Colours of a Flute
Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Syrinx (1913) [2:09]
*Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un Faune (arr. Gustav Samazeuilh)
[10:02]
Jacques IBERT (1890-1962)
Pièce (1936) [4:41]
Francis POULENC (1899-1963)
*Flute Sonata (1956-57) [11:43]
Pierre-Octave FERROUD (1900-1936)
Trois Pièces (1921-22) [8:01]
André JOLIVET (1905-1974)
*Chant de Linos (1944) [11:11]
Olivier MESSIAEN (1908-1992)
*Le Merle Noir (1952) [5:43]
Urszula Janik (flute)
*Joanna Kaczmarska-Biezynska (piano)
rec. Chamber Music Hall, Warsaw Philharmonic, 14-16 December 2011.
CD ACCORD ACD 179-2 [54:37]
The 'Colours of a Flute' title is self-explanatory in this exploration
by Polish flautist Urszula Janik of a gratifyingly lyrical mixture of core
and rarer, solo and accompanied repertoire - French music from the first half
of the 20th century indeed.
Listeners are "invited to embark on a fascinating journey" experienced
through "the rich palette of flute colours". In that regard, one
immediately apparent issue, in the duos, is that the flute has been recorded
set back slightly from the piano. This has the effect, ironically, of slightly
diluting those colours. On the other hand, the three solo works are entirely
unaffected, and the quality of the engineering capturing the full range of
the flute can be better appreciated.
Gustav Samazeuilh's arrangement for piano of Debussy's original
orchestral score of Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un
Faune may be tantamount sacrilege to many, but it does have the obvious
advantage of allowing this impressionistic masterpiece to be performed all
the more frequently. Nevertheless, Debussy had his reasons for not scoring
for flute and piano, and certainly a significant portion of the work's
inherent magic is lost.
Elsewhere, the neo-Classical contributions of Ibert, Poulenc and Ferroud combined
with Jolivet's and Messiaen's altogether more - but not overly
- avant-garde pieces add up to a programme that is as varied as it is entertaining.
For those of more traditional tastes, Poulenc's adorable Sonata will
probably be the highpoint of this recording in expressive terms, but Messiaen's
ornithologically-inspired Blackbird gets the catholic vote.
Urszula Janik, who plays lead flute in the Warsaw Philharmonic, asserted her
technical gumption recently on a Naxos recording of Penderecki's hardcore-modernist
Fonogrammi (8.572482). A different kind of virtuosity is required
in this altogether more ear-friendly recital. The technical demands are still
high, of course, but Janik deals with them comfortably, at the same time demonstrating
a considerable degree of delicacy and poise. Pianist Joanna Kaczmarska-Biezynska
does not get a mention on the front cover, but she deserves one for her own
appreciable and intelligent contribution.
Flute positioning aside, the audio is very good. A flautist's sharp
intakes of air are the bane of many a recording, but not here. The Polish-English
booklet notes by Aleksandra Beben are detailed and approachably intelligent,
if on one occasion rather tendentious: "In the place of the pomposity
and unbridled emotionality of the late Romanticism..." Translations are
admirably done.
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at artmusicreviews.co.uk
A gratifyingly lyrical mixture of core and rarer, solo and accompanied repertoire.
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