I see that the increasingly interesting Timpani label(French) is planning the release of Florent Schmitt's two suites from the Incidental Music to 'Antoine e Cleopatre' coupled with a piece called 'Mirages'-
http://www.timpani-records.com/1c1133.html
I have a real soft spot for Schmitt's music-or at least what I have heard of it. He wrote those two splendid works-'La Tragedie de Salome" and Psalm XLVII which are frequently coupled together. Somewhere or other I still have the old Martinon LP version of the coupling and I also have Janowski conducting both works on an Erato Double CD together with the 'Janiana' Symphony for string orchestra, the Suite en Rocaille and the Lied et Scherzo(the performances of Salome and Psalm XLVII have been reissued on Warner Apex). There is a recent coupling on Hyperion conducted by Thierry Fischer which I haven't heard but is reckoned to be better than Janowski. Both Salome and Psalm XLVII are glorious, rich romantic works splendidly orchestrated in a style which is Wagnerian/Straussian
and full of barbaric splendour.
There is the old Marco Polo CD with Leif Segerstam conducting the Rheinland-Pfalz Philharmonic Orchestra in the very late(1958) Symphony No.2 and other short pieces and a Naive CD with the Symphonie Concertante for piano and orchestra(which I have ordered).
Schmitt was a composer whose star set after World War Two as a result of changes in musical taste but also his reputation as an anti-semitic pro-German supporter of the Vichy Regime(although he was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1952). Anyone with a taste for romantic exoticism a la Respighi should however enjoy Schmitt's music.
I am sure that there will be other members who appreciate the wallow!
Surely somebody else likes Schmitt's music??
Florent Schmitt has always been just a name to me, Colin, cropping up in books about other French composers of the time (Ravel, Debussy)... I never came round to listening to him, for one reason or another.
Perhaps now is the time.
Quote from: Jezetha on May 16, 2008, 03:17:47 AM
Florent Schmitt has always been just a name to me, Colin, cropping up in books about other French composers of the time (Ravel, Debussy)... I never came round to listening to him, for one reason or another.
Perhaps now is the time.
All right then...try this review of the recent Hyperion disc-
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classRev/2007/Aug07/Schmitt_Salome_CDA67599.htm
His Dionysiaque is one of the most exciting pieces for band I've ever heard.
I am mainly aware of this composer through a photo of him visiting Vaughan Williams in London in 1958, towards the end of both their lives. I do have a CD of the Tragedy of Salome and must give it a proper listen to. Afraid that I have been put off up until now by the knowledge of his anti-semitism, but I know that I should judge the music on its own merits.
Quote from: vandermolen on May 17, 2008, 04:53:27 AM
I am mainly aware of this composer through a photo of him visiting Vaughan Williams in London in 1958, towards the end of both their lives. I do have a CD of the Tragedy of Salome and must give it a proper listen to. Afraid that I have been put off up until now by the knowledge of his anti-semitism, but I know that I should judge the music on its own merits.
I quite understand, Jeffrey, but please give his music a go if you can. It is immensely exciting stuff!
Quote from: Dundonnell on May 17, 2008, 05:16:50 AM
I quite understand, Jeffrey, but please give his music a go if you can. It is immensely exciting stuff!
Am listening to "Psalm 47" at the moment. It is very exciting stuff :o
Quote from: vandermolen on May 17, 2008, 06:23:52 AM
Am listening to "Psalm 47" at the moment. It is very exciting stuff :o
Which version do you have, Jeffrey? I ask because, although I am playing the Janowski version myself, I have finally rediscovered my LP version with Martinon(what a fine conductor he was!) and will give it a go later. I recall the Martinon as a more polished and inspired performance. Am tempted to buy the Hyperion Fischer.
I wonder if VW first met Schmitt when he was studying with Ravel?
Quote from: Dundonnell on May 17, 2008, 06:34:16 AM
Which version do you have, Jeffrey? I ask because, although I am playing the Janowski version myself, I have finally rediscovered my LP version with Martinon(what a fine conductor he was!) and will give it a go later. I recall the Martinon as a more polished and inspired performance. Am tempted to buy the Hyperion Fischer.
I wonder if VW first met Schmitt when he was studying with Ravel?
Colin,
I have a French EMI recording with Jean Martinon conducting (with Roussel's equally dramatic Psalm 80). I think that this is my only Schmitt CD. I had mistakenly thought it was the Tragedy of Salome. Schmitt's style reminds me a bit of Ropartz; another new discovery for me.
Quote from: vandermolen on May 17, 2008, 06:52:18 AM
Colin,
I have a French EMI recording with Jean Martinon conducting (with Roussel's equally dramatic Psalm 80). I think that this is my only Schmitt CD. I had mistakenly thought it was the Tragedy of Salome. Schmitt's style reminds me a bit of Ropartz; another new discovery for me.
Ah, that may well be the same performance! The LP is an EMI ASD2892(from 1973)-shows how old I am!! ;) The coupling though is Salome.
Glad to hear you have also discovered Ropartz! Lots of good stuff on the Timpani label. I have all the symphonies ;) Nos. 1-2 and 4-5 on Timpani and No. 3 on a EMI CD conducted by Plasson. The lost generation of French composers-Tournemire, Schmitt, Ropartz, Emmanuel, Le Flem-which continued the traditions of Franck, d'Indy etc.
Oh, by the way, Messiaen apparently admired Schmitt's music. It is always interesting to learn of the unexpected(well, maybe not so unexpected!) musical tastes of composers!
Quote from: Dundonnell on May 17, 2008, 07:00:23 AM
Ah, that may well be the same performance! The LP is an EMI ASD2892(from 1973)-shows how old I am!! ;) The coupling though is Salome.
Glad to hear you have also discovered Ropartz! Lots of good stuff on the Timpani label. I have all the symphonies ;) Nos. 1-2 and 4-5 on Timpani and No. 3 on a EMI CD conducted by Plasson. The lost generation of French composers-Tournemire, Schmitt, Ropartz, Emmanuel, Le Flem-which continued the traditions of Franck, d'Indy etc.
Oh, by the way, Messiaen apparently admired Schmitt's music. It is always interesting to learn of the unexpected(well, maybe not so unexpected!) musical tastes of composers!
Sauguet and Magnard are two other French composers I admire. I also have lots of LPs of 1973 vintage!
