Benjamin GODARD (1849-1895)
Piano Works - Volume 2
Rêve vécu, Op. 140 [4:23]
Nocturne No. 1, Op. 68 [4:19]
Nocturne No. 2, Op. 90 Nocturne No. 4, Op. 150 [6:28]
Nocturne No. 3, Op. 139 [5:58]
Nocturne No. 4, Op. 150 [6:28]
3 Morceaux, Op. 16 [6:57]
Fantaisie, Op. 143 [15:04]
Renouveau, Op. 82 [3:16]
Fragments poétiques, Op. 13 [10:30]
Eliane Reyes (piano)
rec. 27 April and 22 May 2014, Recital Studio B, Tihange, Belgium
GRAND PIANO GP684 [62:58]
Frenchman Benjamin Godard is one of those forgotten men and women of classical piano music which the Grand Piano label has so enterprisingly resurrected. A child prodigy on violin and piano, enrolled at the Paris Conservatoire aged ten, he grew into a prolific composer and wrote three symphonies, four concertos, eight operas, three string quartets, four violin sonatas, much other chamber music, songs and piano solos. It was said he should be less prolific and become a still better composer, but he had great facility – and a living to earn.
Which is where much of this music comes in, aimed at the large commercial market for amateurs, from the aspiring to the highly capable. More famous composers than Godard did the same, and no one patronises a well-turned performance of Mendelssohn’s “Songs without Words” or Grieg’s “Lyric Pieces”. Indeed Mendelssohn, and especially Chopin, are his models. Despite being born mid-century, he was no supporter of Wagner and Liszt’s “Music of the Future”.
Not every piece here has the highest degree of inspiration, but none is without interest and most have much to offer. The opening Rêve vécu (“Living a Dream”) is a captivating opener, an unassuming little waltz with a touch of harmonic spice. The four Nocturnes are as Chopinesque as their title at times, but given the target market, they avoid Chopin’s trick of writing pieces far easier to listen to than to play. The Quatrième Nocturne is the pick of them, and a bit different to the other three in texture and in difficulty, with some fiery octave passages and dashing semiquavers.
If that put the amateurs off, they could always turn to the Trois Morceaux Op. 16, especially its opening Menuet, a pastiche that has plenty of affection for the manners of its stately origins. But they would have to avoid the late Fantasie, whose three parts add up to the most substantial work here, its outer movement titles of Ballade and Scherzo, demonstrate further Chopin templates, and at its best the music is worthy of the comparison. But it is the middle Intermezzo that most recalls the Polish master, and the marking vivace is well justified, for an enchanting vivacity is the hallmark of its outer sections. It was dedicated to Marmontel, a distinguished pianist of the day, and one hopes he played it often. Certainly this is the piece which I shall return to as much as any on the disc.
Belgian pianist Eliane Reyes plays with superb feeling for each piece, bringing out their intrinsic qualities, especially their many lyrical moments. But in passages like the bravura coda of the last part of the Fantasie she has more than enough technique to provoke a silent ‘Bravo’. She is also credited as the producer of the recording, and so is to be congratulated for the selection and sequence of these items as well. Katy Hamilton contributes an excellent booklet note (French, German and English) which, given the obscurity of the repertoire, I have gratefully drawn upon here. The sound is warm and intimate, as befits the domestic scene of the salons of Second Empire Paris, in which much of this delightful music was first heard.
Roy Westbrook
