Henri DUTILLEUX (1916-2013)
Piano Sonata (1946-1948) [26:39]
Le Loup (version for piano) (1953) [28:58]
3 Préludes (1973/1977/1988) [14:36]
Jean-Pierre Armengaud (piano)
rec. 2020/2021, Music Atelier, Malakoff, France
GRAND PIANO GP790 [70:13]
Dutilleux comes chronologically between Messiaen and Boulez, both of whom he respected and neither of whom he imitated. He was very much in the French tradition, with an obvious debt to Debussy and Ravel, but he also absorbed influences from outside, such as Bartók and Stravinsky. His published body of work is small, but of very high quality: it contains two symphonies, a handful of other orchestral and vocal works, and two concertos. His chamber output is also small – it nearly all fits on two discs. However, this is not because he composed little: there is a group of early works, which he disowned but which are nevertheless still performed, and he also wrote a good deal for the ballet and film. He was very reluctant to release this material for wider use and it was only a few years ago that we had various examples of his work in this field along with a complete recording of his ballet Le Loup (review).
Dutilleux thought of the Piano Sonata as his first official work. It was premiered in 1948 by his wife, the pianist Geneviève Joy, who later recorded it. It is a substantial work in three movements and has been accepted as a modern classic, with numerous recordings. Dutilleux wrote of it: ‘I wanted to produce a work of a certain breadth, one with a dense musical language, and find a tone of voice for it, as well as a certain depth and a distinctive form. Hence the four variations in the finale, which could be compared to the four movements of a sonata (a sonata within a sonata).’ The first movement is in a modified sonata form with two main themes. The central slow movement is expressive and meditative and the finale features a Choral with well contrasted variations. The piano writing owes a debt to Ravel but also one to Bartok, and is lucid and varied, and the work is easy to follow. It is indeed a splendid work and deserves its status as a masterpiece.
This is the first recording of the piano version of the ballet Le Loup. The story was written by Jean Anouilh and Georges Neveux and is a modern fairytale loosely inspired by the story of Beauty and the Beast. There are three tableaux. In the first there is village fete, in which an animal tamer transforms a bridegroom into a wolf and back again. Despite having just been married, he displays a considerable interest in a gypsy girl. In the second tableau the bride goes home with the wolf, believing it to be her husband transformed. Actually, it is a real wolf. The bridegroom is brought back but the wolf runs off with the bride. In the third tableau both the wolf and the bride die. Dutilleux had to compose the music quite fast and it is not a highly worked as in his main works. It is, however, an entertaining score, rather in the Prokofiev vein. Dutilleux prepared the piano score himself; it is more than just a rehearsal arrangement and it is good to have it.
The three Préludes are far more substantial than the name implies. The first, D’ombre et de silence (Of shadow and silence) is impressionist and uses ingenious devices of resonance. The second, Sur un même accord (On the same chord) is based on a four note ‘pivot chord’ round which lines are wound and which moves around the keyboard. The third, Le Jeu des contraires (The game of opposites) was described by Dutilleux in this way: ‘It’s a way of playing with writing by using “mirroring” processes analogous to the idea of the palindrome.’ This is an adventurous work, twice the length of the other Prèludes.
The pianist here is the veteran Jean-Pierre Armengaud, who has recorded a great deal of French piano music and also works as a musicologist. He studied under Geneviève Joy and was also given advice by Dutilleux and, not surprisingly, his performance is much like hers. If it sounds rather more full-blooded that may well be because the excellent new recording is rather better than that provided for Joy in her own recording of 1988 on Erato. Dutilleux also approved of his performances of the Prèludes. His performance of the piano version of Le Loup is sparkling and convincing and sounds like idiomatic piano music. The sleevenotes, in English and French are really helpful and this is a valuable issue.
Stephen Barber
