Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Sinfonietta FP 141 (1947)
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Sinfonietta in A major, Op 5 (1909, rev. 1929)
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Sinfonietta, Op 1, version for small orchestra (1932, arr. 1936)
Lahti Symphony Orchestra/Dima Slobodeniouk
rec. 2021, Sibelius Hall, Lahti, Finland
BIS BIS-2601 SACD [63]
BIS have fashioned a well-planned concept album, consisting of three sinfoniettas by twentieth-century composers who are better known in other genres. While none of these compositions would rank in the top echelon of their oeuvre, all are characteristic of their respective composers. The obvious work missing from this list is Janáček’s orchestral masterpiece, but there are plenty of choices for his Sinfonietta in the catalogue. As far as I know there are none of this particular programme, so for that alone this SACD would be self-recommending.
Poulenc’s Sinfonietta, as Philip Borg-Wheeler writes in his succinct and informative booklet note, was the composer’s only attempt at a purely symphonic work. While it is no serious symphony, the piece follows the symphonic form to some extent. It contains four movements, beginning with an Allegro con fuoco in sonata form and followed by a scherzo, slow movement, and finale. Like much of Poulenc’s instrumental music it is highly entertaining and tuneful. Poulenc composed the work as a commission from the BBC to honour the first anniversary of their Third Programme. The piece reminded me of Les Biches in its insouciance, but also the pensive side of the composer in the slow movement’s haunting clarinet theme so beautifully rendered in this performance. As typical of the composer, Poulenc has the last laugh with the rather abrupt and comic ending to the finale. A delicious work and well performed in this terrific account by the Lahti orchestra under their chief conductor.
Prokofiev composed his Sinfonietta as early as 1909 predating his Classical Symphony, but then revised it twice with the work gaining its opus number in 1929. Like
Janáček’s, it is in five movements and the initial theme of the first movement is repeated in the finale, but at the start where the Czech composer recalled his fanfares only towards the end of his last movement. The Prokofiev Sinfonietta is generally light and breezy, with the single exception of the second movement Andante that is darker in mood and a Scherzo marked Allegro risoluto which Borg-Wheeler rightly describes as “spiky.” The composer highlights the strings and woodwinds in this work, where the clarinet, bassoon, and flute have memorable themes. In many ways the music looks forward to such ballets as Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella in its lyricism and warmth. Prokofiev pulls a surprise at the very end of the finale where the music accelerates to “conclude” with loud chords only to end quietly with two short chords by the strings. Again Slobodeniouk and his forces clearly have the measure of the work.
Britten’s Sinfonietta provides quite a contrast to the two previous pieces. It is a more serious and dissonant work to be sure, but for me it is as memorable as the others. Although influenced by Schoenberg and his First Chamber Symphony, Britten’s Sinfonietta has all the hallmarks of his own music. He originally scored this three-movement work for winds and string quintet, but then arranged it for chamber orchestra as played here. Where the Poulenc and Prokofiev compositions feature woodwinds to a large extent, Britten’s gives the horns a more prominent part. His form may be more difficult to grasp at first with its continuous development and lack of recapitulation, but it repays repeated hearings and is quite rewarding. A flute solo begins the second movement Variations in a pensive mood and has a contrasting section of abrupt chords and rhythmic figures leading to a powerful, dissonant climax. This movement leads directly into the ebullient Tarantella finale which concludes with four long string chords, the last topped by Lahti’s splendid horns.
With its attractive programme, superb performances, and state-of-the-art sound this SACD is easy to like. Nonetheless, there are other options if you are seeking these works on discs devoted to the individual composer. For the Poulenc there is Jean-Luc Tingaud and RTE National Symphony (Naxos), the newly released Chandos recording by the BBC Concert Orchestra under the late Bramwell Tovey, and Charles Dutoit’s disc of Poulenc Orchestral Works (Decca), though Dutoit makes heavy weather of the slow movement in my opinion. Of these recordings Tingaud’s sprightly tempos are particularly suited to the piece. Prokofiev is well served by Neeme Järvi and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (Chandos), the Bournemouth Symphony/Karabits on Onyx, and Riccardo Muti with the Philharmonia Orchestra on a Prokofiev set in Warner’s 20th Century Classics series. For Britten, I would choose either Edward Gardner and the BBC Symphony (Chandos) or Osmo Vänskä with the Tapiola Sinfonietta on BIS. Dima Slobodeniouk and his orchestra have nothing to fear from this competition, and including all three sinfoniettas on a single disc for comparison makes a lot of sense. I would have preferred only a change in the order of the selections for contrast’s sake with the Britten coming between the other works, something which is easily programmable in any case. BIS may also be congratulated for their all-paper product and its slim packaging, as well as the attractive Mondrian painting on the cover.
Leslie Wright
Published: November 22, 2022
