Pascal Gallet

Ernest Chausson’s death in 1899 in a bicycle accident robbed French music of a major talent. Almost his entire orchestral output fits on this extremely fine CD. Yan Pascal Tortelier’s performance of the richly romantic Symphony is the best since Munch’s Boston Symphony recording. Like Munch, Tortelier knows how to keep the music moving along–he’s only an insignificant two minutes slower than Munch for the whole work–without overindulging the more luscious moments, which in Chausson’s opulent setting really do take care of themselves. Even better, rather than some overplayed encore piece by another composer, the symphony is coupled with two very attractive, rarely heard tone poems and two charming orchestral excerpts from the composer’s incidental music to Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The orchestra plays with conviction, Chandos’ sonics are gorgeous, and if you don’t buy this disc, you’re missing out on some marvelous stuff.

Lili Boulanger's setting of the 130th Psalm is a choral masterpiece. Tortelier and his forces deliver a vivid performance, recorded with tremendous presence. There is even more power in the old Markevich performance, done under Nadia Boulanger's supervision, but the superior Chandos recording makes a difference. Faust et Hélène is a somewhat immature student work (a strange qualification for music by a composer who died at 24), but it is also well performed. The remaining music represents Boulanger's visionary eloquence. This disc is highly recommended as an introduction to a great composer. After you hear it, try the Everest disc, despite the duplications. It contains Boulanger's deathbed Pie Jesu, a brief piece of such intense power that it will leave most listeners in tears.

Karlheinz Stockhausen & Pascal Dusapin - In the Sky I Am Walking - Voxnova (1998) {mode 68}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 221 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 138 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 34 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1998 Mode Records | mode 68
Classical / Contemporary Classical / World Music / Folk

In the Sky I am Walking (American Indian Songs) is an important work in Karlheinz Stockhausen's oeuvre from the 1970s. It receives its only commercially available recording here aside from Stockhausen's private label edition. Scored for a male and female singer, this long song cycle uses texts by Native Americans and incorporates the use of "unusual vocal sounds" from a palette of vocal timbres developed by the two singers in their years of experience performing new music and meeting singers from around the world, including Native Americans. Stockhausen closely prepared the piece with the singers.

The theorbo is a sort of big brother to the lute, with a set of long, unfretted bass strings in addition to the fretted courses. This gives the instrument a wonderful, rich mellow sound which is beautifully evoked and captured in these recordings (from 1992 and 1999). Montailhet is an excellent theorbist and the music, too, is a delight.

This is far and away the best playing of Satie's most popular works. Roge's other Satie disk is worth owning as well. Tempos are carefully chosen, with special attention to the subtleties each work presents. I also own Ciccolini and Thibaudet's complete Satie recordings and Roge outshines them at nearly every turn. A must own disc for all true Satie lovers.

Pascal Comelade is a french pioneer in experimental electronic soundscapes, revealing himsel as a very eclectic musician, absorbing various popular musical genres to create something unique. His discography features colourful impressionist, micro-tonal electronic efforts for a large variety of instruments and sound effects. He belongs to Richard Pinhas (Heldon) musical family tree. He also collaborated with Faust, Robert Wyatt (September song, 2000) and formed the band Bel Canto Orchestra.

"Dutilleux's quartet has to be one of the finest post-war works in the genre. In seven movements (plus interludes) that play without a break, this seventeen minute work conjures up a bewildering variety of nocturnal moods, colours and atmospheres. Yet it is always strongly coherent, the writing unified by the composer's tendency to treat the four instruments of the string quartet as if they were one super-stringed instrument. The performance on this disc is absolutely stunning–the precision of the Arditti Quartet is matched by an imagination and colouristic range that's second to none."

Recensie op Amazon.com