Bought in 2010.
Label: Marco Polo.
First listen: 13-2-2014.
Second listen: 6-5-2014.
Third listen: 10-4-2017.
Recording dates: June 1987 and May 1993.
Recording venue: Rhein-Mosel Halle, and Görres-haus, Koblenz, Germany.
Recording engineers: Anton Enders and Ute Hesse.
Running time: 63:22.
Classical relevance to me: Essential.
Works.
1) Pour le Morts.
2) Seven Children's Pieces.
3) The Great Gardener of France, Film Music.*
4) Symphony No. 4.
Performers.
Rhenish PO, James Lockhart and Gilles Nopre.*
This guy reached a respectable age, to start with. Did not bring him fame, nor is he remembered, despite the fact that he composed quite attractive music, and in the second period of his life composing a little less. They call him the greatest Breton composer, so I have to listen carefully, and determine if he is indeed. Debussy comes to mind, Lavignac and Widor were his teachers, and he is clearly influenced by Roussel and D'Indy which whom he worked at the Schola Cantorum. He was also influenced by Russian music, some of the harmonic richness and colour of Rimski Korsakov can be detected. He cultivated a fine sonority, and his music suggests entry into the sacred forest of a dream. And there lies my fascination with this composer, as must be with others. His music is free of eccentricities, but is filled with a certain simplicity and frankness in expression. Humour is also a intricate part of his music. The first three works have all these qualities abound. Its simply bubbling over like a glass of champagne prior after the glass is filled, and the foam is quickly rising. His orchestration has a dreamlike quality over it, and bears resemblance to Mendelssohn's midsummer night's dream. The fairies are around everywhere. This kind of writing is extremely attractive, and opens your mind to all kind of wonderful images. You will notice the creativity in scoring the music. and the colourful and harmonic richness mentioned earlier. Some Dukas may look in at those moments. The Great Gardener of France, has this magical scoring all over the work, and he creates a fantasy world with it, that has you in the story right away, truly beautiful. Great orchestration.
The 4th Symphony is from his second stage in his composing career. It is written between 1971 and 1972, and is dedicated to Marcel Landowski, also a French composer.
The music has a wild energy, as opposed to his earlier works. There you have, brutal contrast, harsh and abrupt orchestral timbres, uneven rhythms, a high degree of dissonance, a total change in his musical language. It takes some adapting before one can appreciate this work. The performance is great, and the sound more than acceptable.
