Search - Sigurour Flosason :: d'Indy: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3

Surprising, cinematic, fully enjoyable discovery

D. Lai | El Cajon, CA United States | 07/16/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I first popped this disc into my car, before the first track even started playing, I thought, "Who IS this guy? What's up with this 'new' music?"



To my surprise, this 'new' music was incredibly lush, cinematic, and passionate. Also to my surprise, there was nothing 'new' about French composer Vincent d'Indy who lived from 1851-1931.



The disc opens with Istar and its lush, atmospheric opening with prominent horns and woodwinds. This is followed by a melodic interplay between solo strings (violin) and solo woodwinds (oboe/flute). Then enters a happy jaunt which is quickly interrupted by a march followed by swirling romantic themes (reminiscent of of Bernard Hermann at his romantic best) coming to a grand conclusion.



D'Indy's Chorale Varie for saxophone is beautiful, moody, and solemn with a tonal texture similar to Dvorak's New World Symphony composed 10 years earlier. The saxophone proves to be a worthy symphonic instrument too often overlooked.



Symphony #3 is a little of a mixed bag, however. The 1st movement is indicated as "Lent et Calme," but it more closely resembles a march with mildly calm moments. The 2nd carries on in a brisk, playful mood. In contrast, the 3rd opens with moody solo lines from the woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet) which continue throughout. The sometime gallant / sometime lumbering 4th movement is announced by the horns followed by the bass drum and timpani. D'Indy's sparse orchestration is what makes it lumber for me as the least interesting of the four movements, which makes for an unsatisfying close to an otherwise worthwhile piece.



The disc closes with Diptyque Mediterraneen, featuring a sunrise (part one) and sunset (part two). Part One of this lush, exceedingly beautiful tone poem opens quietly with shimmering strings accented with brief lines from the winds, slowly to the early morning sun - thus its title of "Soleil Matinale." On a personal note, I'm a sucker for sunrise music - I love when the music "emerges" in soft, shimmering pieces, gradually increasing in radiance until the full splendor of life surrounds you. Sunset music, however, is totally new for me and it is what D'Indy tackles as the subject of Part Two, "Soleil Vesperal." He does an admirable job of reversing the sun's movement, ushering in the darkness at the very close of the piece.

"

Lesser-known AND substantial

Arne Sande | 7032 Trondheim Norway | 06/05/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This music comes in a category many of us are interested in: Lesser-known music which actually has merit (usually there are sound reasons why most works are rarely played). I have greatly enjoyed these works since I discovered them on a 4-cd series from French EMI, during the 90s. The new recordings have even better sound, and offer certain additional items. The EMI discs, with French orchestras and conductors, are in no way inferior, with very good sound and interpretations (if you can get them). A new series on CHANDOS is very welcome. The music itself is late romantic (without the excesses and pomposity) and often impressionistic (but not modern like say, La Mer). Only the few wellknown works are issued on CD anything remotely like frequently. Highly recommended (all three CDs released so far)."

The Rediscovery of d'Indy goes on

Bing-Alguin | 07/06/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The zest for new musical discoveries results in unexpected and amazing surprises. Whoever could divine that Vincent d'Indy, an almost forgotten French late 19th century composer somewhere between Wagner and impressionism, was going to be rediscovered in a successful way, and mainly so by an Icelandic symphony orchestra under a young enthusiast like Rumon Gamba? The first two volumes were brilliant and appetizing.

After all, the third one is not quite in the same division. Symphony No 3 is a rather mediocre composition, wearing the subtitle "Sinfonia brevis de Bello Gallico", i.e. the first World War, and it has in the main a character of boisterous and rambunctiously overexcited war music.

But the other three pieces introduced here are well worth listening to. Probably, d'Indy reached his best results when composing motifs taken from nature and the shifts of the day. "Diptyque Méditerranéen", Op 87, paints a Mediterranean landscape in morning sun and evening sun - that is the "Diptyque", the two-part structure of this ravishingly impressionistic music. Overwhelmingly beautiful indeed! And the symphonic variations of "Istar", Op 42, renders a mythological motif from an Assyrian epic: in order to release her lover from the realm of death, an inverted Orpheus motif!, Istar, the Goddess, has to dress off one veil for each of the seven gates of the underworld. This is an almost grave and serene tonal picture of the dance of the seven veils, in contrast to Richard Strauss's sensual version in "Salome". Most attractive is maybe "Choral varié", Op 55, a stunning, short piece for saxophone and orchestra from the very beginning of the 20th century, deliciously played by Sigurdur Flosason, remotely reminding you of Jan Garbarek's atmospheric "Officium" some years ago.

Perhaps it is recommendable to start with the earlier two volumes first, especially No 2 with the magnificent second symphony. Probably, after that, it'll be difficult to resist the third one too, with its three highlights, as excellently played by Gamba and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra as No 1 and 2.

"