Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Printemps – Suite symphonique, L 68/(61) (1887; orch. Henri Büsser, 1912) [16:32]
Rapsodie pour orchestre et saxophone, L 104/(98) (1901-1911/1919?) [10:24]
Marche écossaise sur un thème populaire, L 83/(77) (1890/c. 1908) [7:07]
Berceuse héroïque, L 140/(132) (1914) [5:38]
Deux Danses pour harpe et orchestre à cordes, L 113/(103) (1904) [10:07]
I. Danse sacrée [4:49]
II. Danse profane [5:19]
Nocturnes – Triptyque symphonique pour orchestre et choeur, L 98/(91) (1897–1899; ed. Denis Herlin) [24:35]
I. Nuages [7:20]
II. Fêtes [6:06]
III. Sirènes [11:07]
Claude Delangle (alto saxophone)
Gulnara Mashurova (harp)
The Philharmonic Chamber Choir of Europe
Singapore Symphony Orchestra/Lan Shui
rec. November 2015 (Rapsodie, Nocturnes) & May 2017 (other works),
Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore
Reviewed as a stereo 24/96 download from
eClassical
Pdf booklet included
BIS BIS-2232 SACD
[75:37]
Back in 2007, Lan Sui and the Singapore Symphony made quite a splash with
their splendid recording of Debussy’s La Mer. That album,
Seascapes, was one of my very first SACDs, and such was the musical and technical
prowess on display I simply had to make it one of my top picks that year. La Mer was reissued as part of the team’s first all-Debussy release
(BIS-1837); the follow-up, featuring the three late ballets Jeux, Khamma and La boîte à joujoux, was particularly well received
by
Nick Barnard. Now we have this new selection of lollipops, apparently the last in this
enterprising project.
Even though Lan Shui’s Debussy is ‘old school’, as opposed to
HIPP-inspired, it’s not overly sumptuous; indeed, there’s plenty of muscle
and sinew when required – Gigues and Ibéria from Images (Vol. 1) come to mind – and there’s a pleasing transparency
to both the playing and the sound right across the series. More important,
this conductor has a sure grasp of the Debussian idiom, and that shines
through in his seductively shaped performances. (Has the scent of night
ever seemed more potent, more palpable, than it does here?) As for the SSO,
they’re a fine band, blessed with virtuoso players who makes the most of
their solos; collectively, they respond to this music with tremendous
commitment and polish. True, the ballets in Vol. 2 face formidable
competition from the likes of Ernest Ansermet, yet there’s an irrepressible
playfulness to Lan Shui’s Jeux that’s hard to beat. For a very
different, more forward-looking take on the piece do try François-Xavier
Roth and Les Siècles on
Harmonia Mundi. Alas, the rest of that album is variable, to say the least. (More on that
later.)
Back to Singapore, where Lan Shui and the SSO immediately impress with a Printemps that begins with playing of limpid loveliness; indeed, the
whole performance has all the colour and flecks of detail one could wish
for, not to mention an unfailingly sensuous line. The aural image has
wonderful depth and breadth, too, but then I’d expect nothing less from
engineer Hans Kipfer. (Rapsodie and Nocturnes are engineered
by Ingo Petry.)
Speaking of that rhapsody, Claude Delangle sounds suitably languorous, his
alto sax as warm, pure and full-toned as it needs to be. And, thanks to a
strong pulse and sense of purpose, Debussy’s reveries never become
soporific. (What a gem this is, and how well played, the brass especially;
a truly immersive recording, too.) Moving on, the animated and airy Marche écossaise is nicely sprung, the Berceuse héroïque
darkly diaphanous without being remotely oppressive.
Any caveats thus far? Non. Harpist Gulnara Mashurova, who I’ve
singled out for praise in the past, is at her most lustrous and
characterful in the two dances. (How I’d love to hear her in Mahler 4, the
child-heaven finale in particular.) As expected, Lan Shui is a thoroughly
sympathetic accompanist, his delicate rhythms and subtly shifting dynamics
as natural - as intuitive - as you’ll hear anywhere. Those who prefer
HIPP-inspired Debussy – from the excellent Jos van Immerseel, say – may
yearn for leaner textures and a sharper outlines, but there’s no doubting
the sheer beauty of Lan Shui’s unapologetically traditional readings.
‘Nuages’, the first of the Nocturnes, is ample proof of that;
similarly, the impeccably built tension of ‘Fêtes’, so crisply articulated,
is a reminder that ‘full-fat’ Debussy isn’t so bad after all. As for the
ideally placed chorus in ‘Sirènes’, it manages to sound both evocative and
ecstatic, a far cry from Roth’s shrill harpies. Jean-Pascal Vachon’s
eminently readable liner-notes complete this most desirable package.
A quite splendid conclusion to Lan Shui’s Debussy project; the sonics are a
treat, too.
Dan Morgan
