Search - Florent Schmitt, Marek Janowski, Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra :: Schmitt: La Tragédie de Salomé; Psaume 47

Good to have ... but the interpretation is a bit flawed

Classic Music Lover | Maryland, USA | 02/25/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This CD gets three stars just for being made available again. The Psaume XLVII is one of the absolutely best choral compositions of the 20th Century -- written in 1904 and years ahead of its time. Not only is it celebratory, it's thrilling. It deserves to be better known. But this recording is probably the weakest interpretation of the three performances of this work ever commercially released. The playing is good, but conductor Janowski seems to lose the sense of propulsion that the composer explicitly directs in the score as it whips along towards the final pages. Tzipine and Martinon (both on EMI) do it much better; alas, neither of these recordings is available at the present time. Over the years, some top conductors have programmed this work -- Eugene Ormandy, Manuel Rosenthal, Igor Markevitch, Jean Fournet, Jeffrey Tate, Leon Botstein -- and this year Hyperion will be releasing a brand new CD with the BBC NOW orchestra and chorus under Thierry Fischer. Wait for that release. The Salome score is similar -- gorgeous playing by the ORTF forces but a sluggish approach that fails particularly in the "Danse des Perles." This is yet another impressive score that has been taken up by some of the great conductors, including Mitropoulos and Dutoit. The only other current commercially-available performance is by Paul Paray on Mercury -- a recording that is 50 years old but still superior to this one in most respects. Other good recordings by Almeida (BMG), Martinon (EMI) and Dervaux (also EMI) await re-release ... how long must they wait in the wings, I wonder?"

Unbeatable for the price

Alan G. Chun | Roseville CA USA | 03/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The music of Florent Schmitt deserves to be better known. Music that is exquisitely colored and seductively tuneful, with tempos ranging from languorous to frenzied, it strikes me as a cross between Rimsky-Korsakov and the Richard Strauss of Elektra and Die Frau ohne Schatten. There are 2 or 3 versions currently obtainable. The complete version of 1907, scored for small orchestra, may still be available on Marco Polo, with Patrick Davin conducting the Rheinland-Pfalz Philarhmonic. Collectors of Schmitt will want to obtain this recording, as it is the only one extant of the original version, containing 59 minutes of music.



In 1909, Schmitt rescored the music for full orchestra. More than half the original music is omitted, but what remains is more tautly constructed and intensely dramatic. The ballet is based on the Old Testament confrontation of Salome and John the Baptist, with the background destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah thrown in for good measure. Such themes call for music fragrant with the airs of the orient, lush and sensuous, building up in intensity to a pitch of frenzied decadence and climactic doom. And does Schmitt ever deliver! This is not music for the faint of heart. Paul Paray's performance with the Detroit Symphony on Mercury is well played and perfectly well-mannered, but fails to capture the mood. Janowski is spot on, evoking beautiful sounds from the French Radio Philharmonic, and maintaining a mood that is seething with sensuality and pulsating with depravity.



I have no basis of comparison of Janowski's performance of Psaume 47. The orchestral and choral forces are impressive and this apparently is a psalm of joy rather than contemplation, the element of spectacle far outweighing the element of devotion. Janowski pulls out all the stops, and at the end of the 26-minute piece, one is left with a feeling of exaltation. All told, the CD contains 52+ minutes of music. Many CDs today run well over an hour in length, but after listening to the whole CD of music of such intensity, I doubt anyone will feel short-changed. And at the bargain price, this is a must have for any lovers of French romantic music."