Quote from: vandermolen on May 17, 2008, 07:17:01 AM
Sauguet and Magnard are two other French composers I admire. I also have lots of LPs of 1973 vintage!
Yes...I should have included those two as well!
Magnard's Third and Fourth are absolute masterpieces. Ansermet and Sanderling are best in the Third, Sanderling in the Fourth (Ossonce tops him in the Finale, though).
IMO, of course...
Quote from: Jezetha on May 17, 2008, 07:24:06 AM
Magnard's Third and Fourth are absolute masterpieces. Ansermet and Sanderling are best in the Third, Sanderling in the Fourth (Ossonce tops him in the Finale, though).
IMO, of course...
Yes, and also Chant Funebre, a very moving piece. I have a box set with Michel Plasson conducting the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse.
Link to Langgaard's Tenth, Jeffrey:
http://rapidshare.com/files/115586418/Langgaard_-_Symphony_No._10.mp3
Quote from: Dundonnell on May 14, 2008, 04:33:03 PM
I see that the increasingly interesting Timpani label(French) is planning the release of Florent Schmitt's two suites from the Incidental Music to 'Antoine e Cleopatre' coupled with a piece called 'Mirages'-
http://www.timpani-records.com/1c1133.html
I have a real soft spot for Schmitt's music-or at least what I have heard of it. He wrote those two splendid works-'La Tragedie de Salome" and Psalm XLVII which are frequently coupled together. Somewhere or other I still have the old Martinon LP version of the coupling and I also have Janowski conducting both works on an Erato Double CD together with the 'Janiana' Symphony for string orchestra, the Suite en Rocaille and the Lied et Scherzo(the performances of Salome and Psalm XLVII have been reissued on Warner Apex). There is a recent coupling on Hyperion conducted by Thierry Fischer which I haven't heard but is reckoned to be better than Janowski. Both Salome and Psalm XLVII are glorious, rich romantic works splendidly orchestrated in a style which is Wagnerian/Straussian
and full of barbaric splendour.
There is the old Marco Polo CD with Leif Segerstam conducting the Rheinland-Pfalz Philharmonic Orchestra in the very late(1958) Symphony No.2 and other short pieces and a Naive CD with the Symphonie Concertante for piano and orchestra(which I have ordered).
Schmitt was a composer whose star set after World War Two as a result of changes in musical taste but also his reputation as an anti-semitic pro-German supporter of the Vichy Regime(although he was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1952). Anyone with a taste for romantic exoticism a la Respighi should however enjoy Schmitt's music.
I am sure that there will be other members who appreciate the wallow!
I have several recordings of both orchestral and pianistic works. Just recently I've come to appreciate the expressive, mournful piano piece called "Spleen," based on Baudelaire''s poem. Also "Ombres" is a magnificent, impressionistic piece.
is anyone familiar with the string quartet in G (1949), a late work which seems to have no recording?
i think he had a few string chamber works that haven't much seen the recording studio. "hasards"? or "habyessees(??)"
Just to jump in-- the tragedy of Salome is one of the classic early 20th works, and simply melts me. It inspired me one night to spent several hours walking through woods alone in the moonlight. (I had the Martinon version from the 70s), and the last few minutes of Psalm 47 are really uplifting. I have the Errato CD that came out in the early 90s with those to works, I think. It was OOP at one point.
I picked up some other disc in the late 80s that didn't catch with me the same-- I'll need to wade back in and find it. I may not have been ready. Maybe its time to renew the acquaintance.
wjp
Quote from: Dundonnell on May 16, 2008, 03:09:56 AM
Surely somebody else likes Schmitt's music??
Thanks for informing me of this thread. I am an ardent admirer of his symphonic and pianistic works. In the other thread I was asking if anyone was familiar with; or, if he/she played works like "Ombres" or "Speen."
These are just part of his repertoire, but I quote them here to emphasize their singular beauty.
Piano Quintet Op.51: Bern SQ/Bartschi (Accord/OOP)
Absolutely great music!! I just went on about it in the Piano Quintets Thread, but, judging by the dearth of posts here, IT MUST BE!
This piece has all the hallmarks of other, sprawling masterpieces, written @1906. I'll be honest, this sounds like the kind of piece that could sound absolutely terrible in the hands of a bad bunch of players, so Fauresque is it, with flickering changes of mood and capricious forays. As I said before, Schmitt is evocative without sounding exotic, a very strange effect for music which on the surface 'sounds' normal.
The Bern SQ I have grown to trust through recordings of Reger, Lachenmann, and Terzakis. Especially in the Reger (duh! ::)), they show themselves to be expert technicians, along with being incredibly passionate performers. Here, they ooze and dribble like molasses, with deliciously thick tone. In other places, they exude a Gallic Heroicism, pointing up the question of whether it's the music, or the performance (I'm going to say that this is Great Music (and a Great Performance)). The pianist, Walter Bartschi (of ECM fame), plays this potential trainwreck of notes as if fairies are dancing on fountains. The whole team's integration also is a source of wonder.
The only real complaint about this (at this point, Historic) recording, is the recording itself. On the plus side, the pale, moonlight, and slightly opaque recording helps to illustrate the EA Poe-like, macabre quality of the music. On the minus side, I might use the word 'serviceable'. It is by no means audiophile, but, it captures a great performance, without any real peaking, though, sometimes in massed climaxes, there may be a bit of 'clotting', or, that little certain something that you just don't want, haha. There, how's that for tech jargon?
The only compare is a cd on Timpani, with the Stanislas SQ (I think), which seems to have disappeared from Amazon recently. Even so, this performance has a perfumed authority to it that are compelling. There is also a recording of the composer himself (EMI), but this is only the slow mvmt.
So, back to the music. Schmitt likes the tinkling piano octaves, which are used to great clocklike effect in the slow mvmt. Also, Schmitt's lyricism never goes 'Hollywood', which, I think, is important to state, because this IS the kind of music that in lesser hands (composer-wise) might have ended up that way. Whereas Bloch practically invented the 'Biblical" sound, Schmitt here has invented a very very beautifully compelling fin de siecle air, without being morbid (on the way to the graveyard, so to speak). Of course, this fetid air really IS there, it's just hidden very well,... kind of like Dorian Gray!
If one looks at Schmitt's opus #s, one sees all his well known masterpieces clustered around these three pieces (this, and the Psalm&TS). Still, I'd love to hear his Late SQ. Either way, this Piano Quintet is in the Top3, if not the GrandPrizeWinner altogether.
