Français

Each of the five members of wind ‘supergroup’ Les Vent Français, partnered by pianist Eric le Sage, plays a sonata written by Paul Hindemith in the dramatic years between 1936 and 1943 – compact, lucid and engaging works for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and alto horn. “These Hindemith sonatas are a great asset to the wind repertory,” says oboist François Leleux. “Hindemith took a very particular approach to each instrument, with a wonderful sense for its individual sound.”

We tend not to think of the 19th century as a golden age for wind instruments. While the individual instruments themselves enjoyed varying fortunes, their standing was much less significant than that of string instruments or the piano. However, the situation improved for all of them with the onset of Romanticism and a remarkable new repertoire for ensembles of differing types. One such type grew out of the Classical tradition of the divertissement or serenade, bringing together winds and strings in sizeable ensembles ranging from the sextet to the nonet. Another also hailed back to the end of the 18th century and combined winds with piano. And then there was the wind quintet per se, a recent innovation brilliantly exemplified by Anton Reicha and Franz Danzi up until the mid-1820s, which had established itself as a separate genre, characterised by skillful and sophisticated writing.

Un rayon de soleil traverse l’azur du petit matin et réchauffe le cœur d’une douce caresse… Dès le premier mouvement (largo) du Trio en la Majeur, Sébastien Marq expose son jeu doux et velouté, léger et transcendant. Et l’on s’émerveille, béat, devant la beauté du son, la justesse des sentiments, et ce toucher si délicat qui vous berce et vous emmène dans un jardin d’Eden. Le voyage s’achève sur quatre mêmes notes, plus suaves et doucereuses que les précédentes.

Take five of the world’s finest wind players and put them in the solo spotlight with the classy Münchener Kammerorchester for support. The result is a must for music lovers drawn to the elegance of the Classical age. Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante for oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon is the masterpiece here, but Danzi’s two works are sheer delights, full of invention and good spirits. Devienne and Pleyel both offer a single work, each well worth an outing when performed with this kind of artistry.

An extraordinary enterprise … As an experience of the sounds and styles of French organ culture this boxed set, it seems to me, is indispensable … the body of music is mostly, here, not created but simply made alive by the apt choice of instruments … it is a resource to which to return with delight.

In the Baroque period, there really was no such thing as an "orchestra" as we understand the term today. There were large collections of singers and players brought together for special occasions, but aside from those, an "orchestral" work was anything that required more than five or six players. Bach's harpsichord concertos, for example, can be performed by a couple of dozen string players plus the soloist, or with an accompaniment of one person per part, which is more or less what we get here. These small forces permit an unprecedented transparency of sound and sharpness of attack, even if some weight and body of tone necessarily get sacrificed. It's a perfectly legitimate way to play the music, however, and you won't find it better done than here.

Hayedée ou Le secret (literally "Hayedée or the secret") was created on 28th December 1847 at the Théâtre de l'Opéra Comique (literally "The Comic Opera Theatre") in the second Salle Favart (Favart Hall).
The libretto is inspired from the new Russian Six and four translated by Prosper Mérimée. The final choice for the name Hayedée may be linked to the dazzling success of Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas (1845) with Hayedée as the heroine. This name also sounds like Aïaut;da which was chosen later by Ghislanzoni and Verdi. Hayedée can be counted among Auber's best scores.