French Music for Ballet
Estonian National Symphiny Orchestra/Neeme Jarvi
Chandos 20132
Total Time: 68:19
Recording: ****/****
Performance: ****/****
A rather unlikely orchestra tackles some important, and somewhat less familiar, French music in this new release from Chandos. Massenet’s familiar ballet music from Heordiade (1881/1884) is sandwiched between two mid-1940s ballets by Henri Sauget (1901-1989) and Jacques Ibert (1890-1962). Neeme Jarvi leads the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra in recordings made last year.
Sauget moved among the circles of Les Six and Charles Koechlin was one of his early teachers. Satie was also a close friend and his music too had some influence over Sauget’s own stylistic development. His music always maintained a sense of tonality and a Post-Romantic tinge of Richard Strauss. While his music is perhaps less familiar in the US, he was most known in France for his many ballets. He was also known for his music criticism. Les Forains (1945) was written for the great choreographer Roland Petit who premiered it on March 2, 1945. It was among some of the first new music created after the liberation of Paris the previous summer. The piece follows a group of performers that appear in a variety of engaging dance numbers at its center (“La Representation”). The piece opens with a “Prologue” that blends the wit of Poulenc with a bit of Satie (to whom the ballet bears a dedication). The ”Entrée des Forains” is one of the more beautiful numbers. It is a gorgeous waltz with a bit of sensuous writing reminiscent perhaps of Ravel, whose music appears to inform the later “Visions d’Art”. Sauget’s writing has these wonderful splashes of romantic melodies and rich harmonies that also will dissipate into the more modernist style familiar to those familiar with the Les Six composers. His excellent melodic invention is most engaging here along with the witty orchestral writing. The piece proves to allow for some wonderful showcasing for the orchestra as much as for Sauget’s music. The Estonian orchestra manages to communicate the wit of this music which perhaps has some of its more circus-like moments in parallel composers from Estonia and certainly with more modernist tendencies in the work of Shostakovich whose lighter works this may most recall for casual listeners. They make the work really come alive and seem to be enjoying themselves along the way.
Jules Massenet (1842-1912) tends to be fairly well-represented with most of his major operas, many of which still are performed regularly, and his orchestral suites readily available. Often his ballet music from the operas are popular choices for collections of 19th Century French music. The Ballet Suite from Herodias is taken from the fourth act. It is set during a banquet at Herod’s palace where a host of different slave girls from exotic locales are brought in to dance. This music has some exotic flair which no doubt appealed to people as much then as it does now, though it still has a decidedly French flair. There are four dances (one for Egyptian, Babylonian, Gauls, and Phoenicians respecitively) and a final summary movement. These are rather delightful little numbers with gorgeous melodic writing and brilliant orchestral writing that has always made Massenet’s music appealing and it is wonderfully realized here.
The final work on the album was created by Boris Kochno for the new ballet company formed shortly after the success of the production of Sauget’s Les Forains. Ibert’s penchant for creating a unique musical style forged a more unique approach that was still rooted in the likes of Milhaud but also had one foot in the romantic traditions of Chabrier and Delibes. His music is also tonal but prone to a bit more dissonance and modernist feel at times. Les Amours de Jupiter (1945) follows the romantic exploits of the god and his complicated love life that includes his abduction of Europa, the interaction as a swan with Leda, and his lust for Danae. These scenes are depicted with a blend of interesting dissonance and occasional jazzy rhythmic ideas. A couple of years ago this ballet appeared on the Timpani Label (1C1230) with another ballet by Ibert which was well suited to his music. Some of the romantic music may have some listeners feeling his style has a bit of lush Hollywood film music hovering in its fabric, but that sensual style works well for this music. That said, as noted in the review I did for the previous release, there are aspects of this music that find their parallels in the way Copland and Leonard Bernstein began inserting jazz rhythms along the way. This particular ballet seems to recall Delibes a lot here, at least that is the light style that Jarvi’s interpretation brings to the foreground more.
Most welcome in this release is that the various movements for each work are assigned separate tracks making it quite easy to explore and access different segments of the music. The recording is equally gorgeous with just a touch drier acoustic that fits this music quite well. It warms up slightly for the more romantic centerpiece and even a bit for the Ibert. The music here makes for an excellent hour or so of great music from the less-familiar side of ballet though a welcome addition to the catalogue!
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