorded many times and you usually find it in recompilations of "Spanish based music" or encores, and not certainly with any other of Chabrier's compositions. So I basically decided to purchase this CD to get to know more of Chabrier's output and I have to say that I did not find anything disappointing in this recording, all by the contrary. Even comparing España with some other recordings I've come across, what the Penguin Guide mentioned in a rather scorning way as "over-enthusiastic" bass drum, was exactly what I found most appealing and has placed Gardiner's version as one of my favorites(of course, when it comes to taste, nothing can be the absolute truth). The rest of the music is very fine and accessible and I find it very well played, though I have no other point of reference. I specially recommend the Habanera, a very well written piece. I've heard that the old Paray recording is outstanding and this Gardiner's CD just enticed me to keep looking for more recordings of this music, which is an aspect that makes classical music unique. The recording sound is excellent and both conductor an orchestra are excellent as well, despite the fact that none of them has never been associated to this kind of music.

For me, listening to Emmanuel Chabrier is pure bliss. His music drips with great melodies and textures, and while not an overt "folk song" composer, his music often captures that essence.

The Suite Pastorale is just that, musical pastoral scenes; from the lilting idyll, to the village dance, the pastoral lullaby, and finally the finishing waltz. So lushly orchestrated, it is like being ensconced in a dream, a mixture of romanticism and impressionism. Along with great flowing melodies, Chabrier has a sense of humor and the playful dances show that quality quite well. A trip to Spain seems to have influenced the compositions Habanera and the famous Espana. These have a definite spanish dance feel with witty orchestral interjections; great fun featuring all the instruments/sections of the orchestra. The larghetto is a sappy character piece for horn and orchestra. This is the one work on the CD (in my own opinion) that doesn't work. Gardiner goes way too fast and pushes and pulls the music way too much (much more than is notated). Too bad really, because it is a lovely work.

The Gwendoline overture is a grandiose work, achetypal to the Romantic Period. The opera it comes from is set on the coast of England in the 8th Century; it is a bit heavy-handed and in your face, perfect for a heroic tale, featuring brass more than Chabrier usually does. In opposition to the overture is the pastoral prelude. Much in the style of the pastoral suite, it is very much a beautiful country idyll, featuring quaint strains from the strings and woodwinds. The disk closes with two outgoing and buoyant works, the Marche Francaise and the Fete Polonaise. The former starts a little off kilter but moves into a rollicking horn melody, showing Chabrier's ability to put extroverted and introverted side by side. The Fete Polonaise is a waltz which enjoys displacing the beat. Gardiner's interpretation is interesting, giving less of the "fete" and more of the "polonaise", again playing with the tempos a little.

A full Chabrier CD is nice to find. Although much of this music could be considered light music (none of the works go much beyond ten minutes), all are quite engaging. There is a lot of attention to musical detail on this disk apparent from the very beginning. A nice balance is elicited from the Vienna Philharmonic, with great details shining through (the harp for example). A few holes exist from the Gardiner interpretation, but overall, the disk is a success.