Customer Reviews

Henri Dutilleux: L'Arbre des Songes (Concerto for Violin & Orchestra) / Timbres, Espace, Mouvement / Two Sonnets by Jean Cassou / Prière pour Nous Autres Charnels - BBC Philharmonic / Yan Pascal Tortelier

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The difficulty in free-form, coloristic writing such as Dutilleux's is that the audience has no point of reference, no learned expectations to enable them to understand what the composer is up to. In other words, the composer's task is in one way much easier if he keeps to the conventions of, say, a sonata form; for he then can play upon what the audience expects of such a form, for dramatic effect and immediate, all but guaranteed comprehension. So in free-form, through-composed music such as is found in these pieces, it can be a real challenge for the composer to communicate with his audience.

Dutilleux meets this challenge more than ably. His expressive devices and gestures are so effective and distinct, and the formal architecture of the pieces, while not generally based in any conventional forms, develops according to such an intelligent emotive logic, that there's no difficulty following the progression of ideas. Rather than being aimless, then (as this kind of writing can easily become), these are gorgeous, expressive, and uniquely original orchestral compositions. I much prefer Dutilleux to the other composers of this sort of music with whom I am familiar: Varese, Zappa, and Salonen.

The BBC Philharmonic plays the music with enthusiasm, as though they'd been raised on this style. This disc presents some of the most fulfilling musical Modernism I've ever come across. Highly recommended.

Henri Dutilleux (b. 1916) has been the elder statesman of French music since Olivier Messiaen's passing (1908-1992). Dutilleux has never been prolific, but the quality of his small body of works is very high. He is a quintessentially French composer, obviously continuing in the vein of Debussy and Ravel with luscious orchestral textures and recurrent nocturnes with gauzy, oblique, fluid, drifting constructions. Dutilleux is a moderate modernist, maintaining continuity with the early 20th century and always maintaining a flowing, lyrical quality, reflecting his mystic vision of nature, even as he moves outside standard tonality.

There are two cyles of Dutilleux's orchestral music, this first one recorded from 1992 to 1997 for Chandos, with Yan Pascal Tortelier leading the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and one recorded for Arte Nova in 2000, 2001 and 2004 with Hans Graf leading the Bordeaux Aquitaine National Orchestra -- a French conductor leading an English orchestra, and an Austrian conductor leading a French orchestra.

Tortelier's cycle is superb, and seems to be more widely heard. Graf's Dutilleux is also excellent, and quite competitive with Tortelier. Graf enjoyed a close relationship with the composer as he recorded these works, which are sharper, more detailed and Boulezian than Tortelier's, while Tortelier's readings are smoother, deeper, and more mysterious. Neither has a world-class orchestra at his command, but both produce fine recordings that complement one another. As Stravinsky said, a score will allow for more than one interpretation.

This disc in the Tortelier/Chandos cycle includes four works:

L'arbre des Songes concerto for violin and orchestra (1983-85 -- 25'14),
Two Sonnets by Jean Cassou (1954 -- 7'03),
Timbres, Espace, Mouvement ou 'La Nuite Etoilee' (1978 -- 19'56), and
Priere pour nous autres charnels (orchestrated 1940 -- 5'35).

"L'arbre des Songes" (Tree of Songs) is one of my favorite Dutilleux compositions. It was dedicated to Isaac Stern. The composer has said "[t]he form and structure of trees have always impressed me... And for me, certain musical forms appear to be similar to the form and structure of trees, whic begin with the roots and unfold prodigiously and infinitely in the forks and branches of the crown." It is performed here by Olivier Charlier, the same violinist who later recorded it with Graf & the Bordeaux Aquitaine National Orchestra for Arte Nova. As with most of the cycle, I find the Arte Nova recording to be superior in its vividness and clarity, but this is also a fine version.

"Two sonnets" are settings of poems by Jean Cassou (1897-1986), a writer active in the Resistance who spent time in prison, where he wrote "33 sonnets composes au secret" in his head. Dutilleux's vocal writing is very impressive, and Neil Davies is the excellent baritone.

"Timbres, Espace, Mouvement" is in my opinion Dutilleux's greatest composition, his characteristic masterpiece, inspired by the Van Gogh painting "Starry Night," and commissioned by Rostropovich for his National Symphony Orchestra of Washington DC. Not mere representation, Dutilleux attempted to capture the work's metaphysical resonance -- its colors (timbres), spaciality (espaces), and its whirling motion (mouvement). The short central interlude for twelve cellos in this recording was added in 1991. The unorthodox orchestration includes no violins or violas, but only cellos and basses, and also the oboe d'amore and a large percussion section.

The first movement builds to a great crescendo, and the cello interlude begins with an aggressive chord that sounds very much like the opening of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 8. This recording builds to this high point much more effectively, and drives it home. On the other hand, the Graf recording is more detailed, as is typical throughout the cycle, and so also deserves to be heard.

What sticks in my head and makes this disc essential is the concluding piece, "Priere pour nous autres charnels," (Prayer for us mortals), a short vocal work by Jehan Alain (1911-1940), a setting of words by Charles Peguy, orchestrated by Dutilleux shortly after Alain's death in battle, heroically defending Saumur. Davies is here joined by tenor Martyn Hill in some of the most moving music I have heard. Unfortunately the rights could not be obtained, and so no lyrics are provided, but based on the title, I find it quite evocative without knowing French.

Based on Dutilleux's vocal writing here, I look forward to hearing two of his most recent works, as yet unrecorded -- "Correspondances" (2003), a song-cycle for soprano and orchestra, and "Le temps l'horloge" (2007-2009) for soprano, the latter written for Renee Fleming.

(verified purchase from a large brick-and-mortar bookstore)

This was, I'm afraid to say, my first encounter with Dutilleux's music. Although not as earth-shaking an experience as my first time hearing Messiaen, it was nevertheless an overwheming one. I found "Timbres, espace" to be a truly powerful work, demonstrating the composer's utter mastery. I actually was looking at a reproduction of Van Gogh's "La Nuit etoilee" while listening to the piece, and it was genuinely transforming. I look forward to hearing this work live in concert, and only wish more orchestras would take the time and effort to program more works by this great composer. The other works on this recording, especially the concerto for violin, are all remarkable. Dutilleux certainly deserves his place as a 20th-century master.