Paul Dukas (1865-1935)
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice*
Fanfare to La Péri; La Péri
Symphony in C major (1896)
Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique*, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande/Armin Jordan
rec. 1985, Victoria Hall, Geneva (?), 1992, Maison de la Radio, Paris (?)*
Apex 0927487252 [74]
While there might not actually be a shortage of French symphonies – see the extensive discographical list meticulously compiled by Michael Herman back in 2006 – beyond, obviously, Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique, Bizet’s Symphony in C and occasionally his Roma, comparatively few now feature in concerts or recordings (Franck’s Symphony D appears more often but strictly speaking he was Belgian and adoptive French). However, Berlioz has long been an outlier in his homeland, always having been better received in Britain and Germany and over a decade ago, I gave a fairly lukewarm welcome to Jean-Luc Tingaud’s recording on Naxos of Roma (review), which is surely no masterpiece. I recently reviewed a trio of French symphonies by Bizet, Gounod and Saint-Saëns from Kazuki Yamada and the Monte Carlo Philharmonic rather more positively, but they are essentially slight, albeit charming works; in general, the symphonic genre is not one in which French composers have excelled compared with the mighty Austro-German tradition.
As he destroyed much of his oeuvre, Dukas’ name has been kept alive by a mere handful of works, three of which make up this compilation. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is by far the most celebrated; I also recently reviewed a fine disc of French Orchestral Favourites by John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London on Chandos, which included it. The sound here is fine if not as immediate and detailed as that Sinfonia performance; it has more of a concert hall ambience – but that’s perfectly acceptable. Jordan paces the nearly twelve minutes of music carefully, building craftily and a little more deliberately than Wilson. I especially like the slightly acidic, very Gallic tone of the woodwind and the percussion effects are nicely prominent. The postlude, once the magician has restored order – and, for Fantasia devotees, Micky simpers sheepishly – is dreamy and mysterious.
The La Péri Fanfare for brass is grand and sonorous, the opening of the ballet itself very reminiscent of the mood of what we have just heard closing the preceding work, then engagingly exotic and dissonant; French composers seem always to have had the gift shared with Rimsky Korsakov of embracing “oriental” elements and reworking them into a diaphanous tissue; there are many echoes of Saint-Saëns, Debussy and Ravel in this sinuous music. Jordan and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande lend it a shimmering, magical atmosphere.
The three-movement symphony is much more forceful and direct, often reminding me, for some reason, of Carl Nielsen, with a very insistent, recurring main them which is cunningly recycled. Jordan imposes great structural coherence and a compelling momentum on the two fast outer movements, making for a wild ride, and the central Andante has a kind of Brucknerian grandeur and lyricism – sorry; I know – too many allusions to other symphonists – but it’s that kind of work. The climactic brass chorale against mounting strings is impressive. The finale has a kind of Elgarian (there I go again) exuberance and flavour and again tension build magnificently, again with some particularly sterling work from the brass section; in truth, the work is great fun.
If you want three of Dukas’ best works in one collection, very well played, this is it.
Ralph Moore
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