August DE BOECK (1865-1937)
Symphony in G
Edgar TINEL (1854-1912)
Overture - Polyeucte
Flanders SO/Fabrice Bollon
rec 12-14 May 1995
CYPRÈS CYP1605
[58.55]
Crotchet AmazonUK
AmazonUS
I have been disappointed in the Gramophone's signal failure to explore
the further reaches of the repertoire. The compact disc market while at first
(1983-85) seeming to positively wallow in the familiar has blessedly confounded
that fear. In fact the CD might well have been the spark from heaven that
opened up the recording of obscure and sometimes rewarding music in a way
that the LP over its thirty plus years reign never achieved. Sadly
Gramophone failed the collector-adventurer in its mainstream big company
focus. It is only comparatively recently that the magazine, while capitulating
to short reviews and mini cover pictures, has made some tentative passes
in the direction of inclusion. The market leaders: Fanfare (since
the late 1970s) and International Record Review. have pushed out the
boundaries and made 'here be dragons' land into the new outer circle. It
is the difference between an inclusive approach and an artistically exclusive
approach. Fanfare continues to thrive but IRR, while still excellent as to
substance, seems to be getting slimmer by the month. I do understand that
commercial choices have to be made: it is the balance between advertising
revenue/space and 'unremunerative' review pages. However the choice of what
goes into the commercially acceptable number of review pages and what is
excluded (or not included, if you prefer) is illuminating.
I was stung into this piece of probably futile soap-box rhetoric by checking
the Gramophone database (1983-1997) for reviews of de Boeck. Neither the
present Cyprès version of the symphony nor the Discover nor the Marco
Polo versions have been reviewed yet the Discover has been around since 1994
and the Marco Polo and Cyprès since 1995. Even if the CDs have not
been offered for review, which I doubt, I would have expected a magazine
of the eminence of Gramophone to have sought them out. In fairness I have
not checked Fanfare but I would be surprised if they had not reviewed any
of these versions.
De Boeck and Paul Gilson were close contemporaries and friends, separated
in age by only one month, yet de Boeck was Gilson's pupil. Gilson's most
famous work De Zee is the substantial (35 min) coupling on the Discover
disc. Gilson and de Boeck attended concerts together and kept in touch in
much the same way as Holst and Vaughan Williams. Gilson introduced de Boeck
to the music of the Russian Kouchka and they both attended Wagner operas
in Brussels. Gilson was the townie and de Boeck the man of the country. De
Boeck's orchestral music dates from two periods: the 1890s and then the
1920s/30s. The symphony is from the former period and is written under the
filtered influence of Borodin and the Kouchka. There is only the one symphony
and that was held back by the composer for almost 25 years until its premiere
in Brussels. Apart from the orchestral works (a smallish collection) de Boeck
concentrated on opera and other stage works.
The Symphony has its cross-references in Franck (the Symphony), Elgarian
nobilmente (Symphony No. 1), Glazunov (the flourish and swagger of
Symphonies 5 and 8) and Tchaikovsky. These 'voices' are in continuous fusion
and kindling from the sobriety and tension of the first bars to Kouchka-like
woodwind songs and impetuous gestural climaxes. However in comparison with
the versions found on Discover and Marco Polo the work's substantial outer
movements are very languidly projected. In the case of the opening Andante
this takes a full four minutes longer than Rickenbacher and Devreese. The
finale Allegro runs a full two minutes longer than its competitors.
Because the music is unfamiliar you will be unlikely to notice this but once
heard you will understand a preference (in this work) for the Devreese on
Marco Polo. Couplings differ of course but the Marco Polo (at full price,
like the Cyprès) also packs in the work that for me turned the golden
key for de Boeck - the rapturously romantic violin concerto - a happy parallel
with Karlowicz's violin concerto.
De Boeck Symphony timings (taken from jewel case inserts)
Bollon
Rickenbacher Devreese
I Andante 14.36 10.17
10.11
II Scherzo 5.08 4.40
5.00
III Andante 8.38 7.14
7.49
IV Allegro 10.16 8.08
8.15
Tinel was from a previous generation by only eleven years but his style sounds
rather earlier than de Boeck's. Tinel's Polyeucte (based on Corneille's
tragedy) is a highly skilled blend of Brahms, predominantly, and some Tchaikovsky
from the tone poems. I thought of the Russian composer's Hamlet and
The Tempest. The Brahmsian element is desperately serious as befits
the tragic inspiration and seems to have been written under the spell of
the First Symphony and Tragic Overture. The eager music is redolent
of Schumann but Brahms' voice remains dominant. This piece will be well liked
by those who appreciate their Glazunov. Polyeucte is no make-weight
running to circa 20 minutes.
The choices are not straightforward. Sound quality is, at very least, acceptable
for all three discs though the Cyprès is marginally the stronger.
If the Symphony is your target then go for either the Discover or the Marco
Polo. The Discover has a major coupling in the shape of Gilson's
pre-Eastbourne-Debussy De Zee. The Marco Polo has the glorious de
Boeck violin concerto. The Tinel - perhaps best thought of as a meaty partner
to Brahms Tragic or Schumann's Julius Caesar, is not otherwise
available.
In common with all Cyprès products this disc is well presented and
is recorded with sensitivity and transparency of texture in a lively generous
and warm concert-hall ambience.
Rob Barnett
COMPARATIVE VERSIONS
AUGUST DE BOECK (1865-1937) Symphony
in G; Violin Concerto; Dahomeyan Rhapsody
Royal Flanders PO/Frederic Devreese rec July 1994
MARCO POLO
8.223740
[62.59] full price
AUGUST DE BOECK (1865-1937) Symphony in G
PAUL GILSON (1865-1942) De Zee
BRTN PO/Karl-Anton Rickenbacher rec 1987
DISCOVER INTERNATIONAL
DICD
920126 bargain price [65.43]
