Vincent d'Indy - Orchestral Works Vol. 1 (Rumon Gamba)

Information

Composer: Vincent d'Indy

• Jour d'été à la montagne, Op. 61
• La forêt enchantée (Harald), Op. 8
• Souvenirs, Op. 62

Iceland Symphony Orchestra

Rumon Gamba, conductor

Date: 2007

Label: Chandos

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Review

Most listeners know of Vincent d’Indy for his most famous work, Symphony on a French Mountain Air, which used to be regularly tacked onto recordings of Franck’s D minor symphony. This new Chandos disc, Volume 1 of a projected series, offers a more expanded view of the composer’s works. Of the program’s three pieces, the quasi-impressionistic Jour d’été à la montagne (1905) is the most forward-looking, evoking a sound world similar to Debussy’s (as in Pelleas and Melisande), its three movements describing a day in the Ardeche mountains, replete with high-altitude vistas and busy activity.

In Souvenirs (also 1905) d’Indy pulls back from the advanced harmonies and timbres of the earlier Jour d’été à la montagne and instead retreats into the tonal landscapes of Dukas and Chausson. But d’Indy’s distinct musical personality nevertheless comes through strongly, especially in the sparkling third movement of this poignant, touching work, composed as a memorial to his wife.

Finally, La foret enchantée (1878) sounds less exotic than its title, especially when compared to the above works. But it’s a colorful, finely wrought piece that reveals d’Indy’s early infatuation with Wagner as well as the influence of his teacher, César Franck. Rumon Gamba’s sensitive, nuanced interpretations and the Iceland Symphony’s rich-textured and colorful playing create a dreamy atmosphere ideally suited to this music–an effect enhanced by Chandos’ solid and reverberant recording. All told this is a very fine disc–a little off the beaten path, but all the more enjoyable for that.

— Victor Carr Jr

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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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Rumon Gamba (born 24 November 1972) is a British conductor. He studied music at Durham University, and then went to the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 1998, he joined the BBC Philharmonic as its Assistant Conductor, and later became Associate Conductor. He left the orchestra in 2002. Gamba was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra from 2002 to 2010, and chief conductor of the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra from 2011 to 2015. In January 2022, Gamba became chief conductor of the Oulu Symphony Orchestra. He has made over 50 CDs of for the Chandos Records label.

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