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             


REVIEW

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
AmazonUK AmazonUS

 

Vincent d’INDY (1851-1931)
Wallenstein Op. 12 (1870-81) [37.05]
Choral varié for viola and orchestra Op. 55 (1903) [11.53]
Lied for viola and orchestra Op. 19 (1883) [7.10]
Saugefleurie Op. 21 (1884) [17.25]
Lawrence Power (viola)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Thierry Fischer
rec. Brangwyn Hall, Guildhall, Swansea, 20-23 February 2008
HYPERION CDA67690 [73.42] 

 

Experience Classicsonline


I have often wondered why the music of Vincent d’Indy has not really made much impression on the repertoire, except that is for the relatively well known ‘Symphonie sur un chant montagnard français’. Concert-goers should not regard him as a 20th Century, ‘modern’ composer but as firmly fixed in the late-Romantic period. The ‘problem’ is that he outlived both Debussy and Ravel and knew Messiaen. However, as this music testifies, although he was not immune to the various ‘progressive’ developments of his time, he remains firmly a Wagnerian as were Ernest Chausson and César Franck (his teacher). D’Indy himself later became an influential teacher. 

This release is most welcome and Chandos are also in the process of recording his orchestral works so it may be that D’Indy’s day is upon us. You could however do no better than to start here. 

‘Wallenstein’ has been recorded several times before. In fact I have a 1975 version with Pierre Dervaux and the Orchestre Philharmonique du Pays de Loire on EMI (CDM 7 63953 – nla). This new version is superior both in the playing of the Welsh Orchestra and in the recorded quality although Dervaux takes the whole work at a brisker pace with a greater overall architectural sense; also I prefer his couplings. Wallenstein, despite its opus number was begun when D’Indy was still a student but he took eleven years to bring it to fruition. It is in three sections. Andrew Thomson in his otherwise exemplary notes calls them, curiously, “Overtures”, surely they cannot really be played separately! 

The first is the breezy ‘Wallenstein’s Camp’. The story is based on Schiller’s poetic drama which is set in the 17th Century. Wallenstein was the treacherous general of the Imperial Hapsburg Army who is suspected of treason against Emperor Ferdinand II. His own son is in love with Thekla who is also the daughter of an officer who is plotting against him. Wagnerian leitmotifs are to the fore and d’Indy ingeniously manipulates them especially in the second movement which is a ternary form portrait of Thekla and her lover Max. In the finale D’Indy writes of Wallenstein’s Death in an incredibly sombre funereal opening - wonderfully realized on this new recording. There’s a powerful middle section and a despondent and reflective ending. The whole work shows a maturity beyond the composer’s years but also stamps his personality, at least at this time, as a Wagnerite. Here was a composer who was particularly inspired by all things German, a situation that would inevitably fall out of fashion. 

The other purely orchestral work on this CD is ‘Saugefleurie’ which also has several Wagnerian characteristics. Based on a poem by D’Indy’s very old friend Robert de Bonnières it has all of ideal traits to make a symphonic poem, in which the characters have their own motifs - very much in tune with its times. There is a fairy, Saugefleurie (Ab major with sometimes delicate flute and harps) who falls in love with a Prince (given a somewhat heroic melody) but whose love can never be requited as she will die once she has given herself to him. There is a hunting scene, with terrific Siegfried-like horn passages and finally there is the death of our heroine with a radiant coda. Yet, as Andrew Thomson remarks “the music remains characteristically French in its sonorous refinement and clear, luminous orchestration”. 

Lawrence Power has recorded, with much praise, for Hyperion before, for example the Rubbra and Walton Viola Concertos (CDA 67587) and those by York Bowen and Cecil Forsyth (CDA 67546), His tone is rich and warm and wonderfully focused and is a real advert for this often much misunderstood instrument.  D’Indy’s Choral Varié is a dark, processional-type work with two main melodic ideas called in the detailed analytical booklet essay by Andrew Thomson  segments 1 and 2. They almost approach Gregorian chant except that the first uses notes best placed in the whole-tone scale. Talking of which although modality and minor tonality are mainly employed there is an ‘Impressionist passage’ on woodwind in the middle of the work. This shows that d’Indy, often seen as opposed to Debussy et al and who does not often go in for orchestral display, could be much influenced by him.  On the whole this is a very un-Debussian, sombre but fine and moving work. 

The other work for viola and orchestra is ‘Lied’ which is an elegant song in something like sonata form. The opening melody is in Bb major and the second melody in G minor. This latter gains some almost Ravel-like development in its gentle progress which also incorporates along its path some felicitous orchestration. 

This kind of repertoire is meat and drink to Thierry Fischer who has made a speciality in recent times of Frank Martin, Honegger and even the early Romantics. He brings the best out of the music. All in all this is an honourable and fine release and should be enjoyed by any music-lover. I’m not sure, just to be a bit picky, if the picture on the cover by that highly original and at times controversial artist Paul Gauguin (d.1903) is quite suitable for d’Indy. Possibly Manet might have been a more adroit match. 

Gary Higginson 


 


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos 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.