Can I get a witness?
Quote from: snyprrr on May 18, 2010, 07:24:21 AM
Piano Quintet Op.51: Bern SQ/Bartschi (Accord/OOP)
Can I get a witness?
In the Piston thread you wrote:
Quote from: snyprrr on April 07, 2010, 07:50:21 PM
I mean, what PQ 20th century masterpieces are there after Shosty and Bloch and Martinu?
To which I responded:
Quote from: erato on April 13, 2010, 09:53:21 AM
And Florent Schmitt.
What more do you want?
Quote from: snyprrr on May 18, 2010, 07:24:21 AM
Piano Quintet Op.51...Can I get a witness?
Not yet...I haven't heard it. But I liked the clips I've listened to and have ordered it. Maybe in a few days, you, Erato and I can hold a revival meeting ;D
Sarge
High Def Tape Transfers are now offering the Martinon recordings of Psalm 47 and La Tragedie de Salome as a 24/196 download. 24/196 seems excesive for this material, though. You can buy the works separately.
http://www.highdeftapetransfers.com/category/197/Florent-Schmitt-Psalm-47-and-La-Tragedie-De-Salome
Actually, I think I may prefer my lowly Angel Lp.
Give Déodat de Séverac's piano music a spin while you're at it.
Quote from: Dundonnell on May 16, 2008, 03:09:56 AM
Surely somebody else likes Schmitt's music??
Excellent composer I have several recordings orchestral and instrumental. I'm trying to procure his orchestral work 'Antonine ET Cleopatre." There is an available recording at amazon and at ArkiveMusic. The costs are quite prohibitive for now. I heard tidbits on Youtube. My guess is that the work is quite similar to the impressionistic, atmospheric French style of the early 20th century. Just a guess. Hopefully more recordings will become available.
Quote from: Daverz on January 28, 2011, 01:03:00 PM
High Def Tape Transfers are now offering the Martinon recordings of Psalm 47 and La Tragedie de Salome as a 24/196 download. 24/196 seems excesive for this material, though. You can buy the works separately.
http://www.highdeftapetransfers.com/category/197/Florent-Schmitt-Psalm-47-and-La-Tragedie-De-Salome
Actually, I think I may prefer my lowly Angel Lp.
Not sure if I'll upgrade, but I adored the vinyl version of the Martinon-- that was the album that got me into Schmitts
Quote from: jowcol on January 30, 2011, 04:10:10 AM
Not sure if I'll upgrade, but I adored the vinyl version of the Martinon-- that was the album that got me into Schmitts
I didn't care for their transfer (from tape, apparently). It could be because my Squeezebox Touch downsamples 196kHz files. I tried downsampling the FLAC "manually" with Sox, with no better results.
Quote from: Dundonnell on May 16, 2008, 03:09:56 AM
Surely somebody else likes Schmitt's music??
Consider me a fan of Schmitt's music what little of it I have heard. I bought Tortelier's new recording with the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra and I've already listened to it twice.
La Tragedie de Salome and
Psalm 47 are absolutely amazing works. I feel bad that I've waited this long to listen to Schmitt as, like Johan mentioned, was just a name that I've encountered in various articles and books. I'm glad I finally took the plunge.
Quote from: Mirror Image on September 05, 2011, 08:56:14 PM
I'm glad I finally took the plunge.
I think I'll re-plunge soon.
Quote from: Mirror Image on September 05, 2011, 08:56:14 PM
Consider me a fan of Schmitt's music what little of it I have heard. I bought Tortelier's new recording with the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra and I've already listened to it twice. La Tragedie de Salome and Psalm 47 are absolutely amazing works. I feel bad that I've waited this long to listen to Schmitt as, like Johan mentioned, was just a name that I've encountered in various articles and books. I'm glad I finally took the plunge.
Have you heard the full length Ballet of the Tragedy of Salome?
http://www.amazon.com/Florent-Schmitt-Complete-Rheinland-Pfalz-Philharmonic/dp/B0000045YK (http://www.amazon.com/Florent-Schmitt-Complete-Rheinland-Pfalz-Philharmonic/dp/B0000045YK)
It's quite enjoyable. As I recall, there wasn't anything there that I had wished was included into the suite but wasnt, but it's a lovely work and nice to hear in a different context.
Sadly, a lot of his work is now Out of Print (OOP).
If you are willing to attempt a download through a free file sharing service and dodge requests for a Russian Mail order bride, I've posted a couple Out of print items from his catalogue. NOTE: PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF ANY OF THESE ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN NEW FORM, AND I'LL YANK THE LINK. If the links are no longer working (I can't check from where I am right now), let me know, and I'll see about getting them back up, assuming, once again, that these are OOP. When I originaily uploaded them, I could not find them on Archiv Music or Amazon.
###############################################
This is a rip of an out-of-print CD of Florent Schmitt Piano works
with Pascal Le Corre performing.
Date of Release: Late 80s/early 90s?
Label/Catalog Number: Cybelia/809
Artist: Pascal Le Corre
Format/Bit Rate: mp3/224 kps
Tracks:
1. Pieces Romantiques
2. Troise Valses Nocturnes
3. Mirages
Download URL: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5BAYAEFC
A review of the album is here:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/March%25201987/91/815840/&usg=AFQjCNHIstOixAFyNbf-z0zXkMOemD7m8Q (http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/March%25201987/91/815840/&usg=AFQjCNHIstOixAFyNbf-z0zXkMOemD7m8Q)
Comments: To be honest, I didn't think that
Schmitt succeeded in coming up with a definitive piano sound like
Debussy, Ravel or Koechlin, but I need to get this another listen, and
thought you all may wish to as well.
###########################################################
Florent Schmitt: Orchestral Works Cybelia/816
This is a rip of an out-of-print CD featuring some of Schmitt's lesser
known works. Although they may not reach the heights of the "Tragedy
of Salome", there is some very enjoyable 20th century orchestral
music to be had.
Date of Release: 1986 (?)
Label/Catalog Number: Cybelia/816
Orchestra: Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Conducted by Pierre
Stoll
Format/Bit Rate: mp3/224 kps
Extraction: From CD by Exact Audio Copy- Encoded by Lame MP3
encoder. Tags edited with MP3 Tag.
