Search - Frederic Devreese :: MEULEMANS: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3

A Flemish Romantic Impressionist

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 01/02/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Periodically I go through my CD collection and, for space reasons, remove some issues to make room for new acquisitions. (I know, I know, it's an illness, this acquisition fever.) I donate the culls to a branch of our wonderful Kansas City Library system and they seem happy to get my cast-offs. Earlier this week I pulled this CD off the shelf and, as I usually do with potential candidates, I listened to it again after perhaps two years or so. I decided I couldn't get rid of this one just yet. This is really quite a nice CD featuring music by one of that group of early 20th-century Flemish composers who seem to be all but unknown here in the US, but whose music bears hearing. That group, along with the present Arthur Meulemans (1884-1966), includes van Hoof, Mortelmans, Poot, Blockx, de Boeck, and the father of this CD's conductor, Godfried Devreese. Indeed if you like post-romantic music with a dash of French impressionism thrown in you can't go wrong with any of these composers.Meulemans was for many years conductor of the National Radio Orchestra of Belgium and his list of orchestral compositions is long indeed. He wrote fifteen symphonies, and concerti for piano, violin, cello and almost all the instruments in the orchestra, as well as many tone-poems, suites and so on. His music was influenced by Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler and, particularly early on, Claude Debussy. Like his Austrian colleague Joseph Marx (and for that matter, like the better-known Italian Ottorino Respighi) he wrote in a style I like to call Romantic Impressionism--that is to say, his orchestral colors are informed by the discoveries of Debussy and Ravel, while his construction is similar to that of the post-Wagnerian Austro-German school, including their use of leitmotives and their sophisticated polyphonic skill.On this CD are two tone-poems, 'Pliny's Fountain' and 'May Night,' and two symphonies, the Second and Third. They are, once one gets to know Meulemans' characteristic sound, of a piece. Most of his music seems to have a flow of orchestral incident that bespeaks a program of some sort. Those of the two tone-poems are spelled out--the one a three movement description of the fountain itself in morning, at twilight and during a 'night festival,' and the latter a Flemish tale about a nun who breaks her vows when she falls in love and then recants her fall from grace.The two symphonies, while 'absolute music,' also seem to be describing some sort of program. In the Second Symphony use of touches of color--glockenspiel, flashes of piccolo and harp, celesta, medieval open fifths in low strings--bring the music in line with the faux-ancient pieces of Respighi. Late in life Meulemans confessed that there was indeed an unspoken 'Naturlaut' ('sounds of Nature') program for the Third Symphony and he described the four movements as 1. Moonlight night, 2. The fir-trees rustle softly in the mysterious solitude, 3. Midnight--the dance of the fairies and elves, 4. Morning--shining light over the fir-trees. It doesn't take much imagination to see these tone-pictures as the symphony unwinds. The performances here are by that orchestra kept so busy by Marco Polo and Naxos, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, ably conducted by Frédéric Devreese. The performances are just slightly cautious and the MSO is not the Berlin Philharmonic, but these are adequate performances in more than adequate sound, and we're not likely to get other recordings of this interesting, lush and tuneful music. TT=68'13"Scott Morrison"

Very fine music in more than adequate performances

G.D. | Norway | 02/27/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Belgian composer Arthur Meulemans (1884-1966) was enormously prolific, especially with regards to orchestral works. There are some 15 symphonies and an almost endless number of solo concertos among his output, and judged by the works on this disc - even if they cannot reasonably be called "masterpieces" - it might very well be worth exploring further. In terms of style, the best description is perhaps late romanticism with many impressionistic touches, especially in terms of orchestration.



Pliny's Fountain is his most famous work, three symphonic sketches in a lush and attractively colored orchestral garb. The first movement, Summer morning, is a lovely creation, gently warm and richly textured. The Sunset section is a finely wrought, Debussy-inspired movement while the boisterous Night Feast doesn't really live up to what one suspects is the model, the Fêtes section from Debussy's Nocturnes. The symphonies are very fine, well-constructed works, and while the material isn't always the most distinguished (although some of it certainly is), at least Meulemans knows how to use it as effectively as possible and not overwork it. The finest of them, the third symphony (perhaps, together with the seventh, his most famous), draws its inspiration from the landscapes and impressions of the composer's childhood and youth, and mixes the wistful and water-colored with impressions of the fantastic and magical framework of youthful imagination. May Night is attractive but undistinguished.



The performances are more than adequate as well, if not fully exhibiting the fullness of tone and dynamic range one could imagine would make these works truly unforgettable. Still, this is a very attractive release which deserves a firm recommendation. Sound quality is fine."