MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger


 
REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

alternatively
CD: AmazonUK AmazonUS

Turbulent Heart
Louis VIERNE (1870-1937)
Les Djinns, Op. 35 (1914) [10:43]
Eros, Op.37 (1916) [12:22]
Ballade du désepéré, Op.61 (1929) [16:49]
Psyché, Op. 33 (1914) [8:38]
Ernest CHAUSSON (1855-1899)
Poème de l’amour et de la mer, Op. 19 (1893) [27:37] (La fleur des eaux [11:15]; Interlude [2:33]; La mort de l’amour [13:49])
Steve Davislim (tenor)
Queensland Orchestra/Guillaume Tourniaire
rec. Studio 420, Brisbane, Australia, 12-13, 15-16, 18 September 2008
Text included
MELBA RECORDINGS MR301123 [76:32]

Experience Classicsonline


This disc contains a number of examples of a particularly French form: the vocal symphonic poem. Such works can range from a straightforward scena to a true symphonic poem with sung "accompaniment” to an integrated work which elucidates the text both vocally and instrumentally. The Vierne pieces are among the least known works in his oeuvre, an output many are only now learning extends beyond the church organ loft. The Chausson is an old favorite, although in this recording it has a slight twist. Since the Vierne works are practically unknown, we will devote most of our attention to them.

Both Psyché and Les Djinns were written in 1914, although in reverse order. This year also saw the composition of his famous Pièces en style libre Op.31. Les Djinns is more or less an orchestral symphonic poem, with the singer as narrator. Vierne uses the form of Hugo’s poem to build up the terror of the deadly spirits flying through the air and then somewhat lessens the ever-present main theme to prepare for the soloist’s invocation to the prophet for protection. This is a wonderfully dramatic moment. However, the music associated with the Djinns never totally disappears and we are left with a slight feeling of unease at the end, not of triumph or relief. In Psyché we again have a poem by Hugo, but this work is slightly more conventional in form, consisting of a poet posing various questions to a butterfly. The interest lies in the way the composer varies the main woodwind theme in numerous ways to keep the music interesting, given the format of the poem. In this he excels himself both orchestrally and harmonically, leading to a final invocation that is quite impressive.

Two years can make quite a difference and the years between 1914 and 1916 produced big changes for Vierne, both personally and professionally. In the latter year his brother and several of his students were killed in the War and he began to show signs of the glaucoma that would eventually render him completely blind. Nevertheless, his work Eros, to a poem by Anna de Noailles, is about the sunny Mediterranean, though not only the pleasant aspects. It ends with what can be seen as a plea for death as escape from life. Musically, it is a true synthesis of voice and orchestra as a means of expression. Once again, it is based on a single, atmospheric theme, here even more masterfully developed than in the previous works. It proceeds from a rather eerie beginning to a triumphant finale that can only be described as amazing. Finally it reminds us that triumph can lead to the grave.

Vierne’s benefactress and muse in the twenties was a lady named Madeline Richepin. In 1929 he found out that she was to marry a famous doctor and this put him in a state of extreme upset. The composer thereupon wrote the Ballade du désepéré (Ballad of a despairing man) in response, numbering it “Op.61 (and last)”. Eventually there was an Op.62, the Organ Mass for the Dead, his last work. The Ballade is much more severe than its three predecessors and is based on several themes. It is despairing throughout, but also possessed of great drama and shows a more supple use of the solo voice. The poem describes the incessant knocking at the door by Death and the main character's acceptance, indeed, happiness, once he realizes that Death has arrived. There is a beautiful cello solo at the end as the situation is resolved, before a return of the opening material.

The Chausson Poème de l’amour et de la mer is usually sung by a soprano, but the original score specifies a tenor and that is the version here. Unlike the Vierne works, the Chausson consists of two vocal scenas or poems linked by an orchestral interlude. But the musical construction turns the parts into a complete symphonic poem. The first section, La fleur des eaux (The flower of the waters) is a description of the beloved in terms of lilacs, elaborating on the first of the work’s two main themes. The second theme enters, worried and agitated, describing the parting from the beloved in terms of the imagery of the sea and waves of agony. The Interlude continues the second theme, but even more mournfully. The second movement proper, La mort de l’amour (The Death of Love) starts with a variant of the second theme and goes through funereal waves of despair before leading to a section where the soloist is accompanied by a single cello. Finally there are reminiscences of the first theme, before the soloist and cellist state that the time of lilacs is over.

There are many recordings of the Chausson available. A couple of the classics are those with Dame Janet Baker [see review] and Jessye Norman. More recently there have been Linda Finnie and Jean-Francois La Pointe [see review]. Steve Davislim shows sufficient intensity and poetic control so as not to suffer by comparison with these others. In addition, he must handle an extremely wide range of emotions in the various works on this disk. He does so with distinction, from the ecstasy of parts of the Chausson to the depths of Vierne’s Ballade du désepéré. His readings of the poetry are very clear and he never loses sight of the main musical structure of each piece. The Queensland Orchestra plays with real devotion; perhaps as well as I have ever heard them. Part of this is due, I am sure, to the leadership of Tourniaire, who achieves an idiomatic French sound throughout and further demonstrates the ability he has shown in his recording of Saint-Saëns’ Hélène [see review]. The SACD is clear, without being overly sharp, as some such recordings are. One must make especial mention of the very erudite notes by Jacques Schamkerten and of the lavishness of the overall presentation.

William Kreindler

see also review by Dominy Clements

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.