Albert Roussel - A Sadly Neglected French Composer.

Started by Superhorn, September 15, 2008, 12:35:07 PM

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Dundonnell

Quote from: erato on December 03, 2008, 01:20:57 AM
Well - compared to what's available of British music compared to other countries with just as strong; or stronger; musical traditions, the availability of British music is verging on the ridiculous. I can take ridiculous  ;D and wish other countries would get their acts together, but I would willingly trade a York Bowen or Cyrill Scott complete works for a complete Hilding Rosenberg (or insert your own choice here, I can think of several). No crticism of the British who are doing a splendid job for their own, but where are Casella editions? Ghedini? Or a Malipiero symphony set of reference standard?

Speaking seriously...you are absolutely correct :) I too would willingly trade in York Bowen or even Cyril Scott for a complete Rosenberg or Casella or good Malipiero cycle! I would add Klaus Egge, David Diamond and George Rochberg to the essential column as well :)

The new erato

Not to mention the need of a fairly extensive Kilpinen Lied Edition. But back to Roussel. Any further recommendations?

bhodges

Just recalled another Roussel recording: Albert Roussel: Chamber Music with Flute (Jayn Rosenfeld and Friends, on Centaur Records).  I don't have other Roussel chamber recordings with which to compare, but this is a delightful disc.

--Bruce

Sean

Roussel isn't the most convincing of the fin de siecle French composers, the exquisite Spider's banquet being a high point; the First symphony is powerfully more head than heart with the Third and Fourth increasingly subtle but never really winning me over, despite the Karajan recording.

There are some of his works available on online radio this week that I'll be playing- anyone know Rustiques for piano, the Sinfonietta for string orch, Psalm 80, or the String quartet?

(I've also explored Bacchus et Ariane, Cello concertino, Petite suite, Divertissement & Flute trio.)

Sean

#44
The String quartet is a lot less characteristically French than the Faure-Debussy-Ravel even if it has a few of their sinuous textures, closer to the Chausson or Saint-Saens's: it's probably closest to the D'Indy, but I never got hold of them.

The new erato

Quote from: Sean on February 27, 2009, 05:12:39 PM
The String quartet is a lot less characteristically French than the Faure-Debussy-Ravel even if it has a few of their sinuous textures, closer to the Chausson or Saint-Saens's: it's probably closest to the D'Indy, but I never got hold of them.
You should, they are absolutely marvellous (particularly nr 3) and should be available on a cheap double Calliope with the Joachim Qt IIRC.


legoru


I'd be very interested to hear this records, if anyone has those and is willing to share in mp3 format. Please, very need!)

karlhenning

#48
Last week when I found Naxos on sale at Arkivmusic — nearly redundant to this post — I found the complete Roussel symphonies box at a pre-order price of $24 for the 4-disc set. The reports of the recordings sounded good, and although I have two recordings each of three out of the four already, the music is good enough that having a third set does not strike me as excessive.  Great thing is that, while the site advised that it would be available 27 July, e-mail came yesterday that it has now shipped.

Sergeant Rock

After being unduly influenced by the Martinu thread, during which I wiped out my retirement funds, I am not going to read this thread. :D

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

listener

It's much easier to collect Roussel than Martinů - only 59 opus numbers of which 17 are song/s that fit on a 2-disc set, and only 2 operas for multi-disc sets.
"Keep your hand on the throttle and your eye on the rail as you walk through life's pathway."

Mirror Image

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on July 20, 2010, 04:35:07 AM
After being unduly influenced by the Martinu thread, during which I wiped out my retirement funds, I am not going to read this thread. :D

Sarge

Wise decision, Sarge. :)

mjwal

I think Roussel's 2nd symphony is his dark horse - and it is dark. I haven't heard the Denève, but am very impressed by the Martinon recording of this. As the disc I have also contains a fantastic performance of his quasi-impressionistic masterpiece, Le Festin del'Araignée, I would recommend this as the Roussel CD de base. The Munch or Cluytens recordings of symphonies 3 and 4 are also very recommendable, full of life and nuance. The question then arises: which recording of the great ballet Bacchus et Ariane?
The Violin's Obstinacy

It needs to return to this one note,
not a tune and not a key
but the sound of self it must depart from,
a journey lengthily to go
in a vein it knows will cripple it.
...
Peter Porter

Brian

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on July 20, 2010, 04:35:07 AM
After being unduly influenced by the Martinu thread, during which I wiped out my retirement funds, I am not going to read this thread. :D

Sarge

Oh, come on. You're going to give Mahler a free pass while you convict Martinu of doing you in?  :D :D

Sergeant Rock

Quote from: Brian on July 21, 2010, 07:04:06 AM
Oh, come on. You're going to give Mahler a free pass while you convict Martinu of doing you in?  :D :D

350 Mahler recordings are as essential to life as food and shelter  8)

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"


pjme

Roussel's tomb in Varengeville.

karlhenning

That looks just like a canvas at the MFA Boston.

pjme

Varengeville is a beautiful little village ( un peu chi chi  :-* quand-même..think of Niagara on the Lake...) in Normandy, ca 10 kms south of Dieppe.

It's Georges Braque's resting place aswell.

The little ( Romanesc) church has exquisite blue windows by Braque. The (very) nearby Parc des Moustiers a wonderful garden/parc designed by sir Edwin Lutyens ( the arts & crafts villa) and gertrude Jekyll ( parts of the garden).

http://www.normandieweb.org/76/offranville/varengevillesurmer/eglise.html



Brian

A funny thing happened to me recently. I got a CD of Roussel's Third and Fourth Symphonies, with Charles Munch and the Orchestre de Concerts Lamoureux, as a MusicWeb reviewing assignment. And lo and behold, a technical glitch had resulted in the tracks getting switched up so that the Fourth Symphony played as follows:
I. Lento - Allegro con brio
III. Allegro scherzando
IV. Allegro molto
II. Lento molto

And I think this has actually ruined the symphony for me. Now I see the symphony as just "reusing the formula of the Third": plugging different tunes into the same framework. Why? Because having the slow movement at the end sounds so much better! Try it for yourself. The sheer bouncy energy of the three consecutive allegros gets you absolutely dying for something slow, like a man in a desert looking for water, and then the gorgeous lento molto comes along and wrings out every drop of melancholy and lyrical beauty and grace and a whole host of other things lacking in the first three movements. And the way the lento ends... like Schubert's Unfinished, it seemed to be floating off into the ether, impossible to follow up.

So there it is. I like the Fourth Symphony better when it's in the wrong order. Part of me was tempted not to warn the record company (High Def Tape Transfers) about the glitch, so more customers could enjoy the surprise. (But I did warn them.) I won't be reprogramming the CD player to set things right, that's for sure.