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A pupil of Massenet and Fauré, the prolific French composer and teacher Charles Koechlin expanded traditional harmonies and compositional techniques and was much admired by his contemporaries. Les heures persanes was inspired by Vers Ispahan, Pierre Loti’s diary of a journey through Persia. Oriental atmospheres are recreated through cycles of day and night, and in piano writing completely new for its time. This evocative piece salutes Koechlin’s musical forebears as well as foreshadowing Messiaen through the “passionate and skilled” (The Sunday Times on 8572570) advocacy of Ralph van Raat.
Charles Koechlin: Les heures persanes, Op. 65
No. 1. Sieste, avant le depart: Lent
No. 2. La caravane (reve, pendant la sieste): Pas vite
No. 3. L'escalade obscure: Adagio (non troppo)
No. 4. Matin frais, dans la haute vallee: Pas trop lent
No. 5. En vue de la ville: Moderato
No. 6. A travers les rues: Allegro vivo
No. 7. Chant du soir: Tres calme
No. 8. Clair de lune sur les terrasses: Andante moderato
No. 9. Aubade: Moderato
No. 10. Roses au soleil de midi: Presque adagio
No. 11. A l'ombre, pres de la fontaine de marbre: Moderato
No. 12. Arabesques: Allegro (non troppo)
No. 13. Les collines, au coucher du soleil: Tres calme
No. 14. Le conteur: Assez lent - Le Pecheur et le Genni - Le Palais enchante - Danse d'adolescents - Claire de lune sur les jardins
No. 15. La paix du soir, au cimetiere: Assez lent
No. 16. Derviches dans la nuit: Assez anime, nocturne, mysterieux - Variante - Clair de lune sur la place deserte
March 2012
***
“It's good to have a bargain-price version from Naxos, and Ralph van Raat is a thoughtful interpreter...when Koechlin creates a palpable sense of rhythm he is excellent, as in the dynamic build-up of 'Le caravane', and in the rare fast movements”
April 2012
“Les heures persanes unfolds in a dreamlike way in Ralph van Raat's committed reading, playing that is truly inside the music - an artist ploughing his own furrow”
July 2012
“As much as I’ve enjoyed van Raat’s previous discs this one is really rather special. His judgment is impeccable and the playing is free of artifice or exaggeration. That, coupled with top-notch sound, makes this a mandatory purchase for all pianophiles.”
Click here for alternative recordings of this work.
No. 1. Sieste, avant le depart: Lent
