Gabriel Pierné - Chamber Music Vol. 2 (Various Artists)

Information

Composer: Gabriel Pierné

CD1:

• Caprice for cello & piano, Op. 16
• Sonata for cello & piano, Op. 46
• Expansion for cello & piano, Op. 21
• Trio for violon, cello & piano, Op. 45

CD2:

• Impromptu-Caprice for harp, Op. 9
• Variations libre et final, for flute, harp & string trio, Op. 51
• Introduction et variations sur une ronde populaire, for saxophones quartet
• Voyage au pays du Tendre, for flute, harp & string trio
• Sonata for flute & piano, Op. 36
• Trois Pièces en trio

Aleksandr Khramouchin, cello

Haoxing Liang, violin

Markus Brönnimann, flute

Christian Ivaldi, piano

Soloists of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg

Date: 2006

Label: Timpani

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Review

The prevailing wisdom about late Romantic French music is that it is inferior to the German model; a ridiculous notion, but it has proven very powerful in the way such music is received and evaluated over the course of musical history. One of the finest, most well-rounded talents to be found in French music during the transitional period between romanticism and early modernism is Gabriel Pierné, whose work begins in a post-Franckian idiom, picks up some elements along the way from impressionism, and, toward the end, adopts stylistic gestures from Stravinsky and the tart, pithy neo-Classicism of Les Six. However, in terms of formal development models and overall mood, all of Pierné's work remains faithful in its essentials to his initial contact with César Franck and to the group of composers within Franck's sphere of influence -- Tournemire, Duparc, Chausson, and Silvio Lazzari among them. The Belgian label Timpani is surveying the practically forgotten chamber output of Pierné, of which this, Gabriel Pierné: La Musique de Chambre, Vol. 2, is the second entry.

Pierné's music is performed by members of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg under the general direction of pianist Christian Ivaldi. Pierné's single-movement Cello Sonata (1922) is like a chat with a brilliant conversationalist, moving forward in a sort of logic of its own but diverging from the path here and there. It is flanked by two cello pieces from the 1880s, and these are so similar to the solo sonata in feeling that one is surprised to discover that not all of these pieces are cut from the same cloth. The Trio for violin, cello and piano, Op. 45 (1920-1921), is an unquestionable masterwork, romantic in style but tinged with just enough impressionistic flair to make it stand out from purely romantic works of its kind. It is a very long Trio, lasting 41 minutes all told; the first movement alone runs 20 minutes and has some extraordinarily sustained passages of suspended harmony that keeps the listener on the edge of their seat.

The second disc is made up of shorter pieces, most from the last years of Pierné's life. Special guests the Quatuor de saxophones de Luxembourg turn in a bracing reading of Pierné's Introduction et variations sur un theme populaire, written for legendary saxophonist Marcel Mule, which runs in its eight minutes from a deeply affecting slow section to peppy and invigorating finale -- it certainly could have run longer. Pierné's music did not contribute to the innovations of his time, but it certainly was never reactionary and he preferred to reflect the developments around him; the Impromptu-Caprice for harp could easily be mistaken for an early work of Gabriel Fauré, whereas the Introduction et variations sur un theme populaire is reminiscent of Darius Milhaud. Pierné's scoring is very generous and instrument-friendly, and although some of these pieces have appeared on recording before, they have never been performed with such dedication as they are here. If you like Debussy, Fauré, or other composers of the French school of the fin de siècle, then chances are you will also like Timpani's Gabriel Pierné: La Musique de Chambre, Vol. 2, down to its amusing choice of cover illustration.

-- Uncle Dave Lewis, AllMusic

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Gabriel Pierné (16 August 1863 – 17 July 1937) was a French composer, conductor, pianist and organist. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire; his teachers included Antoine François Marmontel, Albert Lavignac, Émile Durand, César Franck and Jules Massenet. He succeeded Franck as organist at Sainte-Clotilde Basilica in Paris from 1890 to 1898. Pierné wrote several operas, choral and symphonic pieces as well as a good deal of chamber music. He also made a few electrical recordings for Odeon Records, from 1928 to 1934. Pierné was also known for his discovery and promotion of the work of Ernest Fanelli.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Pierné

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