As part of the Naxos survey of the Roussel Symphonies this disc
is pretty much self-recommending. All of the qualities in evidence
in the first two volumes (see reviews of
Volume
1 and
Volume
2) from Denève
and the excellent RSNO are repeated here. Naxos is being rather
canny
by splitting
the symphonies across four discs thereby allowing the fillers
to build a diverse picture of Roussel’s orchestral output.
For those new to the sound-world of Albert Roussel, I would not
recommend this disc before the others for the simple reason that
previous volumes contain more characteristic and ultimately superior
music. But that is not to diminish the calibre of the music let
alone the music-making on offer here.
More than any other composer I can think of Roussel’s four
symphonies plot a strongly linear development of his compositional
personality from the impressionism of the
First Symphony recorded
here to the neo-classicism of his
Fourth Symphony. A potted
biography helps elucidate quite how Roussel ended up with his
unique style. Born in 1869, he served in the French Navy until
the age of 25 visiting the Far East where the music and culture
there made a profound impression. He joined Vincent D’Indy’s
composition class at the Schola Cantorum in 1898 and such was
his ability that he was invited to take over the counterpoint
class there just four years later. It is worth remembering that
this institute was only founded in 1894 as a reaction against
the Paris Conservatoire. D’Indy encouraged the study of
music of early ages as well as the strict application of form.
Roussel’s
First Symphony is subtitled ‘Le
poème de la forêt’ with each of its four movements
representing a forest in one of the seasons. Hence it is something
more of a symphonic suite than a symphony although Roussel introduces
thematic interrelations to give it a symphonic unity more akin
to his teacher’s
Symphonie Cevenole. For all the
flashes of ingenuity and individuality you can’t help but
feel that this is a work in which the composer is trying to fuse
the ideas and concepts of others rather than forge his own. There
are many passing beauties here - all well defined in this excellently
prepared performance - but it is a transitional work without
the exultant muscularity of the later works. Personally I prefer
the work’s first and third movements most. The first movement,
entitled
Forêt d’hiver,
is all shuddering
chill and mist. There is marvellously evocative playing from
the orchestra here, the woodwind cold and haunted with an exquisite
oboe solo [track 1 2:35]. A brief gale blows through the wood
- pre-echoes of Bax’s
November Woods here although
without the sustained fury or transplanting of human emotions
into an elemental force. From this there is an effective but
slightly obvious transition into the rebirth of life in the second
movement
Renouveau. Here the strings shimmer and the (ultimately
predictable) woodwind twitter and swoop. This movement seems
to owe more to Debussy than the others - not harmonically but
in the handling of the orchestra - particularly
La Mer -
although given that they are nearly synchronous in their composition
I might well be doing Roussel a gross disservice! One of Denève’s
great talents in this repertoire is the way he is able to fuse
the disparate sections together to create a coherent whole. In
lesser hands the reflective passages can become longeurs and
wallow in their own sensuous beauty. This is particularly true
of the third movement - a nocturnal
Soir d’été.
It is very atmospheric but is a tad formulaic in its use of woodwind
songs over string tremolandi and triplets. At this stage in his
career, as mentioned before, Roussel tends to rehash the orchestrational
traits of others - I’m thinking here of recurring instrumental
doublings. However, you have to be stony-hearted not to be swept
along by the rapturous string melody around 4:30 of track 3.
After three movements of a non-sentient woodland the finale
Faunes
et dryades is a little incongruous. By far the longest movement
of the symphony, the subject allows for longer passages of sustained
energetic writing than elsewhere before the symphony sinks back
to the misty murk of its opening; cyclic symphonically and seasonally.
Again Denève navigates the transitional passages between
tempi changes with total conviction. Norman Demuth in his study
of the music of Roussel -
Albert Roussel published by United
Music Publishers 1947 - compares it to Dukas’
La
Peri - which I feel is a good comparison. He also makes the
valid point that at this stage in his compositional life Roussel
did not make use of counterpoint either in the way he had been
taught it at the Schola Cantorum or as he would evolve his own
individual version in his later works.
