Vincent d'Indy - Chamber Music (Various Artists)

Information

Composer: Vincent d'Indy

• Suite in D major "dans le style ancien", for 2 flutes, trumpet & strings, Op. 24
• Chanson et Danses for flute, oboe, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons & horn, Op. 50
• Quintet for piano & string quartet, Op. 81
• Suite en parties for flute, harp, violin, viola & cello, Op. 91

François Kerdoncuff, piano

Quatuor Louvigny

Soloists from the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg

Date: 2007

Label: Timpani

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Review

A completely cool disc coupling nearly unknown but never less than wholly delightful works by a lesser known French master, this disc of chamber music by Vincent d'Indy performed by soloists from the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra is just the thing for listeners who already know the chamber music of Debussy, Ravel, and Fauré and are looking for something similar but different. Each work here is unique and yet each can be identified as d'Indy's by its flawless craft and exquisite sensibility. Two works come from the fin de siècle (the Suite in the in Old Style in D for two flutes, trumpet, and strings from 1886 and the Chanson and Danses for flute, oboe, two clarinets, two bassoons, and horn from 1898) and two come from the postwar period (the Quintet for piano and strings and the Suite en parties for flute, harp, violin, viola, and cello). And each work is more charming than the next.

For the Suite in the Old Style, imagine the harmonies of Wagner's Meistersinger set to the counterpoints of Couperin's Concerts royaux. For the Chanson and Danses, imagine bucolic tunes of Brahms' early Serenades arranged in the deliberately archaic forms of Fauré's Masques et bergamasques. For the Piano Quintet, imagine the passionate themes of Fauré's piano quintets weaved into the lucid textures of Roussel's later string quartets. And for the Suite en parties imagine the radiant colors of Ravel's Introduction and Allegro illuminating the antiquated shapes of Rameau's Pièces de clavecin en concerts. In every work, no matter what the period or style, the Luxembourg musicians play with impressive skill and manifest affection for the music. Choosing a favorite performance is difficult, if not impossible, and probably unnecessary when all the performances are so consistently well executed. Anyone who enjoys d'Indy's better known orchestral music will certainly enjoy this disc of his chamber music. And anyone who already knows and loves the chamber music of Debussy, Ravel, and Fauré who checks it out will most likely share their enjoyment. Timpani's digital sound is clear, lush, detailed, and colorful.

— James Leonard

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Vincent d'Indy (27 March 1851 – 2 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher, who sought to reform French music through the influence of César Franck and the Bach-Beethoven-Wagner tradition Germanic. Known for meticulous composition and lyrical expression, he produced important operatic and symphonic works, including Symphonie sur un chant montagnard français and Istar. In 1894, he co-founded the Schola Cantorum in Paris, promoting Gregorian chant and early music studies. D'Indy also collected and arranged folk songs and influenced many composers through his teaching and writings.

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