Joseph Canteloube, Pierre de Bréville: Music for Violin and Piano [Import]

Pierre De Breville (Composer), Joseph Canteloube (Composer), Pascal Devoyon (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Pascal Devoyon
• Composer: Pierre De Breville, Joseph Canteloube
• Audio CD (November 9, 2004)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Hyperion UK
• ASIN: B0002XNLO2
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,735 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars French Rarities..., June 19, 2007

By 

Sébastien Melmoth (Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Joseph Canteloube, Pierre de Bréville: Music for Violin and Piano (Audio CD)

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Monumental Violin Sonata in c#, written in the last year of the Great War (1918) by protégé of César Franck, Pierre de Bréville.

Bonus fruity Canteloube art nouveau of 1906.

Doubleplus bonus proto-cubist Cezanne cover art.

David Hurwitz effuses, "I have never understood why in the first half of the 20th century the French didn't take their entire avant-garde and dump the whole lot of them next door in Darmstadt or some such place, the better to enjoy such neglected figures as Bréville or Canteloube. Certainly no country except Germany has been more dismissive of the talents of its own conservative but well trained and exceedingly polished school of late Romantic composers. Under the circumstances then, this disc represents a welcome addition to the catalog. Pierre de Bréville (1861-1949), to the extent he's known at all, is remembered as a songwriter, but this epic (37-minute) Violin Sonata places him squarely in the school of Franck, Chausson, and above all, Magnard. Its four big movements have a symphonic weight, though the instrumental writing is typically French in its easy fluency and melodic appeal (the second subject of the first movement is particularly luscious).

Cantaloube's Suite: Dans la montagne also has four movements: En plein vent, Le soir, Jour de fête, and Dans le bois au printemps. Although a very early work dating from around the turn of the last century, the folk-tinged Festival Day clearly foreshadows the Songs of the Auvergne, while the opening of the last movement is pure Debussy (of the Préludes). Both works are beautifully played by Philippe Graffin and Pascal Devoyon, with only two small caveats. In the Bréville, Graffin's vibrato in high positions has a tendency to cloy (at least in my opinion), and both players could have attacked the work with a broader range of dynamic contrasts. On the other hand their intimate approach, with the recording balance slightly favoring the violin, perfectly suits the more delicate Cantaloube. In any event, fans of French music from this period will need no further recommendation from me. A beautiful disc."
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5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty gorgeous, December 30, 2011

By 

G.D. (Norway) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Joseph Canteloube, Pierre de Bréville: Music for Violin and Piano (Audio CD)

Pierre De Bréville (1861-1949) is not particularly well represented on disc, yet his music - as evidenced by his first violin sonata - would be well worth looking into in more detail (there are some operas and orchestral works in addition to a substantial amount of chamber music, especially for violin and piano). While it would perhaps be an exaggeration to call the first sonata a staggering masterpiece (though if someone else claimed that it was I wouldn't dispute it) it is nevertheless very rewarding. The themes are memorable, and they are developed with skill and ingenuity in a late romantic, harmonically replete style with plenty of color and atmosphere. It is very "Gallic" in character, and owes quite a bit to Franck and Fauré (yet the music is far from anonymous); it is also a pretty ambitious work, but Bréville's expert use of light and shade and its deftly drawn long, dramatic lines ensure that nothing outstays its welcome; this is something of a find, in other words.

Canteloube is of course far better known through his "Songs of the Auvergne", and I suspect many have wondered what the rest of his music would sound like if it were ever performed (the operas and orchestral works, for instance). Well, I have to admit that I was a little surprised by how similar in atmosphere, harmonic language and melodic sense his "Dans le montagne" actually is. It is, quite simply, a lovely work of beautifully wistful melodies, breathtaking landscapes and viscerally evocative atmospheres, soaring themes, and airy harmonies - this is music cool winds, fragrant scents and aching nostalgia. Yes, it doesn't even try to avoid sentimentality, but the results are gorgeous.

Philippe Graffin is a marvelous soloist; he plays with plenty of power and gusto in the Breville sonata, yet manages to realize the many subtle shadings to what I would consider perfection. In the Canteloube his tone is sweet and warm (and exuberant in the final movement), yet he carefully avoids oversugaring the music, instead realizing the vivid evocations of the music by exploiting a huge range of colors, wonderful phrasing and singing melodic lines. Pascal Devoyon is an ideal partner; his playing is superb in itself with its great expressive range from glittering brilliance through smoldering fire to poetic warmth, yet he also uses it to comment upon and bolster Graffin's lines to splendid effect. The recording is excellently balanced to boost. In short, the Bréville is a magnificent work that deserves every success, and the Canteloube is a gorgeous, wonderfully atmospheric work (too sugary for some perhaps, but those who enjoy the Auvergne songs will love it), and they are both immaculately played. A strongly recommended release.