There are several other performances of this symphony in the
catalogue. I have not heard the well-received Orchestre de Paris/Christoph
Eschenbach version on
Ondine (coupled
with the
4th Symphony). To my
mind it easily supersedes the Orchestre National de France/Charles
Dutoit 2-CD set of all four symphonies available at bargain price
on Apex. Denève’s performance deserves to be measured
against the very best.
The works that complete the disc are of more variable merit and
neither mark significant points along the path of Roussel’s
compositional development. His
Résurrection - Symphonic
Prelude has always struck me as one of his dullest works.
Dating from 1903 it marked his compositional debut as an orchestral
composer. The titular
Resurrection comes from Tolstoy’s
eagerly awaited novel of the same name that was set operatically
by Alfano of
Turandot-completion fame. That opera is actually
rather enjoyable. The plot in a nutshell involves Katyusha, who
in the span of the book goes from innocent girl to imprisoned
prostitute to redeemed and resurrected social worker in Siberia.
Even liner-note writer Richard Whitehouse struggles to find the
linkage between that narrative and what you hear. Not that that
would bother me if the piece didn’t seem so earnest and
grey in tone - an
Isle of the Dead without the 5/8 or
the laughs. Even Demuth who enthuses about the composer at every
turn can only remark “had Roussel continued along these
lines, he might well have developed into a ‘respected’ composer
and no more”. Certainly his next large-scale orchestral
(non-symphonic) work,
Evocations of about five years later
is a quantum leap forward - as is the interim symphony already
discussed.
For collectors the real treat of this disc is the four movement
suite of incidental music from
Le marchand de sable qui passe. This
has rarely been recorded and I cannot find a version using full
orchestral strings in the catalogue. Certainly the use of strictly
chamber-scaled forces would allow the essential simplicity, almost
austerity of the work to come through. However, the more I listened
to this performance the more I was convinced by the validity
of the larger orchestral treatment. Originally scored for string
quartet, flute, clarinet, horn and harp Roussel uses this simple
musical texture to beautifully simple effect - the only difference
here is the string parts are played by a section and not individuals.
The benefits are that a group of strings are able to provide
a haze of tone; an individual cannot. Also, and possibly more
importantly the solo wind parts, and in particular the horn and
harp are able to float their lines over and within the string
texture without there being any balance issues. All this is hugely
aided by Denève’s hyper-sensitive response to the
muted colours Roussel paints so exquisitely. Try the very opening
of the second movement (track 7) - a gently desolate habañera
rhythm quickly dissolves into a gently musing melody. Roussel
at his most Satie-esque. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra
again acquit themselves superbly - really beautiful wind and
horn playing and strings that sustain the intensity of long passages
of slow moving quiet music to perfection. Clearly the players
respond superbly to their musical director. Pardon the oxymoron
but there is an austere sensuality here, a kind of contained
rapture that shows, even in this relatively minor work, the progress
Roussel had made as a composer in just a few years The play in
question was by George Jean-Aubry and it was premiered in December
1908.
Just occasionally I think the playing of the orchestra feels
a fraction cool although this should
not be played with
the kind of Straussian full-emotional throttle. I am sure this
has more to do with the chosen interpretative style rather than
the sound of the orchestra as recorded. Tim Handley has successfully
produced and engineered many discs at these venues and certainly
he prefers a (commendably) naturally balanced sound-stage. I
do wonder if this is occasionally at the price of losing some
of the lower resonant frequencies and bloom to the string choir.
I noticed that for the suite the harp was moved to the centre
of the sound-stage - this work was recorded at sessions six months
after the rest of the programme - which makes good sense as it
integrates the harp’s sound well into this lighter-textured
work.
All in all another clear hit in this superb cycle. It leaves
one eagerly awaiting the fourth disc. I will be interested to
see the couplings - probably the
Spider’s Banquet ballet
but I would love to hear an
Evocations from Denève.
Demuth is a great admirer of that work and although I have enjoyed
previous recordings from Kosler on Supraphon (particularly) and
Plasson on EMI, I suspect this Naxos team would have something
very special to say.
Nick Barnard
Royal Scottish
National Orchestra/Stéphane Denève 
