November 7, 2018

  • Modern French Classics from Quebec

     

    Gaite Parisienne
    Quebec Symphony Orchestra/Fabien Gabel
    ATMA Classique 2757
    Total Time:  65:24
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

    The Quebec Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1902 and is the oldest active orchestra in Canada.  Its home is in Quebec City.  The ensemble has a long history of supporting Canadian composers in addition to affirming its rich French heritage which has lent it a “French America” sound.  Among its music directors have been Pierre Devaux, James DePreist, Yoav Talmi, and, as of 2012, Fabien Gabel.  During the latter’s tenure, the orchestra has begun exploring traditional symphonic French repertoire and larger-scale pieces by the likes of Mahler, Strauss, and Beethoven.  Here the ensemble tackles 20th Century French music with ties to dance (Ravel), ballet (Poulenc), and operetta (Rosenthal’s adaptation of Offenbach’s music).  The recording is taken from concerts at the end of this past May.

    Ravel’s (1875-1937) orchestration of his 8 Valses nobles et sentimentales (1912, from the 1911 piano work) is one of the composer’s homages to the music of Schubert.  There are over 100 recordings of this popular work which was premiered by the great Pierre Monteux.  The pieces here lend their own misdirects to impressionist and early 20th Century French musical style but begin to illustrate Ravel’s own exploration of dissonance in his music.  Gabel takes a slightly relaxed feel to the opening movement but articulations are crisp and clean here.  The slight sheen is allowed to come forward more in the gorgeous “Assez lent” second movement where the restraint helps the colors unfold beautifully.  He brings out the light, dance-like quality of this music quite well.  The climaxes do not feel as forced as some performances as Gabel lets the music do the work with attention to the subtle crescendo and decrescendo moments that lend the music its energy and sense of joie de vivre.  More importantly, the recording helps show off the ensemble’s fine wind section and overall responsive ensemble playing.  Textures work so very well here as a result of the clean ensemble.  Balance also is stunning.

    The ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev is responsible for some of the 20th Centuries most famous works.  In 1923, he commissioned Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) to provide music for Les Biches and the composer would extract five pieces into the suite heard here.  Neo-Classical style blends with the more romantic melodies in this Les Six aesthetic.  Jazz harmony and rhythms, hints of Mozart’s “Prague” symphony, and even Stravinsky’s Pulcinella all roll into this truly delightful work.  The satirical opening “Rondeau”—at a nice clip here, the gorgeously-scored “Adagietto”, the delightful “Rag-Mazurka”, the all too brief “Andantino” and the witty finale all make for an engaging work.  Brass get a little chance to pop out of the texture here serving with great sarcasm.  Indeed, the humor of the music is captured excellently throughout.

    The French operetta would become one of the most popular theater experiences of the 19th Century with its influences felt in the works of Gilbert and Sullivan and in early American musical theater.  Jacques Offenbach’s (1819-1880) delightful, light writing for these many stories always included delightful dances and engaging melodies that are often encapsulated in his overtures.  Leonide Massine conceived a ballet that would reference this lost world of France’s better days in his Gaite Parisienne (1938).  The thin story line is set in the Second Empire in a Parisian café with its various patrons being depicted through Offenbach’s delightful tunes.  Massine commissioned arrangements of Offenbach’s music from Roger Desormiere but he handed this off to the young Manuel Rosenthal (1904-2003) who would create one of the more popular orchestral arrangements of his career, often overshadowing his own original work.  Sixteen selections from the complete ballet are presented here.  It is sort of like having a host of encores for this most guilty of pleasures.  The orchestra dives into these familiar tunes with great relish.  Here the light, clean articulation really makes this shine and one can marvel at the textures of this work.  In Gabel’s hands this feels like a fresh piece.

    The recording is crisp and a little dry.  Performances here all sparkle though may feel a little distant at times.  There is no denying the excellent capability of the Quebec players and their technical virtuosity.  This is then a fine album of French music that features some great repertoire pieces all of which can be found in various combinations.  But it is a testament to where the orchestra is at today with an album of pieces that should have great and wide appeal.  That said, the price of it is worth it for the Poulenc alone.