The three composers whose music is on offer here share the fact
that their lives (if not their compositional careers) straddle
the second half of the 19
th Century through to the
early/middle of the 20
th. It is particularly interesting
to note that in the case of Nadia Boulanger, although she lived
until 1979 she gave up composition in the 1920s. Excluding for
a moment the three shorter works presented the two sonatas date
from the 1920s and the Boulanger pieces from 1914. But there
is little of the Brave New World in the musical language here.
Both D’Indy and Pierné use a musical language that
looks back to the Belle Époque. Gabriel Pierné is
a composer who remains very much at the periphery of most people’s
musical knowledge. Apart from his lighter orchestral works like
March
of the Little Lead Soldiers and the
Marche des petits
Faunes his original compositions remain resolutely little-known.
As a conductor he was responsible for such notable premieres
as Stravinsky’s
Firebird for the Ballets Russes
in 1910 so clearly he was at the centre of artistic activity
in Paris in the early years of the last century. Which makes
the resolute Franckisms of the 1922
Cello Sonata in F sharp
minor all the more surprising. Clearly the cyclic tonal idiom
was where he was most comfortable. This is a one movement work
that plays for some twenty minutes. Within that span are well
defined sections and the whole work is patently well crafted.
That being said it resolutely refuses to stick in my memory and
I’m not wholly sure why that should be.
Cellist Nicolas Altstaedt and pianist José Gallardo are
both committed advocates so it is not for the lack of their efforts.
Altstaedt is a winner of an International competition and has
technique to spare. That being said, I have to say that I don’t
respond much to the style in which he plays any of this programme.
He seems to prefer a muscular and quite strenuous approach that
I find does not lie easily with the soulful aspects of the music
here. The opening is beautifully poised but very soon Altstaedt
opts for a preferred fast vibrato and roisinous approach. This
is at odds with Gallardo’s piano playing which is far more ‘placed’.
I do not have access to any scores nor have I previously encountered
these pieces but instinctively I find his approach heavy-handed.
I could imagine exactly that approach paying great dividends
in other repertoire but not here. Try half-way into the Pierné
Sonata at
about 11:30 - powerful playing and technically in complete control
it just feels too ‘big’ to me. Even when the mood
quickly subsides little more than a minute later I feel a cooler,
more floated sound would have been better suited. Don’t
get me wrong though, this is an approach I’m sure many
will enjoy because it is well played - it is just that the choices
do not work for me.
I have to admit that my basic lack of pleasure in the chosen
style persists for most of the recital. As mentioned before,
the Nadia Boulanger
Trois pièces date from 1914
and certainly occupy a similar sound-world to that of her extraordinary
sister Lili’s
Nocturne for violin (or flute) and
piano. The opening movement -
Modéré - starts
really promisingly with a gentle song beautifully sung but again
I find Altstaedt’s preference for heavy accentuation totally
at odds with the style in general and my understanding of this
genre - he really digs into the notes at 1:30. The reflective
playing is beautiful and he is very willing to pare his tone
away stunningly as the movement ends. The second movement benefits
from a generally gentler style although I find it curious how
the speed and intensity of the vibrato seems to be closely allied
to dynamic and register. The higher and louder he goes the faster
the vibrato gets. The final movement is marked
Vite et nerveusement
rhythmé - and again for all the perfect technical
address I find the chosen style at odds with the ‘nerveusement’ instruction
- this is aggressive not nervous playing. Altstaedt allows some
of his pizzicati to ‘slap’ in a Bartókian
way which is surely not idiomatic for French music of this period.
He does the same later in the D’Indy
Sonata which
I find equally disconcerting. Things start well, another clear
reflection of the technique on display but rather than allowing
lines to unfold lyrically Altstaedt prefers to accentuate key
notes within phrases that for me destroys the musical line. These
bulges occur within 26 seconds of the opening and undermine the
essential simplicity of the approach. Don’t forget D’Indy
was one of the founders of the Schola Cantorum in the 1890s and
much of his musical aesthetic centred on the musical forms of
the past. Hence this
Sonata features baroque suite titles
of
Gavotte en rondeau, Air, and
Gigue. Not that
the listener should expect for a moment simple pastiche, rather
modern(ish!) music imbued with the spirit of an earlier age.
The playing should reflect this. In this performance I feel a
tension between the written note and the played one. Pianist
Gallardo achieves a more appropriately even and limpid style
and I enjoyed his playing considerably more than that of his
colleague. Again I should stress I have not seen the scores so
there might well be markings there to justify every accent; even
if that is the case I would feel them to be over-stressed. This
continues in each movement with the playing belying the subsidiary
movement markings;
tranquillement for the second movement
and
gaiment for the Finale. The latter in particular is
positively aggressive - try track 9 1:30 onwards for more explosive
pizzicati and heavy accentuation.
The disc concludes with two
further short Pierné pieces. Both are pleasant but would
not be the main reason for buying this disc. Similar performance
traits are evident. By now I am sure it will be clear that I
find this a disappointing disc. I’ve wanted to avoid all
the clichés about Gallic wit and charm but I can’t
help but come to the conclusion that this repertoire would be
better served by a more elegant approach. Not that there is not
muscle and sinew in this music because there is but it should
lie beneath the surface.
Producer/Engineer Michael Ponder - the player on one of the great
viola recital discs of English music ever in his alter ego of
Dame Avril Piston - the disc is called
Heartache on Guild
GMCD7275 - knows this venue well (it was the site of Dame Avril’s
great triumph) and uses all his experience of music from the
inside to produce a beautifully warm and balanced sound at the
Potton Hall venue. That being said Altstaedt is the dominant
personality here and again I feel this unbalances the overall
effect. So, overall a curious disc, interesting - if not revelatory
- repertoire, well engineered and produced, typically lucid notes
from Keith Anderson, lovely piano, technically superb cello playing
but in a chosen style that leaves me totally cold. Best you decide
for yourselves!
Nick Barnard
Nicolas Altstaedt (cello); José Gallardo
(piano) 
