If, like me, you’re more familiar with orchestral/choral
Schmitt - the grand
Psaume 47 and
La Tragédie de Salomé
- now is your chance to hear him on a more intimate scale. Byzantion
welcomed this and the first two volumes of Invencia’s projected
four-part series (
review
of Volume 1) (
review of Volumes 2 & 3),
and his comments certainly whetted my appetite for this repertoire.
Ukrainian-born pianists Andrey Kasparov and Oksana Lutsyshyn are new
to me, but their biography suggest they are a most accomplished pair;
as for the music it’s relatively early Schmitt, yet it always
emerges fully formed.
The
Marche du 163e R.I., originally written for military band,
is a bright, crystalline creation crisply played and well recorded.
From the outset this duo impress with their lucidity, fine rhythmic
sense and subtle control of dynamics. For those curious as to the provenance
of this music it suggests Debussy and Ravel, although it falls somewhere
between the soft outlines of the former and the harder edges of the
latter. Those who enjoy Koechlin -
Les heures persanes, for instance
- will feel at home here; indeed, he and Schmitt occupied similar places
on the fringes of French music at the time, and in that respect there’s
something refreshingly individual about the styles of both.
Albums of one kind or another are a familiar part of the Romantic canon,
and Schmitt’s two sets of ‘travel pages’ are perfectly
shaped, beguiling miniatures; from the butterfly fibrillations of
Sérénade
and the air of contentment in
Douceur du soir (Balmy evening)
to the emphatic little
Danse britannique this talented twosome
are always alive to Schmitt’s eye-twinkling sensibilities. Book
II is no less enchanting; the gently shifting harmonies of the
Berceuse
are adroitly done, and the
Mazurka is despatched with supreme
elegance and a wonderful control of touch. Even the
Marche burlesque
is a model of good taste - it’s a music-hall-meets-salon piece
that never strays too far in either direction - as is the giddy little
Valse.
Indeed there’s a balance, an equanimity, in this music that I
find very attractive, and the deliciously refined playing and sonics
add immensely to that sense of well-being. As for
Musiques foraines
it sheds light on the slightly sinister, half-lit world of carnival
fun and freakery. That said, Schmitt is sparing with the greasepaint
and grotesquerie;
Boniment de clowns (Tale of Clowns) has more
than a hint of wistful charm and the beautiful belly dancer Fatima’s
features are most sympathetically drawn. The music of those wise elephants,
the fortune teller and the wooden horses is notable for its economy
of means and aptness of character, all which is recreated with disarming
ease.
Such is the unfailing engagement and artistry of this music and these
musicians that I can’t wait to hear the other discs in the series.
The succinct liner-notes, use of up-to-date fonts and artwork and fine
piano sound complete a terrific package.
Enchanting repertoire, sensitively played and recorded; a must for all
pianophiles.
Dan Morgan
http://twitter.com/mahlerei
See also review by
Byzantion
Full track-list
Marche du 163e R.I., for piano four hands (two pianos), Op. 48 No. 2
(1916) [7:13]
Feuillets de voyage - Book I, Op. 26 (1903-1913) [12:14]
No. 1 Sérénade [3:46]
No. 2 Visite [3:26]
No. 3 Compliments [1:14]
No. 4 Douceur du soir [2:12]
No. 5 Danse britannique [1:36]
Feuillets de voyage - Book II, Op. 26 (1903-1913) [15:07]
No. 1 Berceuse [4:27]
No. 2 Mazurka [1:30]
No. 3 Marche burlesque [2:17]
No. 4 Retour a l'endroit familier [3:08]
No. 5 Valse [3:45]
Musiques foraines, for piano four hands, Op. 22 (1895-1902) [25:17]Invencia
Piano
I. Parade [4:38]
II. Boniment de clowns [2:41]
III. La belle Fathma [3:37]
IV. Les elephants savants [4:29]
V. La pythonisse [4:39]
VI. Chevaux de bois [5:13]
