Charles Koechlin(1867-1950)

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Here is a list of Koechlin's output I pulled from Wikipedia. I'm not sure how complete this is, but as you can tell he was extremely prolific:

Symphonies

Symphony in A major (1893–1900)
Symphony No.1 op.57bis (orchestral version, 1926, of String Quartet No.2)
The Seven Stars Symphony op.132 (1933)
Symphonie d'Hymnes (1936) [cycle of previously-composed independent movements]
Symphony No.2 op.196 (1943–44)[4]

Symphonic Poems

La Forêt, op.25 (1897–1906) & op.29 (1896–1907)
Nuit de Walpurgis classique op.38 (1901–1916)
Soleil et danses dans la forêt op.43 no.1 (1908–11)
Vers la plage lointaine, nocturne op.43 no.2 (1908–1916)
Le Printemps op.47 no.1 (1908–11)
L'Hiver op.47 no.2 (1908–10 orch 1916)
Nuit de Juin op.48 no.1 (1908–11 orch 1916)
Midi en Août op.48 no.2 (1908–11 orch 1916)
La Course de printemps op.95 (1908–25) (Jungle Book Cycle)
Vers la Voûte étoilée op.129 (1923–33)
La Méditation de Purun Bhaghat op.159 (1936) (Jungle Book Cycle)
La Cité nouvelle, rêve d'avenir op.170 (1938; after H.G. Wells)
La Loi de la Jungle op.175 (1939–40) (Jungle Book Cycle)
Les Bandar-log op.176 (1939–40) (Jungle Book Cycle)
Le Buisson ardent opp.203 (1945) & 171 (1938)
Le Docteur Fabricius op.202 (1941–44, orch 1946)

Other Orchestral Works

En rêve op.20 no.1 (1896–1900)
Au loin op.20 no.2 (1896–1900)
L'Automne, symphonic suite op.30 (1896–1906)
Études Antiques op.46 (1908–10)
Suite légendaire op.54 (1901–15)
5 Chorals dans les modes du moyen-age op.117 bis (1931 orch. 1932)
Fugue Symphonique 'Saint-Georges' op.121 (1932)
L'Andalouse dans Barcelone op.134 (1933)
Les Eaux vives – music for 1937 Paris Exposition Universelle, op.160 (1936)
Victoire de la vie op.167 (1938 – score for film by Henri Cartier)
Offrande musicale sur le nom de BACH op.187 (1942–46)
Partita for chamber orchestra op.205
Introduction et 4 Interludes de style atonal-sériel op.214 (1947–48)

Solo Instrument and Orchestra

3 Chorals for organ and orchestra op.49 (1909–16)
Ballade for piano and orchestra op.50 (1911–19) (also for solo piano)
Poème for horn and orchestra op.70 bis (1927 orch of Horn Sonata)
2 Sonatas for clarinet and chamber orchestra, opp.85 bis & 86 bis (1946 arrs of sonatas for clarinet and piano)
20 Chansons bretonnes for cello and orchestra op.115 (1931–32) (arrs of 20 Chansons bretonnes for cello and piano)
Silhouettes de Comédie for bassoon and orchestra op.193
2 Sonatines for oboe d'amore and chamber orchestra op.194 (1942–43)

Wind Band

Quelques chorals pour des fêtes populaires op.153 (1935–36)

