This is one of those
CDs which got the better of my curiosity – not having heard of
Simon Le Duc and having the opportunity of clearing up on his
complete symphonic works in one go will be something which appeals
to more than just me, so, who was Simon Le Duc?
Simon Le Duc ‘l’aîné’
- the elder - was principally a violinist, so known to distinguish
him from the younger Le Duc, his brother Pierre, who was also
a virtuoso violinist and music publisher. A contemporary of Mozart,
he also died young, but achieved the directorship of the ‘Concerts
spirituels’ in Paris in 1773, having previously performed as orchestral
member and soloist. Leopold Mozart wrote ‘he plays well’ in his
journeys through Paris in 1763-64, and praise from that stern
figure was hard enough to come by. The Concerts spirituals was
one of a number of influential orchestral societies, which provided
a platform for new symphonic developments at home in France and
from abroad, such as the Mannheim school. During the 1760s the
Symphony as we know it today was still in a state of development,
and Le Duc’s style seems to have absorbed Austrian and Bohemian
styles into the current French fashions, amounting to quite an
advanced form of the tonal idiom of Viennese classicism represented
by composers like J. Haydn, J.C Bach, W.A. Mozart and the like.
The Orchestral Trio
was a genre derived from examples by Johann Stamitz, and differs
little from the chamber music trios with two violins and cello
which were popular at the time, but which was soon overtaken by
other forms such as the string quartet. Considerable research
was necessary to bring as much of the existing music together
from different sources with these works, but the results show
trios of superlative technique and maturity. Take the Cantabile
posato con espressione from Op. 2,2 with its deliciously expressive
harmonies and melodic lines and you will hear what I mean.
The three Symphonies
appeared separately in various anthologies printed by Pierre Le
Duc’s publishing company. They each have the same instrumentation
of two flutes, two horns and strings. The lack of oboes makes
for a nicely rounded orchestral sound, which is supplemented by
La Stagione Frankfurt with unobtrusive continuo parts on fortepiano,
and a doubling of the bass line with bassoon in the tutti passages.
‘Sturm und Drang’ is a strong element in these pieces, with expressive
slow movements and plenty of energetic and witty playing for the
outer sections – including an opening wake-up call which may blow
your socks off.
Listening to this
CD, my initial ‘oh no not more early classical symphonies’ – a
hangover from year one of a B.Mus. course at the R.A.M. – soon
became ‘hey, this is really interesting stuff.’ The subtly inflected
playing of La Stagione Frankfurt draws you in, and soon reveals
the inventive qualities of Simon Le Duc’s compositions, and the
freshness of both the works and the playing easily convince the
listener of how wonderful the works must have appeared to audiences
at the time.
Dominy Clements
La Stagione
Frankfurt/Michael Schneider
