August 26, 2015

  • Early 20th Century French Harp Music

     

    Belle Epoque
    Emmanuel Ceysson, harp.  Orchestra Regional Avignon Provence/Samuel Jean
    Naïve 5419
    Total Time:  65:57
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

    Here is a rather fascinating program of French music for harp from the first two decades of the 20th Century.  At the time there was a bit of a rivalry between the two designs of the harp.  Pleyel’s chromatic harp and the pedal harp from Erard were vying for supremacy and this led to a number of commissions and pieces being completed for these instruments among which was Debussy’s own Danses.  Emmanuel Ceysson, referred to as the ‘enfant terrible’ of the harp, has chosen a truly unique program that will no doubt introduce rarely heard concert pieces from the period to new audiences.

    Perhaps the most familiar work on the program is the one that concludes the album, Saint-Saens Morceau de concert, Op. 154 (1918).  The piece was one of the last works the composer completed.  It has the feel of the composer looking back and assessing his own music in very traditional and well-crafted music.  The piece is designed in an arch form filled with excellent textural writing between soloist and orchestra.  The final section is filled with virtuosic displays.

    At the front end of the release is a significant concerto for harp by Henriette Renie (1875-1956).  The inclusion here of her Concerto in c is a significant choice.  Renie was a child prodigy and attended classes at the Paris Conservatory at a time when women were still discouraged from such studies of harmony and composition.  Her many works for harp are still excellent examples of her abilities and the instrument’s development in this period.  She studied in the classes of Theodore Dubois who encouraged the work’s first performance at the Concerts Lamoreux where she premiered the concerto in 1901.  The piece is cast in four movements.  It is believed that she began work on the concerto while a student in the 1880s, finally finishing it as the century came to a close.  The first movement begins with great forcefulness, but then shifts into a variety of solo arpeggios.  The musical dialogue between the orchestra and soloist is rather interesting to hear and the ensemble at times has a real chamber feel.  The music is interestingly flirting with Romanticism and touches of Impressionism at times.  The “Adagio” that follows has a hymn-like quality giving voice to the more expressive capacities of the harp in a seriously beautiful movement.  The time for technique is reserved for the “Scherzo”, but this is a delicate affair with a gorgeous trio section.  It is certainly an interesting piece standing in that tradition of virtuosi writing their own concerti that was quite common in the 19th Century.  Renie’s impact on French music may seem less apparent in terms of composition, but a “Renie model harp” would eventually be developed by Salvi (Erard’s successor) and a Henriette Renie Prize for Harp Composition was also subsequently established by the French Institute.

    Dubois (1837-1924) is also featured on this release which allows some nice comparison between the student and the teacher.  His own Fantasie included here was inspired by Renie’s playing and concerto.  As one would expect, it bears a bit of Franck-ian influence and style.  Dubois was a composer at the end of one era gazing into another and had a difficult time understanding the music of the younger generation.  His own work was often considered a bit academic and stuffy.  This work, which receives its world premiere recording, was completely overshadowed by another piece presented in the same program at the Fantasie’s premiere: Ravel’s suite from Daphnis et Chloe.  The piece features cyclic thematic writing across three linked movements with skillful writing for the instrument.  The orchestra provides connective musical segments between the solo sections mostly.

    Gabriel Pierne’s (1863-1937) Concertstuck, Op. 39 (1903) is one of the standard repertoire pieces for the instrument.  The music is quite idiomatic for the instrument and features the hallmarks of the experienced composer’s harmonic and orchestral technique.  Ceysson’s is a truly delightful performance.

    The orchestra here is well-balanced against the soloist and performs these pieces quite well.  Sometimes the harp feels a bit forward in the sound picture.  The music is lovingly handled and shaped as Ceysson’s own performances captivate the listener and make convincing cases for these works.