Henri DUTILLEUX (1916-2013)
Pages de jeunesse (Youthful Pages)
Sonate pour piano, Op.1 (1948) [25:09]
Sarabande et Cortège (1942) [7:00]
Sonatine pour flûte et piano (1943) [9:20]
Choral, Cadence et Fugato (1950) Choral [2:03]; Cadence et fugue [3:25]
Sonate pour hautbois et piano (1947) [11:25]
Pascal Godart (piano); Marc Trénel (bassoon); Vincent Lucas (flute); Daniel Breszynski (trombone); Alexandre Gattet (oboe)
rec. March-May 2007, Paris
INDÉSENS INDE087 [58:42]
This album is a reissue of Indésens INDE004 from 2007. The
recorded contents are identical to the original release, except that the Piano
Sonata now opens the album. It is rather unusual for record companies to reissue
a disc after less than a decade. The centenary of Dutilleux this year is likely
to have been the reason.
The works featured here are the earliest surviving works by Dutilleux. He
was not exactly young when he wrote these pieces but he destroyed most of
the compositions he wrote before 1945. These are the only survivors from his
early period. The pieces for winds and piano were all commissioned 'solos
de concours' (exam pieces) for the Paris Conservatoire. As these were
meant to test students’ abilities, they cover the entire compass of
the instruments and are technically demanding. Unlike many other such works,
these have genuine artistic worth, and have since cemented their places in
the repertoire. Each of Dutilleux’s 'solos de concours'
was dedicated to the professor who taught the featured instrument at the Paris
Conservatoire at the time.
The French school of wind playing from the middle of the twentieth century
was characterized by light, bright and transparent tone, with ample use of
vibrato, and virtuosic technique. The present-day French school has deviated
a lot from that. Tone has become darker and warmer, with less ample use of
vibrato, though virtuosity remains. The changes, instigated by the internationalisation
of orchestral sound, are the results of evolutions in reed design (in the
case of oboe and bassoon) and instrument design, and to a smaller extent,
changes in playing technique.
This album features some of the finest French wind players of the current
generation. When the recording was made, all three woodwind performers were
principal players with the Orchestre de Paris, while trombonist Daniel Breszynski
was playing with the Paris Opera. All of the performers are graduates of the
Paris Conservatoire.
Pascal Godart opens the album with Dutilleux’s Piano Sonata
Op.1. As the title suggests, Dutilleux considered this work his first
opus. It is dedicated to his wife Geneviève Joy, a brilliant pianist that
Dutilleux met at the Paris Conservatoire. Joy recorded this work, although
I have not heard that recording. Godart possesses a vast canvas of tone colours
and deploys this wonderfully in the Sonata. For the rest of the album, Godart
takes a back seat and accompanies the various soloists.
The earliest piece on this album is the Sarabande et Cortège
from 1942, dedicated to Gustave Dhérin, Professor of Bassoon at the time,
and conceived for the French-system bassoon. Until the 1970s, French bassoonists
exclusively played French-system instruments. They have a lighter and brighter
tone than the German-system bassoons, and a much freer and easier top - like
Pavarotti vs. Domingo. Nowadays, a number of bassoonists in France, including
Marc Trénel, are playing German-system bassoons. The limitations of the latter
are apparent in the Sarabande et Cortège. Trénel, who in 2009 became
the first ever first prize winner on bassoon in the prestigious Munich ARD
Competition’s 57 year history, has to slur to the climactic top E and
top F in the final cadenza; Dutilleux asked for them to be articulated. Extreme
high notes aside, Trénel gives as good a performance of this piece as anyone
has committed to disc. He displays a fine sensitivity to the dynamic nuances
as well as admirable tonal control and impeccable technique - except in the
third bar from the end of the Sarabande, where the note combination
is impossible to play cleanly on German-system instruments.
The Sonatine for Flute and Piano was dedicated to Professor
of Flute Gaston Crunelle (incorrectly given as Gaston Courelle in the booklet),
who gave the first performance with the composer on the piano. It is a wonderful
piece that has rightfully cemented its place in the repertoire. Vincent Lucas
studied with Michel Debost, who was a student of Gaston Crunelle, thus claiming
direct lineage to the performing tradition of Dutilleux’s Sonatine.
The opening Allegretto is played with a suitably mysterious mood,
while the daunting passagework is tossed off with apparent ease. Vincent Lucas
plays with elegant tone and consummate musicality, without the automatic and
incessant vibrato that is the hallmark of many flautists, including adherents
of the old French school.
Choral, Cadence et Fugato was written for the 1950
concours of the class of André Lafosse. It is considerable shorter than the
other 'solos de concours' featured here. The piano introduction
to the opening Choral reminds me of the slow movement of Ravel’s
Piano Concerto in G. The trombone plays a long legato melody, which tests
the student’s ability to play with a seamless legato, something Daniel
Breszynski does with distinction. The Cadence is a short cadenza
with increasing virtuosity that leads to the Fugato, itself a tour
de force for the trombone player. Breszynski plays with an assurance
in technique as well as a tone that is always well controlled.
The Sonate for Oboe and Piano was written in 1947 for Pierre
Bajeux’s oboe class. Dutilleux was dissatisfied with the last movement,
and was furious when he found out a recording of the work was made. This Sonate
is deceptively difficult, as it requires very fine tonal and dynamic control,
including long sustained passages of soft playing in the high range, with
an octave slur to the top F while diminuendo to pp. Alexandre
Gattet meets the technical challenges with aplomb. However, his round and
somewhat dark tone, a far cry from the old French oboe school of Pierre Pierlot
and Maurice Bourgue, doesn’t quite provide the wide palette of colours
ideally required here. The long-drawn melody in the middle of the Scherzo
(starting at [0:54]) could have had a more seamless legato, and in general
the Scherzo could use a more biting staccato. The finale feels a bit slow
to me — it is taken at minim=88, instead of minim=96 as marked in the
score — and it is not helped by the four-square playing of the simple,
song-like melody by Gattet.
I wonder how many brilliant pieces by Dutilleux are lost to us, because these
surviving pieces from Dutilleux’s early period are of genuine artistic
worth. We can only wish that he hadn’t destroyed his other early works.
The programme notes, written in French, provide insightful information on
the pieces as well as detailed biographical information on the performers.
Unfortunately, the English translation is neither idiomatic nor always accurate.
I found myself having to go back to the French original often in order to
gain an understanding of the text, even though I don’t read French.
Dutilleux was given a copy of the original recording before it was officially
released. His thoughts on these works and on this recording could be gleaned
from a letter he wrote to Yves d’Hau, transcribed in the booklet in
its original French only. The gist of it is that he enjoyed writing the pieces
and was pleased with the performances by the Orchestre de Paris principals.
These early works by Dutilleux are usually presented in recital discs featuring
the respective instruments and coupled with works by other composers. There
is another
all-Dutilleux disc featuring most of these works, but it does not feature
the Choral, Cadence et Fugato for trombone and piano and the performers there
were not brought up in the Paris Conservatoire tradition. The performances
on this album are first rate throughout, and some are among the best versions
available. If you want these works on a single disc, you do not need to look
elsewhere.
Wai Kit Leung
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