Tracks:
1. Oriane et le Prince d'Amour Ballet Suite
2. In Memoriam
3. Ronde Burlesque
4. Legende Pour Alto et Orchestre
Download URL: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1XESLD0Z
Comments:
I've found an old review of this disc online from Gramophone
Magazine , and I'll reproduce it below.
<snip>
SCHMITT. ORCHESTRAL WORKS. Rhineland Palatinate State Philharmonic
Orchestra I Pierre Stoll. Cybelia/D Sharpe CY684.
Oriane et le prince d'amour—ballet suite. In memoriam. Ronde
burlesque.
The name of Florent Schmitt surfaces but infrequently on records
issued in this country: when it has done so, it has nearly always been
with one of his early works, (The only exceptions have been the string
Janiana and the vivacious sextet for clarinets composed at the age of
82.) Ignorance of his output after his famous dance-drama La tragêdie
de Salome (1907) is widespread; so we should thank Pierre Stoll for
his enterprise in recording—for the first time, unless I am mistaken—
three works Schmitt wrote in his late fifties and middle sixties.
The earliest here, and perhaps the best, is the Ronde burlesque
(1927), which may indeed be, by its title and the composer's own
comment on it, a Satie-esque legpull, but sounds more like
Vuillermoz's suggestion (quoted in the score) of the medieval Dance of
Death. Grotesque rather than burlesque, in fact: its febrile gaiety,
grimacing gestures and sardonic mockery are, to my ear, distinctly
sinister. In memoriam is a somewhat unbalanced juxtaposition of a
long, often beautiful, threnody (Cippus feralis), evoking an austere
antique atmosphere, which rises to a powerful climax, and a short,
noisy and dissonant scherzo on the 'musical letters' of his former
teacher Faure's name, which is in fact a rather awkward orchestration
of a piano piece composed 15 years earlier. The most substantial work
' here is the "suite" (can one movement constitute a suite?) from the
'choreographic tragedy' Oriane and the prince of love (originally
Oriane the peerless), written in 1934 for Ida Rubinstein. The story,
centring on a sixteenth-century insatiable and cruel beauty in Avignon
and her eventual violent end, offered Schmitt plentiful opportunities
to indulge his taste for mysterious atmosphere, voluptuous orchestral
colour and barbaric splendour. Like much of his music, its texture is
somewhat over-ripe, and the 20-minute movement does seem on the long
side through lack of sufficiently memorable themes, but the
workmanship and orchestral mastery are not to be denied. The Rhineland
orchestra, if not of the first rank, puts up spirited and colourful
performances, and the recording (originally made for the SWF radio) is
very acceptable.
</snip>
Quote from: jowcol on September 06, 2011, 04:51:52 AM
Have you heard the full length Ballet of the Tragedy of Salome?
http://www.amazon.com/Florent-Schmitt-Complete-Rheinland-Pfalz-Philharmonic/dp/B0000045YK (http://www.amazon.com/Florent-Schmitt-Complete-Rheinland-Pfalz-Philharmonic/dp/B0000045YK)
It's quite enjoyable. As I recall, there wasn't anything there that I had wished was included into the suite but wasnt, but it's a lovely work and nice to hear in a different context.
Sadly, a lot of his work is now Out of Print (OOP).
If you are willing to attempt a download through a free file sharing service and dodge requests for a Russian Mail order bride, I've posted a couple Out of print items from his catalogue. NOTE: PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF ANY OF THESE ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN NEW FORM, AND I'LL YANK THE LINK. If the links are no longer working (I can't check from where I am right now), let me know, and I'll see about getting them back up, assuming, once again, that these are OOP. When I originaily uploaded them, I could not find them on Archiv Music or Amazon.
###############################################
This is a rip of an out-of-print CD of Florent Schmitt Piano works
with Pascal Le Corre performing.
Date of Release: Late 80s/early 90s?
Label/Catalog Number: Cybelia/809
Artist: Pascal Le Corre
Format/Bit Rate: mp3/224 kps
Tracks:
1. Pieces Romantiques
2. Troise Valses Nocturnes
3. Mirages
Download URL: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5BAYAEFC
A review of the album is here:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/March%25201987/91/815840/&usg=AFQjCNHIstOixAFyNbf-z0zXkMOemD7m8Q (http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/March%25201987/91/815840/&usg=AFQjCNHIstOixAFyNbf-z0zXkMOemD7m8Q)
Comments: To be honest, I didn't think that
Schmitt succeeded in coming up with a definitive piano sound like
Debussy, Ravel or Koechlin, but I need to get this another listen, and
thought you all may wish to as well.
###########################################################
Florent Schmitt: Orchestral Works Cybelia/816
This is a rip of an out-of-print CD featuring some of Schmitt's lesser
known works. Although they may not reach the heights of the "Tragedy
of Salome", there is some very enjoyable 20th century orchestral
music to be had.
Date of Release: 1986 (?)
Label/Catalog Number: Cybelia/816
Orchestra: Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Conducted by Pierre
Stoll
Format/Bit Rate: mp3/224 kps
Extraction: From CD by Exact Audio Copy- Encoded by Lame MP3
encoder. Tags edited with MP3 Tag.
Tracks:
1. Oriane et le Prince d'Amour Ballet Suite
2. In Memoriam
3. Ronde Burlesque
4. Legende Pour Alto et Orchestre
Download URL: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1XESLD0Z
Comments:
I've found an old review of this disc online from Gramophone
Magazine , and I'll reproduce it below.
<snip>
SCHMITT. ORCHESTRAL WORKS. Rhineland Palatinate State Philharmonic
Orchestra I Pierre Stoll. Cybelia/D Sharpe CY684.
Oriane et le prince d'amour—ballet suite. In memoriam. Ronde
burlesque.
The name of Florent Schmitt surfaces but infrequently on records
issued in this country: when it has done so, it has nearly always been
with one of his early works, (The only exceptions have been the string
Janiana and the vivacious sextet for clarinets composed at the age of
82.) Ignorance of his output after his famous dance-drama La tragêdie
de Salome (1907) is widespread; so we should thank Pierre Stoll for
his enterprise in recording—for the first time, unless I am mistaken—
three works Schmitt wrote in his late fifties and middle sixties.
