Search - Charles Gounod, Georges Bizet, Christopher Hogwood :: Gounod - Symphony 1; Petite Symphony / Bizet: L'Arlesienne (Bizet)

French Rarities

Erik North | San Gabriel, CA USA | 08/09/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Up until recent decades, not many people realized that the same French composer who gave us the legendary opera "Faust" and the celebrated, ghoulish "Funeral March Of A Marionette" (later appropriated so well for TV's "Alfred Hitchcock Presents") actually ventured into the symphonic form. Nor did a lot of people realize that the music that one of his protégés composed for a theatrical work was not originally scored for a big orchestra. And yet both teacher and protégé are featured on this superlative recording of works that are rarely, if ever, heard in the concert halls.



Charles Gounod's Symphony No. 1 In D Major can be considered a French extension of the classical Viennese symphony as personified by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. It is an effervescent work, scored for an orchestra more or less the same as was required for its forebears, but with delightful additional surprises that the French are known for in their works. It is said to have inspired Gounod's protégé Georges Bizet to compose his own Symphony In C (which Bizet considered a student work, and hid it from the public until it re-emerged in 1931), but has since fallen out of favor, as has its equally significant successor, the Second Symphony (though in recent times, Sir Neville Marriner and his Academy of St. Martin In The Fields have recorded and revived that work). Also included in this recording is Gounod's "Petite Symphonie" for nine wind instruments, which is closer in spirit to Mozart's "Gran Partita" (Serenade No. 10) than a true symphony, but an extremely delightful rarity. The whole recording is capped off by a suite of excerpts from the score Bizet composed for the Alphonse Daudet play "L'Arlessienne", but in the original version meant for the theatre, as opposed to the big orchestral suites arranged by others for the concert hall. Hearing the "L'Arlessiene" pieces this way is jarring to some, but in the end a significant revelation.



Gounod and Bizet are well-served here by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, with noted British-born period-instrument specialist Christopher Hogwood conducting. And while known for the authentic performances of Baroque and Classical material, he manages to strike a good balance between the world of authenticity and the world of modern performances. As these works do straddle this boundary, it takes concise conducting to maneuver through, even something as deceptively Haydn/Mozart-sounding as the Gounod First Symphony, but Hogwood and the S.P.C.O. achieve that balance. For anyone willing to explore works of major composers which aren't exactly heard every day, this is a solid recording."

Splendid

David Saemann | 04/21/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was one of Christopher Hogwood's first forays into the 19th Century repertoire, and it is a complete success. His performance of Gounod's Symphony No. 1 has snap and sparkle, with well conceived tempos and beautiful string phrasing. The sound engineering aids this impression. It is clear and well balanced, with no metallic sound to the strings. It is prehaps a little distant, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. The performance of the Petite Symphonie is exemplary, full bodied with both vigor and delicacy where required. Hogwood's suite from L'Arlesienne is interesting. It goes back to the original theater orchestration of the incidental music, rather than to the fuller orchestration of the later suites. I can't say that Hogwood's version is an improvement over the suites, but it certainly is interesting to hear the music this way. A highly civilized CD isuue in every way."