Nicolas BACRI (b. 1961)
Concerto amoroso “Le printemps” Op.80 No.2 (2004/5)a [13:08]
Concerto for Flute and Orchestra Op.63 (1999)b [15:53]
Concerto nostalgico “L’automne” Op.80 No.1 (2000/2)c [10:24]
Nocturne Op.90 (2004)d [4:14]
Symphony No.4 “Sturm und Drang” Op.49 (1995) [13:50]
Lisa Batiashvili (violin)a; Sharon Bezaly (flute)b; Riita
Pesola (cello)cd; François Leleux (oboe)ac; Tapiola
Sinfonietta/Jean-Jacques Kantorow
rec. Tapiola Hall, Espoo, May 2006 (Flute Concerto) and March 2006 (other works)
BIS-CD-1579 [58:54]
Concerto nostalgico “L’automne” and Concerto
amoroso “Le printemps” are the first two panels of Bacri’s
work-in-progress Les quatre saisons Op.80, a series of four concertos
for oboe and other instruments. The third panel Concerto tenebroso “L’hiver” for
oboe, violin and strings was first performed in January 2010. The first performance
of the fourth panel Concerto luminoso “L’été” for
oboe, violin, cello and strings is to take place in spring 2011.
Concerto amoroso “Le printemps” for oboe, violin
and strings is in a single movement in which a long central Notturno is framed
by two lively, rhythmically alert outer sections (Mosaïca and Mosaïca
II). The outer sections display Neo-classical characteristics whereas the central
Nocturne is at times quite intense. The scoring for oboe and cello imbues Concerto
nostalgico “L’automne” for oboe, cello and strings
with an appropriately autumnal colour. This, too, is in one single movement
falling into four sections played without a break. The music unfolds seamlessly
from the dark mood of the opening through various contrasting sections (Scherzo
alla Fuga and Romanza) before reaching the beautiful, appeased epilogue.
Nicolas Bacri has composed quite a number of concertos or concertante works
-some thirty of them up to now (2010). The Concerto for Flute and Orchestra is
scored for fairly small orchestral forces (double woodwind, two horns, percussion
and strings) and is in three movements. The first movement opens with a slow
introduction leading into the main part of the movement Allegro moderato that
nevertheless allows for a variety of moods. The second movement Estatico is
a Nocturne of sorts - one with some very dark corners. The final movement opens
with some energy, but moods vary again until the music reaches its conclusion
in a night music à la Bartók in which it eventually thins
away calmly.
The short Nocturne Op.90 for cello and strings is in a fairly
straightforward arch-form with slow outer sections framing a more animated
and tense central one. This compact work is - to my mind - a good example of
Bacri’s music-making in that the music says all it has to say with not
a single note wasted.
Nicolas Bacri has composed six symphonies so far and his Seventh Symphony will
be premiered in autumn 2011. The Symphony No.4 “Sturm und Drang” Op.49 was
written for the Orchestre de Picardie of which Bacri was composer-in-residence.
The orchestra and its conductor Louis Langrée had dedicated a concert-cycle
to “Sturm und Drang” compositions of the late-Classical era and
wanted a new work in the same aesthetic. Bacri, however, wanted to write his
own music while paying homage to some older beloved composers. The four movements
of the Fourth Symphony are thus meant as homage to composers of the early 20th century
(Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Weill respectively) although the
music never directly quotes from or alludes to their music. The work as a whole
is also a tribute to a number of other 20th century composers such
as Ravel, Prokofiev and Walton. The Fourth Symphony is Bacri’s Classical
Symphony paying homage to the musical past without a single hint of pastiche
or parody.
One of the more endearing characteristics of Nicolas Bacri’s music is
that he never outstretches or overworks his material thus achieving some remarkable
concision. This is never at the expense of expression and communication. As
early as 1983, when his music was still fairly adventurous, Bacri inscribed
a phrase from Tristan Tzara on one of his scores: “I know that I carry
melody within me and I am not afraid of it”. The works recorded here
- as so much else in Bacri’s output - clearly “carry melody and
are not afraid of it”.
All these performances are excellent and superbly recorded, and the whole -
Martin Anderson’s detailed and well-informed insert notes included -
is up to BIS’ best standards. This is a very fine release by any count.
Hubert Culot