The earliest here, and perhaps the best, is the Ronde burlesque
(1927), which may indeed be, by its title and the composer's own
comment on it, a Satie-esque legpull, but sounds more like
Vuillermoz's suggestion (quoted in the score) of the medieval Dance of
Death. Grotesque rather than burlesque, in fact: its febrile gaiety,
grimacing gestures and sardonic mockery are, to my ear, distinctly
sinister. In memoriam is a somewhat unbalanced juxtaposition of a
long, often beautiful, threnody (Cippus feralis), evoking an austere
antique atmosphere, which rises to a powerful climax, and a short,
noisy and dissonant scherzo on the 'musical letters' of his former
teacher Faure's name, which is in fact a rather awkward orchestration
of a piano piece composed 15 years earlier. The most substantial work
' here is the "suite" (can one movement constitute a suite?) from the
'choreographic tragedy' Oriane and the prince of love (originally
Oriane the peerless), written in 1934 for Ida Rubinstein. The story,
centring on a sixteenth-century insatiable and cruel beauty in Avignon
and her eventual violent end, offered Schmitt plentiful opportunities
to indulge his taste for mysterious atmosphere, voluptuous orchestral
colour and barbaric splendour. Like much of his music, its texture is
somewhat over-ripe, and the 20-minute movement does seem on the long
side through lack of sufficiently memorable themes, but the
workmanship and orchestral mastery are not to be denied. The Rhineland
orchestra, if not of the first rank, puts up spirited and colourful
performances, and the recording (originally made for the SWF radio) is
very acceptable.
</snip>
Thanks for your help, but I think I'll just wait for Tortelier or somebody else to put out some more recordings. The Rhineland orchestra have, as Sarge pointed out in another thread, tackled some unusual repertoire. They made some decent Koechlin recordings, but thank goodness Heinz Holliger and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony came through with superior performances in excellent audio thanks to Hanssler.
Anyway, I just stopped by this thread to say that Schmitt's music has been winning some new admirers.
Quote from: snyprrr on May 18, 2010, 07:24:21 AM
Piano Quintet Op.51: Bern SQ/Bartschi (Accord/OOP)
Absolutely great music!! I just went on about it in the Piano Quintets Thread, but, judging by the dearth of posts here, IT MUST BE!
This piece has all the hallmarks of other, sprawling masterpieces, written @1906. I'll be honest, this sounds like the kind of piece that could sound absolutely terrible in the hands of a bad bunch of players, so Fauresque is it, with flickering changes of mood and capricious forays. As I said before, Schmitt is evocative without sounding exotic, a very strange effect for music which on the surface 'sounds' normal.
The Bern SQ I have grown to trust through recordings of Reger, Lachenmann, and Terzakis. Especially in the Reger (duh! ::)), they show themselves to be expert technicians, along with being incredibly passionate performers. Here, they ooze and dribble like molasses, with deliciously thick tone. In other places, they exude a Gallic Heroicism, pointing up the question of whether it's the music, or the performance (I'm going to say that this is Great Music (and a Great Performance)). The pianist, Walter Bartschi (of ECM fame), plays this potential trainwreck of notes as if fairies are dancing on fountains. The whole team's integration also is a source of wonder.
The only real complaint about this (at this point, Historic) recording, is the recording itself. On the plus side, the pale, moonlight, and slightly opaque recording helps to illustrate the EA Poe-like, macabre quality of the music. On the minus side, I might use the word 'serviceable'. It is by no means audiophile, but, it captures a great performance, without any real peaking, though, sometimes in massed climaxes, there may be a bit of 'clotting', or, that little certain something that you just don't want, haha. There, how's that for tech jargon?
The only compare is a cd on Timpani, with the Stanislas SQ (I think), which seems to have disappeared from Amazon recently. Even so, this performance has a perfumed authority to it that are compelling. There is also a recording of the composer himself (EMI), but this is only the slow mvmt.
So, back to the music. Schmitt likes the tinkling piano octaves, which are used to great clocklike effect in the slow mvmt. Also, Schmitt's lyricism never goes 'Hollywood', which, I think, is important to state, because this IS the kind of music that in lesser hands (composer-wise) might have ended up that way. Whereas Bloch practically invented the 'Biblical" sound, Schmitt here has invented a very very beautifully compelling fin de siecle air, without being morbid (on the way to the graveyard, so to speak). Of course, this fetid air really IS there, it's just hidden very well,... kind of like Dorian Gray!
If one looks at Schmitt's opus #s, one sees all his well known masterpieces clustered around these three pieces (this, and the Psalm&TS). Still, I'd love to hear his Late SQ. Either way, this Piano Quintet is in the Top3, if not the GrandPrizeWinner altogether.
Can I get a witness?
Well, snyprrr, I just got rid of this recording. :-[ ;D Those were heady days weren't they? ;)
La tragédie de Salomé..... AMAZING piece, have just listened to the first time, Paray's performance. Brilliant stuff, am already in love with it. Now listening to the Bringuier on youtube.
Will need to hear more from this composer.. definitely considering the Tortelier recording! :)
Why wait? Just ordered:
[asin]B004YHBA90[/asin]
Amazing stuff! :)
(http://www.peplums.info/images/00cour/cour41f04.jpg)
read more about this great score at http://florentschmitt.com/2012/10/21/one-heck-of-a-film-score-florent-schmitts-salammbo/
P.
(http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/83/salammbo1925affichefr.jpg)
(http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/5122/salammbo192501rollanorm.jpg)
More exploration of Schmitt tonight:
http://www.youtube.com/v/loG9a96UgTE
Antoine et Cléopâtre
Beautiful piece, what stunning orchestration!
Quote from: madaboutmahler on December 10, 2013, 12:43:49 PM
Why wait? Just ordered:
[asin]B004YHBA90[/asin]
Amazing stuff! :)
Well, this is a great disc! Perhaps Salome doesn't quite match up to Paray's performance, nor the Martinon for the Psalm, but realllly great cd which I'm enjoying giving many listens to! love these two pieces a lot, such fantastic music.
Wondering if any of you have heard these other recordings and how they are?
[asin]B000EQHSIC[/asin]
[asin]B000PMGSB8[/asin]
Those two Salome performances don't match Nezet-Seguin IMHO:
(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B004GX91UC.01.L.jpg)
This is a wonderfully atmospheric and powerful account of Salome that shouldn't be missed, Daniel.
Quote from: Mirror Image on December 27, 2013, 06:35:10 AM
Those two Salome performances don't match Nezet-Seguin IMHO:
(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B004GX91UC.01.L.jpg)
This is a wonderfully atmospheric and powerful account of Salome that shouldn't be missed, Daniel.
