Saint-Saëns: Clarinet Sonata in E flat major, Op. 167

“this is beautifully detailed playing throughout. And a fine balance of just that clarity and colour, elegance and lyricism, that I was talking about right at the beginning. That’s why, of these three excellent new recordings, this is the one I would personally buy.” BBC R3 CD Review

Michael Collins, the virtuoso clarinettist and exclusive Chandos artist, returns for a second volume in Chandos’ series showcasing the extraordinarily wide range of music written for his instrument. The first volume, The Virtuoso Clarinet (CHAN10615), was described by International Record Review as: ‘…an absolute charmer, most beautifully played… difficult to imagine a finer performance than that given here.’

Accompanied by Michael McHale on the piano, Collins here explores the lyrical qualities of the clarinet in a programme comprising a widely varied repertoire. One of the prime qualities of the instrument is its likeness in tone and range to the human voice, which has inspired composers to write aria- and lyric song-like pieces for it.

Baermann’s Adagio in D flat perfectly illustrates the clarinet’s capacity for sustained lyric melody, taking on the character of an operatic aria, the clarinet’s soulful line interspersed with sudden bursts of bravura. Though once ascribed to Richard Wagner, the piece is now acknowledged as being by Baermann, widely recognised as one of the greatest clarinettists of his time.

Among the other key works on this release is Saint-Saëns’s four-movement Clarinet Sonata in E flat. A very late work, it is one of three woodwind sonatas composed shortly before the composer’s death in 1921. In this work too, the clarinet appears at its most lyrical, not least in the refined and songful opening theme; as quicker and more extrovert music takes centre stage, the movement exploits the full virtuoso potential of the clarinet.

The Clarinet Sonata of 1962, one of Poulenc’s very last works, was dedicated to the memory of Arthur Honegger, a fellow member of the ‘Groupe des Six’ in the 1920s, who had died in 1955. This accounts for the intense sense of sadness and loss in the first movements. However, the finale offers relief from the sombre mood, capturing a kaleidoscope of witty, agile, and highly rhythmic ideas right up to the dramatic conclusion.

This historical testimony demonstrates that Saint-Saëns is the origin of the worldwide famous “French winds tradition”. In his twilight years and aged eighty five, Saint-Saëns came back to wind sonatas. Although being very classical, the three 1921 sonatas announce the “Groupe des Six” neo-classicism, and particularly Poulenc. In that respect, even at the very end of his life, Saint-Saëns remained an innovator.

This release represents a brief and thoroughly enjoyable programme of clarinet works of the 20th century. Especially interesting is the comparison of sonatas written at a similar time, but in completely different cultural circles.

Presenting works by German, French and British composers of the 19th and 20th centuries, Arthur Campbell and Helen Marlais exhibit the enormous dynamic and sonic spectrum of the clarinet. At the heart of this recording are the late works of the three French composers Claude Debussy, Camille Saint-Saëns and Francis Poulenc, who demonstrate equally the gentle and velvety character of the clarinet and the powerful, sometimes penetrating sound of the instrument. The increasing virtuosity which composers demanded from the clarinet during the course of the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries is impressively demonstrated in the final movements of the works on this disc by Robert Schumann, Francis Poulenc and Malcolm Arnold. Arthur Campbell was born in Canada and studied at the Northwestern University in Evans ton, Illinois, USA, where he was taught by the renowned clarinettist and pedagogue Robert Marcellus. He has won numerous international and national competitions, including the International Clarinet Competition and the National Music Festival of Canada. An internationally sought-after clarinet virtuoso, Arthur Campbell has toured throughout the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia. He regularly presents international masterclasses at universities, conservatoires and conventions. Arthur Campbell was appointed professor at the Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids Michigan, where he has been teaching a class of clarinet students from across the globe.

Since the 19th century, France has had an international reputation for the clarinet, thanks to its instrument manufacturers, the Boehm technological innovations and composers such as those featured here. This CD illustrates the endless resources of the instrument as well as the brilliant talent of Phillipe Berrod.