The French Music Exploration thread

Started by Papy Oli, September 14, 2020, 03:17:20 AM

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Papy Oli

Quote from: Madiel on March 30, 2021, 04:07:03 AM
Okay, I am loving this:



I'm finding it very hard to get much of a picture of Roger-Ducasse's body of work. Articles mention much more of a range of music that he composed than what I can actually see recordings of. There appear to be several renditions of some piano works, regular appearances of an organ piece (maybe only one piece from something I read?), the 2 albums of orchestral works conducted by Segerstam... and not much else.

I will go and listen to the Segerstam discs in the next day or two and see what I think of them. I'm wary because with Segerstam there's a chance that any response is more about the conductor than the music. But this piano disc is tickling my ears in highly enjoyable ways. Some definite hints of Faure in the earliest pieces to be composed, maybe even a hint of kinship with Ravel, a neoclassical clarity coupled with plenty of chromatic activity.

Nothing much more on Idagio. Only 3 of his motets coupled with a Fauré requiem on Erato :



The two Sagerstam are the only music of his I listened to at the time, not with  great success either. You have picked my interest on his piano music though. Now that "Hints of Fauré" and "kinship to Ravel" sound like positives in my mind these days  0:) I'll save this one for streaming later.
Olivier

Madiel

Quote from: Papy Oli on March 30, 2021, 05:11:43 AM
Nothing much more on Idagio. Only 3 of his motets coupled with a Fauré requiem on Erato :



The two Sagerstam are the only music of his I listened to at the time, not with  great success either. You have picked my interest on his piano music though. Now that "Hints of Fauré" and "kinship to Ravel" sound like positives in my mind these days  0:) I'll save this one for streaming later.

I did see those motets on Primephonic as well.

I hope you like the piano music when you get to it. Our tastes often align, so to be honest I wasn't expecting to be enthusiastic. So it will be interesting, once we've both listened to the same things, to see whether this is a case where we have different tastes or whether I happened to start with a better album.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

ritter

#482
I tend to agree on d'Indy: I can listen to him, but there's nothing really memorable in his music (at least to my ears).

Chabrier, OTOH, should not IMHO be dismissed as purely entertaining and charming. Behind this appearance (which is certainly true, and there's nothing wrong with that per se) there's true musical depth, inventiveness and originality in many places.

For instance, that jewel that is Sous-bois from the Pièces pittoresques (it was also orchestrated by the composer for the Suite Pastotrale):

https://www.youtube.com/v/AD9CAra1Hs8

And his opéra bouffe L'Étoile (music and libretto) is a work of genius! Here's the overture (a potpourri of the opera's main themes):

https://www.youtube.com/v/cHJGfQCUWMg

Mirror Image

Quote from: ritter on March 30, 2021, 05:40:08 AM
I tend to agree on d'Indy: I can listen to him, but there's nothing really memorable in his music (at least to my ears).

This is my problem with d'Indy as well. He comes out of that Franck school of thought, which is unappealing to me. Your thoughts on Chabrier are interesting, but he's another one that does very little for me, although I'm certainly more receptive of his music than d'Indy.

Brahmsian

Quote from: Mirror Image on March 30, 2021, 06:15:13 AM
This is my problem with d'Indy as well. He comes out of that Franck school of thought, which is unappealing to me.

I should keep in mind to explore d'Indy's music, considering he comes from the Franck school of thought, which is appealing to me.  Chausson as well, I should explore.

Mirror Image

Quote from: OrchestralNut on March 30, 2021, 06:31:08 AM
I should keep in mind to explore d'Indy's music, considering he comes from the Franck school of thought, which is appealing to me.  Chausson as well, I should explore.

Yeah, d'Indy would be right up your alley, Ray. :)

Papy Oli

Quote from: Madiel on March 30, 2021, 04:07:03 AM
Okay, I am loving this:



[...] But this piano disc is tickling my ears in highly enjoyable ways. Some definite hints of Faure in the earliest pieces to be composed, maybe even a hint of kinship with Ravel, a neoclassical clarity coupled with plenty of chromatic activity.

Quote from: Madiel on March 30, 2021, 05:25:57 AM
I hope you like the piano music when you get to it. Our tastes often align, so to be honest I wasn't expecting to be enthusiastic. So it will be interesting, once we've both listened to the same things, to see whether this is a case where we have different tastes or whether I happened to start with a better album.

Halfway though this one right now. What's not to like, really  0:) Definitely a better entry pick for Roger Ducasse and a better timing for me. This is the type of piano music I would have, until weeks ago, walked away from but now that I have connected with some Debussy, Ravel & some Fauré, this album really hits the mark. I am just wallowing in the Preludes  ;D
Olivier

Papy Oli

Quote from: ritter on March 30, 2021, 05:40:08 AM
I tend to agree on d'Indy: I can listen to him, but there's nothing really memorable in his music (at least to my ears).

Chabrier, OTOH, should not IMHO be dismissed as purely entertaining and charming. Behind this appearance (which is certainly true, and there's nothing wrong with that per se) there's true musical depth, inventiveness and originality in many places.