If I'm correct in thinking, that one I have heard on youtube, and yes, it was amazing! Very atmospheric indeed. None have beaten Paray quite yet for me though.. what do you think of that recording?
Are the Janowski and Fischer worth getting, John?
Quote from: madaboutmahler on December 27, 2013, 07:09:15 AM
If I'm correct in thinking, that one I have heard on youtube, and yes, it was amazing! Very atmospheric indeed. None have beaten Paray quite yet for me though.. what do you think of that recording?
Are the Janowski and Fischer worth getting, John?
Paray's performance is quite good but I'm not satisfied with the audio aspect of it. It's serviceable, but, still, a fine performance for sure. I don't know the Janowski, but the Fischer is decent enough, it still doesn't beat Nezet-Seguin.
I guess this new release may be of interest:
[asin]B00GIF8KQW[/asin]
Can someone translate the title please? ;)
Have not heard of this work.. has anyone heard it?
The little elf falls asleep. Probably a ballet, and probably never recorded before.
Quote from: The new erato on December 30, 2013, 07:44:53 AM
The little elf falls asleep. Probably a ballet, and probably never recorded before.
Ah thanks, sounds very interesting and exciting! :)
It is indeed a ballet and based on a fairy tale by H.C.Andersen :Ole-Luk-Oie, the Dream-God, Hans Christian Andersen (1842). One can compare the little elfe by the sandman.
One can read the "whole week" of Ole-Luk-Oie here: http://hca.gilead.org.il/
Best wishes for the New year!
P.
The suites to Antony and Cleopatra, and the Haunted Manor tone poem, will soon be released by Naxos. Buffalo Philharmonic; JoAnn Falletta.
The Florent Schmitt Blog has information on all of these works, along with details on the upcoming concerts and recording of "Antoine et Cleopatre" and "Le Palais hante" by the Buffalo Philharmonic, plus the Cleveland Orchestra's performance of "La Tragedie de Salome" in April 2015. There are ~70 different articles on the site covering many of Schmitt's pieces -- both familiar and rare -- as well as interviews with artists who are championing his music in the concert and recital hall. http://florentschmitt.com.
Quote from: The new erato on December 30, 2013, 07:44:53 AM
The little elf falls asleep. Probably a ballet, and probably never recorded before.
I do hope all that sleep had a beneficial effect on his elf?! ;D
Quote from: Phillip Nones on September 29, 2014, 06:35:11 PM
plus the Cleveland Orchestra's performance of "La Tragedie de Salome" in April 2015.
I haven't been "home" in five years. That might be reason enough to fly to Ohio next spring.
Sarge
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on September 30, 2014, 06:02:30 AM
I haven't been "home" in five years. That might be reason enough to fly to Ohio next spring.
Sarge
it's a war zone
I'm a fan of Schmitt, especially his grander works. I always feel like there are a number of competing aspects at work in his music: an almost trite neoclassical pastoral side ( some of his chamber works ), a lush late Romanticism ( most of his work ), and a more angular modernism-light, in the area of Stravinsky's primitivism, but not exactly there ( a lot of orchestral work ).
Probably my favorite work of his ( thus far ... given how little of his work is recorded ) is his
Symphonie Concertante. Blazing, bombastic, yet delightfully suave and rich to the ear.
Quote from: The new erato on December 30, 2013, 07:30:40 AM
I guess this new release may be of interest:
[asin]B00GIF8KQW[/asin]
A release I'd missed entirely! Always good to see a premier recording of his work.
Still hoping for his late String Quartet one day!
To start the New Year in style, I'm treating myself to a traversal of my Schmitt collection:
Schmitt: La tragédie de Salomé, etc / Chandos
(http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0003/182/MI0003182605.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
Schmitt: Works for Violin & Piano / Naxos
(http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0003/856/MI0003856170.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
Schmitt: Piano Quintet, A Tour d'anches / Naxos
(http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0003/165/MI0003165177.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
Schmitt: Symphonie concertante [WORK ONLY] / Naive
(http://i.prs.to/t_200/709861049080.jpg)
and finally Suite en Rocaille, for flute, viola, cello & harp, Op. 84
from French Flute Chamber Music / Naxos
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51uMBCrLClL._SY355_.jpg)
I'm not too familiar with Schmitt. In fact the two Naxos discs above and the Symphonie Concertante are getting their first listens today. But so far I like what I hear!
Quote from: Judge Fish on January 01, 2017, 10:04:50 AM
To start the New Year in style, I'm treating myself to a traversal of my Schmitt collection:
Schmitt: La tragédie de Salomé, etc / Chandos
(http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0003/182/MI0003182605.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
Schmitt: Works for Violin & Piano / Naxos
(http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0003/856/MI0003856170.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
Schmitt: Piano Quintet, A Tour d'anches / Naxos
(http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0003/165/MI0003165177.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
Schmitt: Symphonie concertante [WORK ONLY] / Naive
(http://i.prs.to/t_200/709861049080.jpg)
and finally Suite en Rocaille, for flute, viola, cello & harp, Op. 84
from French Flute Chamber Music / Naxos
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51uMBCrLClL._SY355_.jpg)
I'm not too familiar with Schmitt. In fact the two Naxos discs above and the Symphonie Concertante are getting their first listens today. But so far I like what I hear!
ooooo... can you give a blow by blow or something... I'm not having the success with Schmitt as I thought I would, the Piano Quintet didn't quite EdgarAllenPoe me as I thought it would... I thought Schmitt would be the most Poe-ishly macabre of the French Composers... ah, I'm not getting anywhere, need help. Stop.
I think if you want Poe, you might consider Langgaard's Music of the Spheres or Antichrist. Schmitt is more middle-of-the-road French late-Romantic. Though not very similar to Debussy or Ravel. Maybe more like Koechlin?
Anyway, here are my notes to myself:
a very good late Romantic French composer
maybe a bit stronger in chamber music
haven't heard any solo piano yet
ORCHESTRAL WORKS
Psaume 47, Op. 38
Le palais hante, Op. 49
based on The Fall of the House of Usher
La tragédie de Salomé, Op. 50
all of these are quite good, though just shy of excellent
they do however have a few excellent moments in them
Symphonie concertante for Orchestra and Piano, Op. 82
very thick, busy, twisty, etc
in parts seems more like chamber music
CHAMBER WORKS
various works for violin and piano
uniformly very good to excellent
Piano Quintet, Op. 51
a little thick but overall quite decadent
Suite en Rocaille, for flute, viola, cello & harp, Op. 84
very nice
A tour d'anches, Op. 97
very nice
Habeyssee, Op. 110
very nice
(https://florentschmittdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/schmitt-duparc-chausson-almeida-philharmonic-rca.jpg)
This is (was??) a great performance - wth chorus. has it ever been reissued? Download?
