MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


CD REVIEW
RECORDING OF THE MONTH


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

alternatively
Classicsonline  AmazonUK  AmazonUS

 

Vincent d’INDY (1851-1931)
Jour d'été à la montagne (Pour orchestre à Henry Kunkelmann), Op. 61 (1905) [30:42]
La Forêt enchantée (Légende-Symphonie d'après une Ballade de Uhland à Pierre de Bréville), Op. 8 (1878) [13:36]
Souvenirs (Poème pour orchestre à la mémoire de la Bien-Aimée), Op. 62 (1907) [18:45]
Iceland Symphony Orchestra/Rumon Gamba
rec. 9-11 October 2007, Háskólabió, Iceland
CHANDOS CHAN10464 [63:25]
Experience Classicsonline


Primarily a pedagogue Vincent d'Indy bequeathed us a number of orchestral works that, on the strength of this disc at least, ought to be much better known. Certainly a quick Google reveals a paucity of d'Indy recordings so this, the first in a projected cycle, is most welcome. As for the Icelanders they are new to me but their British-born music director Rumon Gamba isn’t; his Malcolm Arnold overtures with the BBC Philharmonic (Chandos CHAN 10293) has given me great pleasure and must now be the benchmark in this repertoire.
 
So how does Gamba fare with d'Indy? The earliest piece here  is La Forêt enchantée, premiered in 1878. Despite being a fervent patriot d'Indy readily embraced Wagner, whose influence pervades this work from start to finish. Apart from the ripely Romantic orchestration there is also an echo of Tannhäuser in the knight Harald’s journey through an enchanted forest and his encounter with seductive elves.
 
It’s all very atmospheric, beginning with ominous timps and horn fanfares. And even though we expect ear-pricking realism from Ralph Couzens and his recording team this is something extra special Perspectives are entirely natural and d'Indy’s subtle orchestral palette is faithfully rendered. Gamba coaxes some ravishing sounds from his players, the ghostlier passages shimmering with detail.
 
Despite the obvious Wagnerian overtones there is a pleasing Gallic restraint – call it good taste, if you will – that prevents this music from sounding overblown. The orchestra sounds full-bodied, Harald’s martial rhythms and gallops nicely articulated. As for those nodal cymbal clashes they are stirring but never overdone. The finale as Harald drinks from the enchanted fountain and falls into a deep sleep, surrounded by a magic circle of elves, is as translucently beautiful as anything Debussy ever wrote.
 
Of course Claude Achille’s fingerprints are all over Jour d'été à la montagne, an impressions of a day in the Ardèches. The brooding C on the lower strings that ushers in ‘Aurore’ is a marvellous piece of scene painting, in some ways reminiscent of Richard Strauss’s Alpine ramble; just listen to how d'Indy conjures up the rising sun, the chirp of birds and the rustle of leaves. Yes, it’s a cliché but the composer brings a freshness and skill to this music that is irresistible. As sunrises go this is pretty impressive, as is the Icelanders’ consistently fine playing.
 
Although ‘Jour’ seems a touch Wagnerian at times there is a redeeming lightness to the writing. Once again the engineers have worked their magic, the folk dance and gathering storm superbly dramatic. But it’s Gamba who deserves the most praise for his seemingly intuitive pacing and phrasing; and, as tempting as it may be, he never succumbs to self-indulgence either.
 
In ‘Soir’ the scoring is more forthright than usual, the Gregorian chant reminiscent of Respighi’s Church Windows. Comparisons aside, there is little doubt d'Indy’s orchestral style has crystallised; it now has a strength and integrity of its own. As dusk approaches we hear pizzicato strings and a lonely horn before the music moves into a twilight world of gossamer lightness and muted colours. The gentle coda, a wisp of a thing, is sheer magic, played and recorded to perfection.
 
d'Indy returned from a conducting tour of the USA in 1905 to find his wife dying from a brain haemorrhage. Souvenirs, dedicated to her memory, is Wagnerian in its leitmotiv-like use of the ‘Bien-Aimée theme’ from his Poème des montagnes of 1881. The first movement is elegiac, the solo cello infusing the music with sadness, but then d'Indy resolves to celebrate their life together with a mix of nostalgia and affection.
 
Souvenirs is perhaps the most original work on the disc. There is a new transparency and purpose to the writing and Gamba judges the changes of pace and mood with great sensitivity. I must single out the solo clarinet and cor anglais, who phrase the Bien-Aimée theme with such feeling. And then there are the noble horns and solo cello, who also deserve a mention in despatches.
 
What a promising start to this cycle. Apart from bringing these neglected scores to new audiences this recording also confirms Gamba as a conductor to watch. The orchestral playing is exemplary, the engineering spectacular. In many ways this lovely collection reminds me of Seascapes (see review), where good production values also yielded memorable results.
 
A sonic and musical treat. Not to be missed.
 
Dan Morgan

see also review by Jens F Laurson

 



 


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools




Return to Review Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.