Chamber Music

String Quartet No.1 op.51 (1911–13)
Sonata, flute and piano op.52 (1913)
Sonata, viola and piano op.53
Suite en quatuor pour flûte, violon, alto et piano op.55 (1911–1915)
String Quartet No.2 op.57 (1911–15) [see also Symphony No.1]
Sonata, oboe and piano op.58 (1911–16)
Sonata, violin and piano op.64 (1915–16)
Sonata, cello and piano op.66 (1917)
Sonata, horn and piano op.70 (1918–25)
Sonata, bassoon and piano op.71 (1918–1919)
String Quartet No.3 op.72 (1917–21)
Sonata, 2 flutes op.75 (1920)
Sonata No.1, clarinet and piano op.85 (1923)
Sonata No.2, clarinet and piano op.86 (1923)
Trio for flute, clarinet and bassoon (or violin, viola and violoncello) (1927)
Piano Quintet op.80
20 Chansons bretonnes for cello and piano op.115 (1931–32)
L'Album de Lilian (Book I) for soprano, flute, clarinet, piano op.139 (1934)
L'Album de Lilian (Book II) for flute, piano, harpsichord, Ondes Martenot op.149 (1935)
Quintet No.1 for flute, harp and string trio Primavera op.156 (1936)
14 Pièces for flute and piano op.157b (1936)
Épitaphe de Jean Harlow for flute, alto saxophone and piano op.164 (1937)
Septet for wind instruments op.165 (1937)
14 Pièces for clarinet and piano op.178 (1942)
14 Pièces for oboe and piano op.179 (1942)
15 Pièces for horn (or saxophone) and piano op.180 (1942)
15 Études for saxophone and piano op.188 (1942–44)
Sonate à sept for flute, oboe, harp and string quartet op.221
Morceau de lecture pour la flûte op. 218 (1948)
Quintet No.2 for flute, harp and string trio Primavera II op.223 (1949)
Stèle funéraire for flute, piccolo and alto flute op.224 (1950)

Instrumental Music

5 Sonatines for piano op.59 (1915–16)
4 Sonatines Françaises for piano duet, op.60 (1919) [also version for orchestra]
Paysages et Marines for piano op.63 (1915–16) [also arr. chamber ensemble]
Les Heures persanes, 16 pieces for piano op.65 (1913–19) [also orchestral version]
12 Pastorales for piano op.77 (1916–20)
4 Nouvelles Sonatines françaises for piano op.87 (1923–24)
L'Ancienne Maison de campagne for piano op.124 (1923–33)
Danses pour Ginger Rogers for piano op.163 (1937)
Vers le soleil – 7 monodies for Ondes Martenot op.174 (1939)
Suite for cor anglais op.185 (1942)
Les Chants de Nectaire, 96 pieces for flute solo in 3 series, opp.198, 199 & 200 (1944)
15 Préludes for piano op.209 (1946)
Le Repos de Tityre for oboe d'amore solo op.216

Choral Works

L'Abbaye, Suite religieuse for soli, chorus and orchestra opp.16 & 42 (1908)
3 Poèmes for soli, chorus and orchestra op.18 (Jungle Book Cycle)
Chant funèbre à la mémoire des jeunes femmes défuntes for chorus and orchestra op.37 (1902–08)
Chant pour Thaelmann for choir and piano or wind band op.138 (1934)
Requiem des pauvres bougres for chorus, orchestra, piano, organ and Ondes Martenot op.161 (1936–37)

Songs
(many with orchestra)

Rondels, Set I op.1 (1890–95)
4 Poèmes d'Edmond Haraucourt op.7 (1890–97)
Rondels, Set II op.8 (1891–96)
Poèmes d'automne op.13 (1894–99)
Rondels, Set III op.14 (1896–1901)
3 Mélodies op.17 (1895–1900)
2 Poèmes d'André Chénier op.23 (1900–02)
6 Mélodies sur des poésies d'Albert Samain op.31 (1902-6)
5 Chansons de Bilitis op.39 (1898–1908)
5 Mélodies sur des poèmes de 'Shéhérazade' de Tristan Klingsor Series I op.56 (1914–16)
8 Mélodies sur des poèmes de 'Shéhérazade' de Tristan Klingsor Series II op.84 (1922-3)
7 Chansons pour Gladys op.151 (1935)

[cilgwyn]

Mouth watering stuff there! I'd love to hear the 'Symphonie d'Hymnes', Surely Hanssler have this on their list of Koechlin works to record!
And,I may be wrong,but I don't think the early symphonies (if they still exist) prior to the wonderful 'Seven Stars Symphony' or the Second symphony have been recorded. I would check online,but I'd probably go on a Koechlin buying spree.
Incidentally,I have the choral work 'L'Abbaye' on cd,but with the (optional,I believe) organ accompaniment. I don't think it has been mentioned in this thread. I shall put the cd on as soon as I can locate it & report back with my reactions to it.
I do wish Sisyphe would re-issue their 3cd set of 'Le chants de nectaire'. As soon as I got round to buying it the set was deleted. With Koechlin the old saying 'strike while the iron is hot' is very true. There is a horribly expensive (on my current budget!) download I note. Perhaps an unusually generous seller may cough up a copy eventually!

