Charles Koechlin(1867-1950)

[The new erato]

Yes that is indeed the (only) recording of these Chorals for "open air festivals/ popular festivals". But the sound is dated and definitely not top notch.
If I'm not mistaken they are on Spotify.

Peter

It's a bad CD transfer. I have the CD and the LP, and the LP sound is staggering (and far, far better than the CD) - demonstration quality! So what we really need is a new remastering.

[pjme]

Aha!
So I should try to find the LP...(i had it, many years ago, but I gave all my Lps away...)

still, it would be nice to have at least one new performance!

I'm sure some Norwegian wind ensemble would be delighted to perform this , combined with similar works ...

Peter

[Karl Henning]

It's a bad CD transfer. I have the CD and the LP, and the LP sound is staggering (and far, far better than the CD) - demonstration quality! So what we really need is a new remastering.

Zowie.

[milk]

I'm curious if anyone knows this recording or these compositions.

I guess this one wasn't a big hit.

[pjme]

http://www.jeanpierreferey.com/Source/Home.html

AFAIK, Ferey is a talented & serious pianist. But Koechlin's piano music is "not popular"...

Peter

[milk]

http://www.jeanpierreferey.com/Source/Home.html

AFAIK, Ferey is a talented & serious pianist. But Koechlin's piano music is "not popular"...

Peter

I like the "Les heures persanes" and "Paysages Et Marines." I'm curious about the preludes since they're late works.

[NikF]

Although I find Bruno Rigutto's performance of the Ballade for piano and orchestra well prepared and refined, we could do with a new recording.
The Ballade exists in a solo version, which can be found on this disc:

Noted. And thanks for pointing it out.

[Spineur]

I managed to listen to this recording a couple of times in the past two weeks, and I asked a friend of mine what he knew about this work.  He sent me a short essay (in french), and after google translate+some cleanup from my part, I am happy to share it with you.

Notes on the Jungle Book Koechlin

On top of Charles Koechlin composition "The Jungle Book", by Rudyard Kipling.

This is a vast symphonic poem consisting of four parts: the Law of the Jungle op. 175 (1934), the Bandar-log op. 176 (1939-1940), Meditation of Purun Bahgat op. 159 (1936) and the Spring Racing op. 95 (1911-1927). Three older pieces, the three poems for soloists, chorus and orchestra op. 18 can come between Meditation of Purun Bahgat and Run Spring.

The order desired by the composer does not follow closely that of Kipling, meanwhile, who changed the book into two volumes in its final edition in 1897. The Law of the Jungle belongs to Second Jungle Book, but it is at the top of the orchestral suite. On the other hand, Koechlin made a selection in The Books of Kipling's Jungle with a total of more than four parts. But the operated selection stresses the symbolism present in Kipling masterpiece.  Finally clarifications, about the original titles:  the Bandar-Log refer to the "Road Song of the Bandar-Log", "The Miracle of Purun Bahgat" becomes "Meditation of Purun Bahgat. "

Koechlin lived with this work so long in his life (he worked there from 1899 to 1950) reveals it importance in his mind. The permanence of this creation also pays quite well to one of the directions of this book, that of education, a symbolic journey of man. If the quality of a symbolic writing lies in its ability to be read at different levels, no doubt everyone will be sensitive to Koechlin partition. This is the jungle! We find everything, and everything is more beautiful: rhythms, melodies, colors, harmonic maps, orchestral scenes etc.

The law of the jungle is a fundamental mystery, the prelude to social life. It is therefore not the "law of the jungle" as might ordinarily understand today. The mystery is drawn by the winds - especially in the brass - and symphonic ensemble works on a repeatable define sentence with an oriental fashion. The law is strong. Woe to him who does not respect it. And the law is love, as shown in the spring race.

The Bandar-log, are the monkeys that Kipling, in general, depicts number of defects, especially laziness. For Koechlin, monkeys, are the minds locked into systems, spirits led by opinions, fashions. They are easily recognized, with strong mischievous talent of the composer, in neoclassical style, atonal or polytonal. Then the masters that Baloo and Bagheera represent scare away the jungle then finds serenity.

