Solitaires
Jehan ALAIN (1911-1940)
Prelude and Fugue for piano, JA87A (1935) [4:28]
Henri DUTILLEUX (1916-2013)
Piano sonata (1946-48) [25:05]
Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937)
Le tombeau de Couperin (1914-17) [25:05]
Olivier MESSIAEN (1908-1992)
Le baiser de l’Enfant-Jésus, from Vingt Regards (1944) [13:59]
Kathryn Stott (piano)
rec. 2014, Hallé St Peters, Manchester, UK
BIS SACD BIS-2148 [68:37]
Jehan Alain’s tiny Prelude and Fugue is a microcosm
of this CD as a whole. Steeped in tradition, and with a classical-era poise,
the two short pieces — originally written separately — open with
daring harmonies, especially the fugue. It’s an archetypal “old-meets-new”
merger of ideas, and an appetizer that gets you good and hungry for the main
courses.
These are three of the titans of twen tieth-century French music: Dutilleux,
Ravel and Messiaen. Each is represented by a work written in the shadow of
one of the world wars. Dutilleux’s piano sonata is a beguiling mixture
of Ravel and jazz, with the author’s own brand of modernism mixed into
the brew too. The second movement, a slow song, is especially exquisite. Ravel’s
Le tombeau de Couperin needs no introduction; nor does one of the
climactic sections of Messiaen’s massive cycle, Vingt regards sur
l’Enfant-Jésus.
Kathryn Stott deserves much praise for her assembly of the programme, from
that perfectly-chosen Alain appetizer to the placement of the older, more
familiar Ravel piece between Messiaen and Dutilleux. She sets up a contrast
between successive works, which yields both insight and listening pleasure.
She also earns our admiration with her playing, like the simply commanding
Dutilleux sonata reading. The piece seemingly never gives her trouble. I was
unfamiliar with it, but immediately convinced. Her Ravel Tombeau
is a lot like Benjamin Grosvenor’s: absolute command of the prelude’s
difficult rhythms, a slow and moody fugue, and a jubilant Rigaudon. Her toccata
is maybe a little less speed-demon virtuosic than his, but then again, I saw
his performance live.
Where Stott really comes into her own, though, is the mesmerizing performance
of Messiaen’s “Le baiser de l’Enfant-Jésus”. To be
clear, I don’t even really like Messiaen. But the trance-like mood of
the first few minutes, so carefully controlled by Stott’s performance,
draws me in. Given the shattering climax of the piece, it seems entirely correct
to perform it separately, as if it were a stand-alone sonata. Both work and
performance feel truly epic.
My colleague Dan Morgan praised this recording to the skies, and now I join
him. “Luminously played,” he says, “a well planned and magnificently
executed recital.” Indeed, and the only thing left to praise is the
immaculately engineered sound. Another triumph for BIS and Kathryn Stott,
and another delight for us, the listeners.
Brian Reinhart
Previous review:
Dan Morgan
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