[Mirror Image]

Mouth watering stuff there! I'd love to hear the 'Symphonie d'Hymnes', Surely Hanssler have this on their list of Koechlin works to record!
And,I may be wrong,but I don't think the early symphonies (if they still exist) prior to the wonderful 'Seven Stars Symphony' or the Second symphony have been recorded. I would check online,but I'd probably go on a Koechlin buying spree.
Incidentally,I have the choral work 'L'Abbaye' on cd,but with the (optional,I believe) organ accompaniment. I don't think it has been mentioned in this thread. I shall put the cd on as soon as I can locate it & report back with my reactions to it.
I do wish Sisyphe would re-issue their 3cd set of 'Le chants de nectaire'. As soon as I got round to buying it the set was deleted. With Koechlin the old saying 'strike while the iron is hot' is very true. There is a horribly expensive (on my current budget!) download I note. Perhaps an unusually generous seller may cough up a copy eventually!

The only symphony I know of that has been recorded is the Seven Stars Symphony. Other than this, I don't think any of them have been recorded. I would love to hear these works as well. I would love to hear all of his symphonic poems as well as there are many of these that haven't been recorded either. An observation of mine, looking at this list, is it took Koechlin 10 years to compose Vers la Voûte étoilée. This is interesting. I wonder if it was just he composed a little of it at a time or what? I'll have to read the liner notes on the Hanssler recording to find out.

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Mouth watering stuff there! I'd love to hear the 'Symphonie d'Hymnes', Surely Hanssler have this on their list of Koechlin works to record!

You know this is what I've been wondering myself. The last recording of orchestral music in the Hanssler series led by Holliger was in 2009 with this release:

[asin]B002G3DTX4[/asin]

[cilgwyn]

Indeed! Logic tells you that if they are to continue with the series they've got to get to that one sooner....or later. It's obviously a glaring omission in the Koechlin discography. Of course,for all we know they could be working on it now. Not necessarily recording it,but all the relevant preparatory work that goes on before a recording of a long neglected or unperformed work can actually get to happen.
  And yes,I'd like to hear some more of the symphonic poems & suites in that list. The more the merrier,eh? Early works are interesting to hear too. They may have a less distinctive profile,but they are all part of the 'crossword puzzle',and you need to hear them.
Of the choral works,that 'Requiem' sounds interesting. I notice it includes his beloved Ondes martenot!

[cilgwyn]

I finally located the Skarbo cd of 'L'Abbaye'. After looking & looking and almost giving up I heard a 'crack'. I looked down & there it was in the box with the front of the jewel case cracked! But at least I found it. (As soon as I have more bags I will continue clearing out my spare room. A Herculaean task!). But here it is AND the Hanssler recording of 'Les Heures persanes' & the Hyperion/Helios cd 'Music for Flute',AND the other Blossom Dearie album which I KNEW I had,'Blossom Dearie sings Comden and Green'! Whoooo-hooooooooo!
I won't play the Helios or Hanssler cd's until later on in the night as it is quiet music & I will be less likely to be disturbed by non musical people in the lane along side.
The 'Sonata for two flutes' is one of the best Koechlin works I have heard. Haunting,mysterious music. It beats Ravel & Debussy any day,in my book!

[cilgwyn]

Koechlin seems to have had a particular fondness for the flute (as well as the OM).

[cilgwyn]

Post No 4 in a row! The music on this Helios cd really IS lovely. I REALLY DO recommend this one & it SHOULD be cheap.......but oh my goodness,Hyperion have deleted it & the Amazon sellers are asking allot! (I got it for next to nothing!).
I must admit to not being big on songs,but Koechlin did write nice ones.

[cilgwyn]

Lovely songs actually,why aren't they more popular? (Silly question I know!).

[cilgwyn]

Can't take any more! The Sisyphe 3cd box set of 'Les Chants de nectaire' is downloading right now. Cost me £15.99 though. That's dedication for you. It'll be off to the soup kitchen to join the hungry tramps later. Or maybe I can buy a big dog & flog the 'Big Issue'?

