Paraphrases Brillantes
Wilhelm POPP (1828-1903) “Rigoletto” Fantasie Op.335 [10:06];
Emanuele KRAKAMP (1813-1883) “La Traviata” Fantasie Op.248 [5:44];
Jean REMUSAT (1815-1880) “La Traviata” Caprice [6:01];
Jean REMUSAT and Alphonse LEDUC (1804-1868) Fantasie
élégante sur un thème de Rossini (“La Cenerentola”) [5:24];
Joseph Joachim RAFF (1822-1882) Deux paraphrases de Salon d’après
Verdi Op.70 for piano solo: “Il Trovatore” [4:40]; “La Traviata” [5:01];
Giuseppe GARIBOLDI (1833-1905) “Faust” [4:37];
Jules DEMERSSEMAN (1799-1862) Fantasie brillante sur les motives
de “La Juive” [10:24];
François BORNE (1840-1920) Fantasie brillante sur “Carmen” [12:08]
Miriam Terragni (flute)
Catherine Sarasin (piano):
rec. Radio Studio Zurich, 25-27 September 2009
GUILD GMCD 7345 CD [64:32]
Nowadays if you miss live performances of a new opera from an established
composer there is a good chance that it will be available as a recording,
possibly even as a DVD. In the nineteenth century if you missed one or wanted
to repeat the experience the alternative was through transcriptions. These
could range from a straightforward vocal score - Bernard Shaw was said to
have spent many hours playing and singing in this way - by way of a variety
of selections and dance arrangements for piano or various instrumental groups,
to concert works intended for the professional or gifted amateur performer.
This disc consists of nine of the latter, mainly for flute and piano but relieved
by two short piano solos by Raff.
Apart from Raff, the names of the composers here are unlikely to be known
other than to flautists. Most were indeed not only flautists themselves but
wrote large quantities of studies and concert works for the instrument. Popp
for instance wrote over six hundred works and Krakamp nearly three hundred,
and studies of varying degrees of difficulty by Gariboldi, Popp and Demersseman
are familiar to every flautist. They are however less likely to be as familiar
with the works on this disc. Certainly like the studies they display all the
characteristics of the instrument and test the player’s technique, but what
may be less expected is that they are also very imaginative and entertaining
as music. This may not be music of great depth or range – mention of the achievements
of Liszt is out of place in this context, but it is extremely effective. It
is not hard to imagine how well it would be received in a salon or in a small
concert hall at the time that it was written.
Fortunately the two players on this disc understand both its qualities and
its limitations very well. Both are Swiss, and they have been playing together
since 2001. They play with complete rapport, considerable virtuosity where
required, and are well balanced, so that the flute does not unrealistically
overwhelm the piano. Miriam Terragni has a very beautiful tone, avoiding the
excessive vibrato that some better known flautists employ, but with a surprisingly
large range of dynamics and articulation. All in all both players do full
justice the music and present it to its best advantage.
A quick glance at the titles of the items may suggest an excess of Verdi,
and in particular of music based on “La Traviata”. However although both Krakamp
and Remusat end their works with “Sempre libera”, their choice of items from
the opera is otherwise quite different, whilst Raff’s piano solo is based
entirely on a single section of the opera – the ensemble that ends Act 2.
The otherwise helpful and full notes by Robert Matthew-Walker do not identify
on which sections of each opera the various works are based but this is of
minor importance. As a whole, this is an extremely entertaining disc likely
to have appeal for many more than merely flautists and opera lovers.
John Sheppard