Meditation Bahgat Purun, Purun the Holy man, elevates us in the Himalayan heights. Purun, former Prime Minister of Maharajah, became a hermit. In the orchestra, which Koechlin uses all the resources of ascension scale is modal polyphony. The mountain collapses on the villagers, but the wise man does not remain in his prayers. He asked them to leave their homes and shouts "Leave none behind, we follow".  The wise man lives in ideas but his action can still 'prove essential for his company'. And Koechlin must think a little role of guru he is ...

The spring race is the final of the Jungle Book. The little man became a man. He will join men and leave his friends in the forest. "Man goes to Man!" It is also the law of change, of transformation, of separation. All around Mowgli awake and he runs because he feels that the time for a new language approach. He left his masters that have these words: "From now we follow new paths". Koechlin wanted to give a lesson that it would not be taken as otherwise firstly, references, allusions between the situation of the musician-Mowgli and his release are quite clear. On the other hand, the polyphonic demonstration is striking - the presence in the orchestra of a piano, an organ ... Be careful for this release, you must know the law - it ' is to say, all that tradition of music has brought.

[Mirror Image]

Thanks for the info. Perhaps a fair question at this juncture would be how did you like The Jungle Book? What are your impressions of it?

[Spineur]

Overall, I liked it a lot, although the musical styles are quite different, since the different pieces were composed over such a long period of time.  Only the Op. 18 has some overlap with Ravel style (no 2 remind me of the chansons madecasses).  Everything else is quite different.  As noted by you and my fiend in his essay, the orchestration is fabulous.  And as he say, "La loi de la jungle" is a towering summit.  That piece, but that piece alone, is IMHO one of the top 10 compositions of the 20th century.

In Zinman recording, the pieces are ordered by opus numbers, not according to the order specified by Koechlin, which is not the order in Ruyard Kipling book either.  Since I converted everything to flac,  I will reorder the different pieces as Koechlin specifies, and I will tell you if this does changes my overall impressions.

[pjme]

I don't know if someone has put these YT recordings on GMG?

Sound quality is poor, but good enough to discover a few major koechlin scores:

Symphony nr 1

https://www.youtube.com/v/TgqjFx4Vlgc

Symphony nr 2

https://www.youtube.com/v/Wj2yktTsspU

Hymne au soleil

https://www.youtube.com/v/-cYUVHlkWlE

La cité nouvelle

https://www.youtube.com/v/smI-UXUGSCY

Nuit de Walpurgis ( really poor sound...)

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

Hymne à la nuit

https://www.youtube.com/v/sjkipI5cIKI

[Karl Henning]

I don't know if someone has put these YT recordings on GMG?

Sound quality is poor, but good enough to discover a few major koechlin scores:

Symphony nr 1

https://www.youtube.com/v/TgqjFx4Vlgc

Symphony nr 2

https://www.youtube.com/v/Wj2yktTsspU

Hymne au soleil

https://www.youtube.com/v/-cYUVHlkWlE

La cité nouvelle

https://www.youtube.com/v/smI-UXUGSCY

Nuit de Walpurgis ( really poor sound...)

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

Thanks!

[pjme]

Koechlin's second symphony (contemporary of Chostakovitch nr 8, William Schuman nr 5, RVW nr 5, Walter Piston nr 2, Blomdahl nr 1, Roy Harris nr 6, Milhaud nr 2, ....) is an imposing and very complex work.
Large orchestra: woodwinds à 4, 6 horns, 4 trumpets & trombones, tuba, 2 sax, celesta, multiple percussion, timpani,xylophone, vibraphone,  marimba, organ, piano, 4 ondes Martenot, strings.
5 movements:
Fugue sur un sujet d'Ernest le Grand ( le Grand (1870-1955) pupil of Fauré and Koechlin)
Scherzo: l'âme libre et fantasque
Andante ( suite de 6 chorals)
Fugue modale sur un sujet de Catherine Urner (Catherine Urner (1891-1942) american pupil & close friend/lover of Koechlin)
Final

The "Fugue modale" exists in two versions: one with 4 Martenots, one without.