[Mirror Image]

Indeed! Logic tells you that if they are to continue with the series they've got to get to that one sooner....or later. It's obviously a glaring omission in the Koechlin discography. Of course,for all we know they could be working on it now. Not necessarily recording it,but all the relevant preparatory work that goes on before a recording of a long neglected or unperformed work can actually get to happen.
  And yes,I'd like to hear some more of the symphonic poems & suites in that list. The more the merrier,eh? Early works are interesting to hear too. They may have a less distinctive profile,but they are all part of the 'crossword puzzle',and you need to hear them.
Of the choral works,that 'Requiem' sounds interesting. I notice it includes his beloved Ondes martenot!

The Requiem does indeed sound interesting. I bet it's a haunting work. I, too, would like to hear more of his early music. I'd to hear how his style developed as the years have gone by.

[cilgwyn]

As you can see I've been keeping the thread going while you've been gone.
Yes,early and late. A pity he never tried opera (or did he?),but probably a good thing (for him) in the circumstances.
This flute music is very varied & in many ways the ultimate in new age music,but maybe too interesting to fit under that label. I looked at the Musicweb review of 'Les Chants de nectaire' & apparently there is or was another complete recording ( Basta Music on 5cd's). As far as I can make out the one I downloaded is the only one available. Andrew Clements on 'The Guardian' website gives the cd set a quite enthusiastic review. I was also glad to see that Musicweb recommended my Helios 'Music for flute' cd.
  Unfortunately my cd Writer refused to burn my download of 'Les Chants' after about 25 or 26 tracks due to an 'error detected'.Although I managed to get one cd-r out of it. Fortunately,I am able to listen to the entire work via my pc & my Sennheiser headphones. I will have to try & get to the bottom of this somehow. I'm more of a cassette man myself unfortunately.
If anyone out there can help I'd love to hear from you!
Failing all,I could always record from Windows Media onto my cassette player!!!!!!!!!

[cilgwyn]

.....now where's that nice Teac cassette deck I was drooling over!

[cilgwyn]

Listening to 'L'Abbaye' now. This really is lovely music,Very serene & the organ accompaniment is very evocative,(of an Abbey of course!).A very well recorded and performed disc. A delightful change from the Faure Requiem. Yet I am unable to find anything much about this work on the internet,let alone reviews. The front cover features one of Koechlin's 'photos' taken with a verascope,which I believe was an early French stereoscopic camera. The cd also includes some interesting solo organ works.

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As you can see I've been keeping the thread going while you've been gone.

Yes and I appreciate your dedication to Koechlin. If only we can get more people turned onto the music, but this is a task for another day as today I'm too tired.

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I hope that haydnfan gives Koechlin another try, but he never did answer my question as to whether he liked Impressionistic music or not? Anyway, it's good see Karl getting on good with the music. Karl compared Koechlin to Hovhaness and in some ways I agree, but in other ways I have to disagree. Hovhaness never wrote anything that sounded anything like The Spring Running or Las Bandar-log. These two works are a little too savage, especially with their almost atonal outbursts in the climaxes. Koechlin's style was somewhere between Impressionism, Neoclassicism, and the early developments of Messiaen, but more tonally inclined of course. I imagine Messiaen heard some of Koechlin's work at some point. Koechlin favored lush chord voicings as did Debussy and Ravel. Karl described his music beautifully a page or two back in this thread. The music sounds simple, but can change quickly into something more complex in a matter of minutes as Koechlin enjoyed creating vast walls of sound with these chord voicings. Here is what the Wikipedia article said about his style and compositions:

Koechlin was enormously prolific, as the worklist below (by no means exhaustive) suggests. He was highly eclectic in inspiration (nature, the mysterious orient, French folksong, Bachian chorale, Hellenistic culture, astronomy, Hollywood movies, etc.) and musical technique, but the expressive core of his language remained distinct from his contemporaries. At the start of his career he concentrated on songs with orchestral accompaniment, few of which were performed as intended during his lifetime. A recent (2006) recording of a selection (Hänssler Classic CD93.159) shows he was already master of an individual impressionism deriving less from Debussy than from Berlioz and Fauré. Thereafter he concentrated on symphonic poems, chamber and instrumental works.

