Marc Albrecht’s literary inspired programme of French music from PentaTone is a resounding success. The writings of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Charles Perrault and Rudyard Kipling respectively are the basis of the three works presented here that together makes up an intelligent programme well suited to this orchestra’s character and its dynamic young conductor’s talents.

‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ by Dukas has hardly needed any introduction to most music lovers for a generation thanks to its use in the 1940 Disney film Fantasia and the sequel Fantasia 2000 in which Mickey Mouse played the eponymous character. This short orchestral scherzo based on Goethe’s balladic poem ‘Der Zauberlehrling’ remains one of the most popular and enduring masterpieces by the hyper self-critical Dukas. Its familiarity, however, can make it all too easy to overlook what an inventive composition of fastidious craftsmanship and concision it really is. Every section of Albrecht’s orchestra is on top form, while PentaTone’s quite closely miked recording marvellously captures both the sparkle and glitter of Dukas’s orchestration and the ebullience of the conductor’s very lively performance.

Ravel’s ballet ‘Ma mère l’oye’started life as a piano work for four hands, but the composer then orchestrated it and eventually expanded it into a full length ballet score. Based on the fairy tales of Charles Perrault and others, the complete ballet as performed here comprises a prelude, five tableaux linked by interludes and an apotheosis. Marc Albrecht once again gives an ideally sympathetic performanceof Ravel’s exquisite creation, managing most successfully to walk the fine line between any sentimentalisation of the slower sections of the score and driving this fragile music too hard. The Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg play with typical gallic refinement and grace, and as in the Dukas piece, the recording is spectacularly vivid.

A real rarity completes this SACD. Charles Koechlin (1867-1950) studied with Massenet and Fauré, yet even today this enigmatic and neglected composer is still regarded as something of a marginal figure in French music, which makes this recording of one of his most important works especially welcome. From an early age Koechlin was fascinated by the writings of Rudyard Kipling, in particular ‘The Jungle Book’, and throughout his long creative life he devoted much of his compostional skills to producing Kipling inspired works, the most important being a series of four symphonic poems of which ‘Les Bandar-log’ written in 1939 is the last. Its musical depiction of a noisy tribe of monkeys (Les Bandar-log) is used by Koechlin as a means to satirise the fashionable imitators of truly original creative artists. In the words of the composer, “The monkeys consider themselves to be inspired geniuses but are nothing more than self-satisfied mimics whose only goal is to follow the fashion of the day”. Koechlin’s atmospheric impressionistic opening to this scherzo leads to a woodwind theme that is strikingly similar to the beginning of the ‘Spring rounds’ section in Part 1 of Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’. Vigorous parodies of neoclassical, polytonal and even atonal musical styles follow, before an almost Ivesian fugue starts in the lower strings and eventually builds up to a series of huge dissonant climaxes after which the opening calm is re-asserted. The considerable technical demands made on the orchestra by Koechlin’s complex writing are fully met in Albrecht’s gripping performance. The recording handles the huge dynamic range of the music with impressive ease and its remarkable clarity immensely assists the listener’s appreciation of this quite challenging score.

This musically rewarding and sonically impressive SACD is yet another feather in the cap of the PentaTone label.

Copyright © 2010 Graham Williams and HRAudio.net

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A good disc that at times approaches greatness.

Any performance of this Dukas masterpiece has to measure up to 2 classic performances in my book: the Fantasia effort (of course!) but more recently James Levine's account with the BPO (DG, RBCD only but well worth it for that alone). Now, Albrecht's account is not slow by most standards and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg play with phenomenal dedication and accuracy, there is the final ounce of edge-of-the-seat playing that transforms the good into electrifying missing; Levine has it in spades and the thrill is visceral (but never coarse) and I'd go as far to say that it could never be bettered, perhaps equalled.

Ravel's Mother Goose ballet is more commonly performed as a suite but like Ravel: Bolero - Boulez, this performance is of the complete music. Compared to their Berlin counterparts here, they show themselves to be every bit as alive to the felicities of the score and arguably even more vividly characterising the music; nor do they miss out on any grace or panache in presentation. Albrecht clearly is more volatile in his approach when it suits the music and it pays handsome dividends. On the negative side though, there are a few audible grunts in the climaxes to "Tom Thumb" and some of the vivid characterisation comes at the expense of subtlety.

The Koechlin is otherwise not represented on SACD and makes for an appropriate companion piece to the rest of this fantastical repertoire. The quality of playing and electricity here makes one wish that similar qualities could have been found for the Dukas.

A feature of the recording that will delight and appal in equal measure is the prominence of the tuned percussion: some of it almost jumps through the speakers into the room of the listener! It may be that it was placed in front of the orchestra and/or that Albrecht obtained far more extrovert playing than is usual. It also rather inconsistent between passages; sometimes the sound is integrated, at others a "hi-fi spectacular" approach from the 1960's that is best forgotten; although this doesn't seem to apply to the Koechlin. A definite try before you buy situation!

If the extrovert percussion doesn't bother you and the slightly (and I do mean ever-so-slightly) lacklustre Dukas is not critical, then this is a fine choice for Ravel's complete Mother Goose and a stunning Koechlin to add to ones collection.

Copyright © 2010 John Broggio and HRAudio.net

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