Gustave Charpentier - Music for the Prix of Rome

Gustave CHARPENTIER (1860-1956)

Music for the Prix of Rome

Impressions d’Italie (1889) Symphonie pittoresque

Didon (1887) Cantate pour soprano, ténor, baryton et orchestre

La Vie du poète (1888) Symphonie-drame en 3 actes et 4 tableaux

La Fête des myrtes (1887) Chœur avec orchestre

Manon Feubel (soprano)

Sabine Devieilhe (soprano)

Helena Bohuszewicz (contralto)

Julien Dran (tenor)

Bernard Richter (tenor)

Marc Barrard (baritone)

Alain Buet (baritone)

Flemish Radio Choir

The Royal Symphonic Band of the

Belgian Guides

Brussels Philharmonic

Hervé Niquet

Recorded in Brussels (Flagey) and Antwerp (De Singel), Belgium, in June 2011

Gustave Charpentier (1860-1956)

This is an outstanding double CD on many counts. Firstly, with the exception of Impressions d'Italie, which has been recorded in the past by a number of conductors such as Pierre Dervaux, Albert Wolff, Marco Guidarini, and the composer himself (in a truncated version that fit into 78 rpm discs), none of the works have been recorded before, except for La Vie du Poète which, again was recorded by the composer in a highly truncated version (and available on a Pearl CD with Impressions d'Italie and some orchestral songs). Indeed, La Fête des myrtes, the short choral piece that Prix de Rome winners had to write before being shortlisted for the long cantata, is not even listed in Grove. This CD set, therefore, is important for the repertoire covered. Secondly, the orchestration and choral writing in these pieces are marvelous and require the best possible recorded sound: despite the authenticity of Charpentier's own recordings made in the early decades of the twentieth century, the sound here is incomparably better, clearly bringing out the filigree details of Charpentier's scores. Thirdly, the annotations and liner notes are as useful, detailed, and stylish as one could wish for.

And finally, both the quality of the pieces recorded and the quality of the performances are outstanding. This CD has what is by far the best recording of Impressions d'Italie (perfect tempos, wonderful solo and ensemble playing, plenty of drama, and fine sound balance), while Didon (a heady mix of Massenet and Wagner) and La Fête des myrtes were pleasant surprises. Charpentier's own text for La Vie du Poète is the worst I have ever seen (it beats Helmina von Chezy's libretto for Euryanthe by miles), but some of the music is extremely inventive (for example, the orchestral introduction to the third section) and is definitely worth hearing.

I used to associate Hervé Niquet with the music of Marc-Antoine Charpentier and not that of Gustave C., but his forays into the nineteenth-century repertoire has been very exciting for record collectors: first, a good but not outstanding Chabrier collection on Naxos, then a very enjoyable set of a selection of Hérold's piano concertos, and now this outstanding Charpentier collection. I look forward to hearing more recordings of the French repertoire by him, by Nézet-Séguin, and by Jean-Yves Ossonce, for me three of the most outstanding new conductors of French music. I hope that Niquet soon records the Prix de Rome pieces of Dukas and Florent Schmitt, as well as the choral works of Chabrier.

Given the high standards of this release and the rarity value of the repertoire, I am shocked that amazon.com fails to provide the titles of all the pieces in the 2-CD album (one of its main strengths), let alone provide track details. Do we really live in a culture in which the Western art music repertoire has become one large museum exhibit? If so, then amazon.com's neglect of this release is understandable: only the highlights of the exhibit (German instrumental music, Italian opera, some odd balls here and there) need to elicit commercial and critical attention, while the less important ones can fall by the wayside. I hope, though, that I am wrong, and the care Niquet and his team took over this 2-CD set of forgotten but interesting music raises my hopes that there are still performers and record companies who care about exploring unknown repertoire and presenting it in the best possible light!