Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Maurice Ravel II: Complete Orchestral Works
OBC Barcelona Symphony Orchestra/Ludovic Morlot
Fleur Barron (mezzo-soprano), Alexandre Duhamel (baritone)
Contents beneath review
rec. 2023, Sala Pau Casals, L’Auditori, Barcelona
L’Auditori LA-OBC-009 [54]
Brilliantly recorded in strikingly full and present sound, this programme presents three of Ravel’s song cycles framed by three orchestra works, two of which are orchestrations of pieces originally written for piano. They amply demonstrate the range, daring and originality of the composer’s orchestration skills: the brief ballet fanfare is remarkably vivid for so short a work – only 29 bars but absolutely stuffed with fantastical ideas, moving through the instrumental groups and culminating in a shimmering and unexpected strike of the tam-tam; despite its academic form, the quasi-archaic Menuet antique is in fact equally modern and adventurous in its ever-shifting harmonic sidesteps, and the slinky playfulness of the eight Valses nobles et sentimentales points forward stylistically to Ravel’s La valse. All are beautifully played by the Barcelona orchestra, which sounds aptly Gallic in its delicacy and sophistication. Conductor Ludovic Morlot has the full measure of these whimsical works, liberally applying rubato and glissandi, teasing out their myriad moods. The excellence of those three works alone might justify the existence of this disc were it not for the fact that they constitute only twenty-four minutes of music all combined – but we are also given another half hour with the three song cycles.
Mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron has her work cut out following in the footsteps of artists of the calibre of Janet Baker, Frederica von Stade and Jessye Norman, all of whom have recorded these songs to perfection . Nonetheless, she has a warm, steady voice and her French diction is good, so it is a pity that she makes one or two small errors such as singing “dans leur désir” instead of the correct “de” in Asie – and although her lower register is rich, her top B-flat on “haine” is distinctly sour and strained. However, Morlot’s orchestral accompaniment is as luscious as one could wish and there is some lovely solo flute in La flûte enchantée. The homoerotic sensuality of L’indifférent is especially well captured here by both singer and conductor.
Alexandre Duhamel sings the three Don Quichotte songs, based on the rhythms of Spanish dances, well enough, but I do not find his husky, grainy timbre especially attractive or apt for the music.
Barron returns for the settings of the three Mallarmé poems. Their higher tessitura betrays her slight tendency to flatness on sustained high notes and there are more slips in her delivery of the texts, which are, for my taste and in my judgement, obscure and pretentious compared with other two cycles. The music, too, while highly atmospheric, is somewhat austere and even cold – again, very different from the other cycles. Those with more of a liking for this music will appreciate them more than I but there are better recordings to be had from, for example, Dame Janet and Suzanne Danco.
The format here is an irritatingly oversized cardboard slipcase containing a 24 page, quadrilingual booklet with notes, a colour photograph and a full listing of the members of the orchestra, yet space could not be found for the French texts and translations of the nine songs in the programme, which would surely have enhanced the listener’s appreciation of them. They may at least be found easily enough online.
Ralph Moore
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Contents
Fanfare from ‘L’Éventail de Jeanne’
Menuet antique
Shéhérazade
I. Asie. Très lent
II. La flûte enchantée. Très lent
III. L’indifférent
Fleur Barron (mezzo-soprano)
Don Quichotte à Dulcinée
I. Chanson romanesque. Moderato
II. Chanson épique. Molto moderato
III. Chanson à boire. Allegro
Alexandre Duhamel (baritone)
Trois poèmes de Stephane Mallarmé
I. Soupir. Lent
II. Placet futile. Très modéré
III. Surgi de la croupe et du bond. Lent
Fleur Barron (mezzo-soprano)
Valses nobles et sentimentales