After World War I his continuing devotion to the symphonic poem and the large orchestra at a period when neoclassicism and small ensembles were more fashionable may have discouraged performance and acceptance of his works. His compositions include the four symphonic poems and three orchestral songs making up Livre de la jungle after Rudyard Kipling; many other symphonic poems including Le Buisson Ardent after Romain Rolland (this is a diptych of two orchestral poems, performable separately) and Le Docteur Fabricius after a novel by his uncle Charles Dollfus; three string quartets; five symphonies including a Seven Stars Symphony inspired by Hollywood; sonatas for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola and cello, and much other chamber music; many songs, over two hundred opus numbers in all; and a vast number of monodies, fugal studies, chorale harmonizations and other educational pieces. Many works remain unpublished, however.

He wrote in several styles, sometimes severe Baroque counterpoint, as in the fugue that opens his Second Symphony (unrecorded as of 2005), sometimes "impressionistically" as in the tone poem Au Loin, or, as in the Symphony No.2's scherzo, yet more astringently. He could go from extreme simplicity to extreme complexity of texture and harmony from work to work, or within the same work. Some of his most characteristic effects come from a very static treatment of harmony, savouring the effect of, for instance, a stacked-up series of fifths through the whole gamut of the instruments. His melodies are often long, asymmetrical and wide-ranging in tessitura. He was closely interested in the works of Schoenberg, some of which he quoted from memory in his treatise on Orchestration. The twelve tone technique is one of the several modern music styles parodied in the 'Jungle Book' symphonic poem Les Bandar-Log, but Koechlin also wrote a few pieces in what he described as the 'style atonal-sériel'. He was fascinated by the movies and wrote many 'imaginary' film scores and works dedicated to the Hollywood actress Lilian Harvey, on whom he had a crush. His Seven Stars Symphony features movements inspired by Douglas Fairbanks, Lilian Harvey, Greta Garbo, Clara Bow, Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings and Charlie Chaplin in some of their most famous film roles. He also composed an Epitaph for Jean Harlow and a suite of dances for Ginger Rogers. He was interested in using unusual instruments, notably the saxophone and the early electronic instrument the Ondes Martenot. One movement of the Second Symphony requires four of them (and has not usually been included in the few performances of the work, for that reason). He also wrote several pieces for the hunting-horn, an instrument he himself played. Koechlin orchestrated several pieces by other composers. In addition to the Fauré Pelléas et Mélisande suite mentioned above he orchestrated the bulk of Claude Debussy's 'legende dansée' Khamma under the composer's direction, from the piano score [1], and orchestrated Cole Porter's ballet Within the Quota; other works he transcribed include Schubert's Wanderer Fantasie and Chabrier's Bourrée Fantasque.

[karlhenning]

I hope that haydnfan gives Koechlin another try, but he never did answer my question as to whether he liked Impressionistic music or not? Anyway, it's good see Karl getting on good with the music. Karl compared Koechlin to Hovhaness and in some ways I agree, but in other ways I have to disagree. Hovhaness never wrote anything that sounded anything like The Spring Running or Las Bandar-log.

Now, MI, you know that the only Koechlin I've listened to thus far is Fabricius.  So clearly I am not claiming that the two other titles you cite are at all like Hovhaness ; )  Of course, I don't know that Hovhaness wrote anything with ondes martenot, either . . . .

[karlhenning]

And, yes, I've read of the breadth of style in his large output; so rest assured that I do not suppose that Fabricius is at all representative of all his work. : )

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Now, MI, you know that the only Koechlin I've listened to thus far is Fabricius.  So clearly I am not claiming that the two other titles you cite are at all like Hovhaness ; )  Of course, I don't know that Hovhaness wrote anything with ondes martenot, either . . . .

Hovhaness composed so much music that I'm sure an ondes martenot was used in something.

[Mirror Image]

And, yes, I've read of the breadth of style in his large output; so rest assured that I do not suppose that Fabricius is at all representative of all his work. : )

Well no, but it was the last piece of orchestral music he composed. I wonder had Koechlin lived a few more years (he died at age 83) would have gone? I can only imagine.