For instance, that jewel that is Sous-bois from the Pièces pittoresques (it was also orchestrated by the composer for the Suite Pastotrale):

https://www.youtube.com/v/AD9CAra1Hs8

And his opéra bouffe L'Étoile (music and libretto) is a work of genius! Here's the overture (a potpourri of the opera's main themes):

https://www.youtube.com/v/cHJGfQCUWMg

Those works are on the Jarvi Chandos CD I sampled before. One for the re-listen pile, Rafael.
Olivier

Madiel

Quote from: ritter on March 30, 2021, 05:40:08 AM
Chabrier, OTOH, should not IMHO be dismissed as purely entertaining and charming. Behind this appearance (which is certainly true, and there's nothing wrong with that per se) there's true musical depth, inventiveness and originality in many places.

For instance, that jewel that is Sous-bois from the Pièces pittoresques (it was also orchestrated by the composer for the Suite Pastotrale):

https://www.youtube.com/v/AD9CAra1Hs8

And his opéra bouffe L'Étoile (music and libretto) is a work of genius! Here's the overture (a potpourri of the opera's main themes):

https://www.youtube.com/v/cHJGfQCUWMg

I didn't mean to suggest that I didn't like Chabrier. I generally enjoyed what I tried. However, for me the goal of this thread is to pick up names for more exploration, and I've got to set the bar reasonably high if the list of names is to stay manageable. As it is I've got an extra half dozen French composers who I'd basically never heard before that I want to probe deeper.

I'll happily take into account Chabrier as part of an album (I suspect one of the side-effects of this whole exercise is that I'll be more interested in 'recital' sort of albums with a variety of composers). But something like that piano piece doesn't really speak to my personal tastes enough to persuade me to prioritise Chabrier when I have so many other "priorities" being generated.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

Madiel

#489
Quote from: Papy Oli on March 31, 2021, 03:23:36 AM
Definitely a better entry pick for Roger Ducasse and a better timing for me.

Conversely, I've listened to some of the 1st volume of Segerstam's Roger-Ducasse recordings today, and it didn't appeal nearly as much as the piano disc!

EDIT A DAY LATER: Having listened to more of the Segerstam recordings, and more importantly having paid a bit more attention while listening, I did respond to them a bit more. But I still don't really get the same vibe that I do from Hastings performing the piano works, and the Hastings was most appealing.

There's a complete piano set by Martin Jones, which I will have to try at some point, but I don't have a slightly mixed impression of Jones from things I've read about various performances.



I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

Papy Oli

Had missed your edit, I'll sample that Jones CD.

Surprise of the day : I am loving this Chausson album. Jessye Norman's singing is really working for me, I wasn't expecting that at all. i haven't had the need to actually stop the CD after 3 or 4 tracks as I usually do with melodies. I am just loving this. One first big tick for getting that Armin Jordan box. I am now intrigued to check other melodies CD with Norman.

Olivier

Madiel

I think I already said, Chausson's songs were the most appealing works of his that I heard.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

Papy Oli

I tried some of Dutilleux's main works over the last few days.

I really liked the atmosphere of the 2 Symphonies and some of the piano works, played again by Queffelec.




I wasn't won over by the other works (Monde lointain, Metaboles, Shadows of time, etc..), maybe another day...

Olivier

North Star

The String Quartet Ainsi la nuit is definitely worth checking out also, a ton of atmosphere there.
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

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Papy Oli

Quote from: North Star on April 20, 2021, 07:14:43 AM
The String Quartet Ainsi la nuit is definitely worth checking out also, a ton of atmosphere there.

Hi Karlo,

Ok, I'll check that one, thank you.
Olivier

Papy Oli

Quote from: North Star on April 20, 2021, 07:14:43 AM
The String Quartet Ainsi la nuit is definitely worth checking out also, a ton of atmosphere there.

Tried that one Karlo but not bowled over. Maybe I'll revisit in the future.
Olivier

Papy Oli

Updated page 1 of the thread with the below recent explorations:

Yay - Delibes (Sylvia, Coppélia)

Some good - Dutilleux (symphonies, piano music), Roger-Ducasse (piano music), some Pierné (due to revisting the Bavouzet Chandos volumes)

Nay - M.A. Charpentier, Jean Cras, Pierre Henry, D'Indy
Olivier

vandermolen

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Madiel

Quote from: Papy Oli on April 21, 2021, 07:30:13 AM
Updated page 1 of the thread with the below recent explorations:

Yay - Delibes (Sylvia, Coppélia)

Some good - Dutilleux (symphonies, piano music), Roger-Ducasse (piano music), some Pierné (due to revisting the Bavouzet Chandos volumes)

Nay - M.A. Charpentier, Jean Cras, Pierre Henry, D'Indy

I'm getting many composers behind now. You did Pierné earlier though, right? Or am I getting mixed up with Vierne?
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

Papy Oli

Quote from: Madiel on April 22, 2021, 02:13:44 AM
I'm getting many composers behind now. You did Pierné earlier though, right? Or am I getting mixed up with Vierne?

Yes I did some Pierné some while back and it didn't work for me at the time. After Bavouzet really converted me on Debussy, I looked at his discography and noticed he was part of the Pierné series on Chandos so I listened to those more recently and i enjoyed them.

I haven't done Vierne yet, it is in the pipeline. I have a few recordings lined up on Idagio.

I have tried to update page 1 of the thread with who/what I have listened to so far and who's yet to explore (bar a few possible gaps of course).
Olivier