Peter
The Quintet is an impressive piece.
[asin]B00000DN25[/asin] (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81XegX5EMrL._SX522_.jpg) (https://s7.postimg.org/ecejysa63/front.jpg)
[asin]B004OZRP9Q[/asin] (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81NfekxW5pL._SX522_.jpg)
[asin]B001JHI7XK[/asin] (https://s12.postimg.org/52n7e2uod/back.jpg)
I've read some negative reviews about the performance of the last listed, but I haven't heard it personally.
And there are others:
https://florentschmitt.com/2014/05/01/forgotten-records-resurrecting-noteworthy-recordings-of-florent-schmitts-music-from-the-lp-era/
:)
(http://s27.postimg.org/6kimub337/Schmitt_SQ.jpg)
^ click to enlarge ^
(http://s18.postimg.org/3xan3k42h/score_QT.jpg)
translation of French text to the first movement:
Moderate movement. The laconic theme of introduction, of which, both during this first part, the trace will be found, either as a link between the rhythmic idea, a six-eight vaguely shadow of melancholy, and the melodic idea. More ardent, or that later he brings back, in a somewhat order. . . Embellished, said Boileau, and the harmonies gently violent, the initial exposure. The epilogue which in this tone of sol dieze,* hesitates a moment between two modes, is resigned to the last measures to the minor third.
*the octave of the Sol Dieze of the harmony - one of the 12 semitones - the term derives from the German idea of the kaleidescope
A score-video of the lone String Quartet has been posted to YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/v/gzTBrH19VsY
This piece (especially the 1st & 2nd movements) never fails to remind me of the outstanding quality of Schmitt's music.
Quote from: Dundonnell on May 16, 2008, 03:09:56 AM
Surely somebody else likes Schmitt's music??
I recently discovered and have been heavily digging his solo piano works.
[asin]B004GX91PW[/asin]
(https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2018/8/13/7/f/1/7f1254de-b66d-4290-8c9e-04ad947db74c.jpg)
This is one of those times I say: why did I wait so long to listen to this? The Psaume XLVII HAS to be one of the most shattering pieces ever penned for chorus and orchestra (in this case, plus soprano and organ), it packs a punch of TNT! It's simply something that appeals to my most gargantuan tastes. Utterly fascinating, dramatic and atmospheric like nothing else, goosebumps galore! I've read this is the best available recording of it, and I can claim with total clarity that it's more than probable. The middle section contains a more meditative part with the soprano, just the necessary dose of contrast, yet it's somewhat intense as well.
It goes straight to my all-time favorite choral works.
Quote from: SymphonicAddict on November 30, 2018, 09:01:11 PM
(https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2018/8/13/7/f/1/7f1254de-b66d-4290-8c9e-04ad947db74c.jpg)
This is one of those times I say: why did I wait so long to listen to this? The Psaume XLVII HAS to be one of the most shattering pieces ever penned for chorus and orchestra (in this case, plus soprano and organ), it packs a punch of TNT! It's simply something that appeals to my most gargantuan tastes. Utterly fascinating, dramatic and atmospheric like nothing else, goosebumps galore! I've read this is the best available recording of it, and I can claim with total clarity that it's more than probable. The middle section contains a more meditative part with the soprano, just the necessary dose of contrast, yet it's somewhat intense as well.
It goes straight to my all-time favorite choral works.
I have this CD but have hardly listened to it so must give it another go. Thanks for the heads-up Cesar. I was probably put off by knowing that Schmitt, like d'Indy, was a rabid anti-Semite, shouting out 'Heil Hitler - enough of these German emigres' at a concert of Kurt Weill's music in Paris in 1933. Such things, I know, shouldn't really interfere with my appreciation of the music but they do.
He died at the same time as Vaughan Williams and there is a picture of the two of them together in 1958.
I think this article is quite interesting:
"So why are some composers accepted and not others? Do we spend too much time checking up which ideologies they supported and too little time assessing their actual music? Again, Berthold Goldschmidt's opinion needs to be taken into consideration: "Those of you [us!] who did not live through the terror cannot know the fear that was felt by every individual. What people said and did in order to keep their daily lives quiet cannot be taken as representing their true character. Fear distorts character. And it was not just the fear for oneself, but the fear for family and friends."
https://forbiddenmusic.org/2015/08/09/why-some-composers-and-not-others/
Quote from: pjme on December 01, 2018, 01:58:43 AM
I think this article is quite interesting:
"So why are some composers accepted and not others? Do we spend too much time checking up which ideologies they supported and too little time assessing their actual music? Again, Berthold Goldschmidt's opinion needs to be taken into consideration: "Those of you [us!] who did not live through the terror cannot know the fear that was felt by every individual. What people said and did in order to keep their daily lives quiet cannot be taken as representing their true character. Fear distorts character. And it was not just the fear for oneself, but the fear for family and friends."
https://forbiddenmusic.org/2015/08/09/why-some-composers-and-not-others/
It's a very interesting article. Thanks for posting it.
Quote from: SymphonicAddict on November 30, 2018, 09:01:11 PM
(https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2018/8/13/7/f/1/7f1254de-b66d-4290-8c9e-04ad947db74c.jpg)
This is one of those times I say: why did I wait so long to listen to this? The Psaume XLVII HAS to be one of the most shattering pieces ever penned for chorus and orchestra (in this case, plus soprano and organ), it packs a punch of TNT! It's simply something that appeals to my most gargantuan tastes. Utterly fascinating, dramatic and atmospheric like nothing else, goosebumps galore! I've read this is the best available recording of it, and I can claim with total clarity that it's more than probable. The middle section contains a more meditative part with the soprano, just the necessary dose of contrast, yet it's somewhat intense as well.
It goes straight to my all-time favorite choral works.
Stupendous work indeed. The Hyperion version is better recorded, but Tzipine carries the day. There are other recordings but I haven't heard them.