Polytonality, archaic modality, contrapuntal mastery...brillant orchestration and a wonderful sense of "progression"... Would love to hear it in a good, modern recording!

P.

[Mirror Image]

Overall, I liked it a lot, although the musical styles are quite different, since the different pieces were composed over such a long period of time.  Only the Op. 18 has some overlap with Ravel style (no 2 remind me of the chansons madecasses).  Everything else is quite different.  As noted by you and my fiend in his essay, the orchestration is fabulous.  And as he say, "La loi de la jungle" is a towering summit.  That piece, but that piece alone, is IMHO one of the top 10 compositions of the 20th century.

In Zinman recording, the pieces are ordered by opus numbers, not according to the order specified by Koechlin, which is not the order in Ruyard Kipling book either.  Since I converted everything to flac,  I will reorder the different pieces as Koechlin specifies, and I will tell you if this does changes my overall impressions.

The order of the Zinman has always puzzled me since, as you mentioned, is the not the order Koechlin had requested. Glad to hear the work made a good impression overall. If you're interested, there's another recording of the complete Jungle Book available with Stuart Bedford conducting the Orchestre National de Montpellier L.-R. on the Musicales Actes Sud label. I think since this release it's been reissued. Anyway, this recording follows the correct order. The only caveat to my mind is that it's a live recording that has included applause after each piece. Pretty annoying, but I'm sure if you rip the disc you can add faders on the end of each track to cut the applause out. I'm actually going to try this myself via iTunes. We'll see how this goes!

P.S. I do need to revisit this work and specifically listen to La loi de la jungle. It must be good! I can't remember it right now.

[Scion7]

Anyone had a look at this book?  It delves into areas Robert Orledge apparently was uncomfortable to address.

[snyprrr]

I've finally landed on the shores of Koechlin Country


My but does he ramble on and on!!



He always seems somewhat restrained and full of vague melodies that wander and meander about- it's all very pleasant but I find a certain quality of anonymity that leaves me a little Meh.

The Violin, Cello, and Viola Sonatas all seemed a bit loose limbed for me,... the Oboe Sonata (Daniel/Drake) goes on for 30mins.!! I did enjoy the much shorter BASSOON SONATA, and the very lovely FLUTE SONATA. The Tuckwell horn CD is great playing, but, it does seem like a LOT of horn there, lol.

String Quartets 1-3: No.2 is the BigOne, and essential for understanding, but, I just wasn't carried away


The Wind Septet, some of the other Ensemble Music,... I dunno, I feel like I should be on hospital drugs listening to this stuff


Koechlin DOES stand apart from all the other overtly French Composers- his flute works don't ever seem to make it on any Poulenc-styled recital. His works seem to belong to him alone. I SHOULD LOVE HIM ON PAPER, but it's just not translating for me- I have F :(ldman for this kind of mood...


So far, the bassoon and flute sonatas are what I've enjoyed is that it???

[Mirror Image]

Oh well, I love Koechlin and have praised his individuality for years. It's always important to remember: "One person's garbage is another person's treasure."

[snyprrr]

Your suspicion i wrong, Actually they are pretty ordinary and slightly dull.

Oh well, I love Koechlin and have praised his individuality for years. It's always important to remember: "One person's garbage is another person's treasure."

I recall your discovery here on the Thread... still, 33 Pages is a lot to wade through!!

I don't think garbage/treasure is the right analogy though,... it's not that great a rgulf!!! Maybe all the other Miniature Frenchy Stuff has me in a shorter mood span?



NEW ERATO?

[Mirror Image]

One listen to Le buisson ardent, Parts I & II from the Holliger-led performance on the Hänssler label (w/ the Stuttgart RSO) and I became an admirer of his music. There are some composers where it takes me quite some time to come to appreciate, but with Koechlin, it was instantaneous.

[Mirror Image]

I'm not sure if this newer release has been talked about, but I'd love to know what some of you (who have heard it of course) think about it:



I bought it a few days ago.