This is a fine conjunction
of sonatas inspired, less than a decade apart, by the leonine
Ysa˙e. The Lekeu has always held a respected if somewhat aloof
place in the catalogue, the Magnard much less so. Among the
pairings to have essayed the latter, two in particular stand
out; Dumay/Collard on EMI and Zimansky/Keller on Accord. The
newcomer belts it out in record time, shaving around about three
minutes off the Accord pairing and four off the French performance.
The problem with the Magnard is its association of Franckian
cyclical procedure and a certain thematic diffusion, which can
lead to a degree of static phrasing and confusion. So the instinct
of the Muresanu/Ciocarlie duo is to try to drive relatively
quickly through those areas of maximum difficulty the better
to convey Magnard’s syntax with a greater sense of spine and
logic. It’s still not a simple task.
Magnard’s Franckian inheritance carries with
it distinct foreshadowing of Delius and even, in the first movement,
of Ireland’s later violin sonatas, particularly the second.
But Magnard’s elastic sense of lyricism is less definitive than
theirs and performers need to sculpt the lines with great care
to project them with assurance and conviction. This the new
pairing often does, though there are equally moments when those
little explosive wellings-up of eruptive emotion are slightly
glossed over and where the other pairings’ more considered tempi
pay slightly richer rewards in expanding the lyricism. The elusive
but impressionist harmonies are most vivid in the slow movement
which is here taken at a confident tempo, whereas in the brief
scherzo – a cleansingly quick and eventful one – rustic drive
alternates with lyrical reflection. Magnard’s propensity for
moments of Franckian hothouse compression are consolidated in
the intense slow introduction to the finale though when he slips
into routine fugato at around 5’00 one’s heart sinks. The ear
is always engaged though, with baroque hints and with moments
redolent of some of Fauré’s more extrovert chanson.
Tonally the Muresanu/Ciocarlie
are not as dashing or as involved as Zimansky/Keller or as suave
and aristocratic as Dumay/Collard but their bracing tempi may
tempt those who have previously found the Magnard a tough nut
to crack.
Coupling it with
the Lekeu makes sense for all sorts of reasons - the Dumay/Collard
was coupled with the Franck and the Accord was an otherwise
all-Magnard disc. Here competition is tough. Collectors will
know of or have Bobesco/Gentry (Bobesco was always a powerful
advocate of this music), Kantorow/Rouvier, Oliveira/Koenig (on
Biddulph - but not a real contender) and Poulet/Lee. Some may
have encountered Hirschhorn/Eynden but I haven’t. Historical
collectors will have the Menuhins’ (Yehudi and Hephzibah) 1930s
recording now on Naxos. But I still have a real admiration for
old friends Dumay and Collard (EMI). Their greater tonal colouration
and vivacity wins the day here, making the newcomers sound relatively
reserved and uncommitted. Speeds are broadly similar but the
vivacity of Dumay’s rhythmic attacks and the depth and control
of Collard’s chordal playing are all very impressive. The relatively
slow vibrato of Muresanu sounds wan in comparison and the cloudy
sound of the piano might be a recording feature and might equally
be a result of over-pedalling. These differences are cemented
in the slow movement where the newcomers sounds rather directionless
set against the French partnership’s acutely romantic instincts
and gift for lyric phrasing, prominent among which is Dumay’s
subtle command of right hand inflexions.
So a mixed blessing,
this. There’s a bracing if not always very romantically expressive
Magnard and a somewhat lacklustre Lekeu. I’d urge you to hear
the Magnard however whichever performance you take – the Accord
is the most obviously involving but this newcomer does well
to minimise some of its more windy rhetoric.
Jonathan Woolf
AVAILABILITY
www.arre-se.com
Irina Muresanu (violin)