Yes, Schmitt was notoriously antisemite, but he was prepared to make exceptions ( ::)), defending jewish composers Schönberg, Dukas and Tansman, or the singer Madeline Grey for example. What especially irked him was not so much the question of race, but rather a perceived trend toward musical decadence, something the nazis famously branded as
entartete musik. The use of jazz, blues, swing, popular melodies, "sleazy" orchestrations etc sharply divided the musical world. "Negro" music was put in the same basket of deplorables. See the association of the negro man with the star of David in this nazi propaganda poster:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/Entartete_musik_poster.jpg)
Musical life in France during the nazi years was a patchwork of opinions, opportunistic moves, expressions of intolerance and even some acts of heroism. For those who are interested in the subject and who can read French, this article sheds some light on this very sensitive subject, still an open wound in french intellectual circles. As recently as 2005, the Lycée Florent Schmitt was renamed Lycée Alexandre Dumas folowing a long, protracted controversy. In this article you will spot the names of Honegger, Poulenc, Dutilleux, Jolivet, Sauguet. Not all were active collaborationists, but many found ways to "accommodate" their career aspirations with the political environment of the time.
https://www.nonfiction.fr/articleprint-2876-les_compositeurs_et_la_collaboration.htm (https://www.nonfiction.fr/articleprint-2876-les_compositeurs_et_la_collaboration.htm)
Quote from: André on December 01, 2018, 06:40:47 AM
Stupendous work indeed. The Hyperion version is better recorded, but Tzipine carries the day. There are other recordings but I haven't heard them.
Yes, Schmitt was notoriously antisemite, but he was prepared to make exceptions ( ::)), defending jewish composers Schönberg, Dukas and Tansman, or the singer Madeline Grey for example. What especially irked him was not so much the question of race, but rather a perceived trend toward musical decadence, something the nazis famously branded as entartete musik. The use of jazz, blues, swing, popular melodies, "sleazy" orchestrations etc sharply divided the musical world. "Negro" music was put in the same basket of deplorables. See the association of the negro man with the star of David in this nazi propaganda poster:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/Entartete_musik_poster.jpg)
Musical life in France during the nazi years was a patchwork of opinions, opportunistic moves, expressions of intolerance and even some acts of heroism. For those who are interested in the subject and who can read French, this article sheds some light on this very sensitive subject, still an open wound in french intellectual circles. As recently as 2005, the Lycée Florent Schmitt was renamed Lycée Alexandre Dumas folowing a long, protracted controversy. In this article you will spot the names of Honegger, Poulenc, Dutilleux, Jolivet, Sauguet. Not all were active collaborationists, but many found ways to "accommodate" their career aspirations with the political environment of the time.
https://www.nonfiction.fr/articleprint-2876-les_compositeurs_et_la_collaboration.htm (https://www.nonfiction.fr/articleprint-2876-les_compositeurs_et_la_collaboration.htm)
Very interesting Andre - thanks. I can't read French properly (I failed the 'O' Level exam three times at school) but it's clear that these situations are often more nuanced than I imagine.
Fête de la lumière op. 88, for soprano, alto, chorus and orchestra.
https://www.youtube.com/v/QPgdCqJApPk
The recording sounds really good for its age. It is a very opulent score full of Schmitt's harmonic and rythmical characteristics.
Read more about this extravaganza at:
https://florentschmitt.com/2016/12/17/fete-de-la-lumiere-florent-schmitts-extravagant-showpiece-at-the-paris-exposition-1937/
Rich in suggestive and sensual harmonies and with a sophisticated musical architecture, the impressive String Trio, Op. 105 on the stupendous recording below is a major work in the form. I consider it a rewarding composition, and one that invites to listen to it several times to grasp it better.
Now what we need is a proper recording of his also substantial String Quartet, Op. 112. There's a recording on YouTube, but it's not adequate enough to do the work justice.
(https://laboiteamusique.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/8713897904802.jpg)
The String Trio is great yes (as is the Quartet, but I'm not holding my breath for a new recording of it). I'm surprised there wasn't more interest in the under-recorded Schmitt chamber/solo music back in the 2000s/2010s when it still seemed possible to release obscure repertoire on CD, but who knows what may be forthcoming. The three recordings of the Piano Quintet that are still streamable/downloadable are hopefully doing some work to turn musicians on to the rest of his music.
Quote from: Løvfald on March 05, 2023, 04:56:37 PMRich in suggestive and sensual harmonies and with a sophisticated musical architecture, the impressive String Trio, Op. 105 on the stupendous recording below is a major work in the form. I consider it a rewarding composition, and one that invites to listen to it several times to grasp it better.
Now what we need is a proper recording of his also substantial String Quartet, Op. 112. There's a recording on YouTube, but it's not adequate enough to do the work justice.
(https://laboiteamusique.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/8713897904802.jpg)
Oh yes,
Schmitt's
Trio, op. 105 is a stunning work. I was bowled over when I discovered it in 2021 (when that recording you posted was released). Those dense textures, and
Schmitt's trademark elusive yet strangely coherent thematic development (your phrase "sophisticated musical architecture" is a great description). Superb!
Good to know this composer is receiving some love on this thread. Now listening to the Suite en Rocaille for flute, harp, and string trio, Op. 84 (which happens to be one of my favorite combination of instruments) from the recording below. A much more straightforward piece than the aforementioned String Trio, but very pleasant and with a bucolic/rustic feel to it.
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiNzk1MjMwNC4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE0MDE5ODI1NTd9)
I have been playing and loving Schmitt's piano music for years - there's a lot of it, it's wonderful stuff and it's gorgeous under the fingers. Intricate, sensuous stuff. He is not like Debussy or Ravel, but the connections are there to be drawn, and perhaps his single greatest movement for piano comes from the Tombeau that was published after Debussy died - which also introduced the world to first forms of Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments, Ravel's Duo Sonata and other pieces by major composers including Bartok and Satie (more information (https://www.gramophone.co.uk/blogs/article/realising-the-full-vision-of-le-tombeau-de-claude-debussy)). Schmitt's piece has the wonderful name 'Et Pan, au fond des blés lunaires, s'accouda' (And Pan, deep amid the moonlit wheat, cupped his chin in his hands) which is a very Debussian image; another masterpiece in the same Tombeau is Dukas' La plainte, au loin, du faune' (The lament, from afar, of the faun) with its icy quotation of L'apres-midi. They make a great pairing, and both are very moving reimaginings of the Debussian spirit. I wrote a study of both, plus more about Schmitt's piano writing, last year.