Chabrier: España

This disc of popular works by Emmanuel Chabrier marks the beginning of a new series of French repertoire, performed by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under its newly appointed Artistic Director, Neeme Järvi.

After three attempts at comic opera, Chabrier finally achieved success in 1877 with L’Étoile, the plotline of which is set in the court of the somewhat emotionally unstable King Ouf. A couple of years previously, Chabrier had written a short Lamento for orchestra, a work which would not perhaps be considered revolutionary by today’s audiences, but which caused the committee of the Société nationale de musique to hum and haw over it for eighteen long months before finally letting it loose on the Parisian public in 1878.

From July to December 1882, Chabrier took his family on an extended holiday to Spain, during which he kept himself busy by noting down the Spanish folk tunes and dance rhythms he encountered on his way. He put many of them into his orchestral masterpiece España, a work overwhelming in its orchestral colour, which is such a characteristic feature of this composer. The impressions of his Spanish holiday can also be heard in the Habanera.

For six years Chabrier worked on Gwendoline, a two-act dramatic opera on a libretto by Catulle Mendès, set in Britain in what he called ‘barbarous times’. Inspired by Wagner and Berlioz, the Overture sets the scene perfectly for a drama of violence, treachery, and passion. A month after Gwendoline was premiered in Brussels in April 1886 the Opéra-Comique in Paris agreed to put on Chabrier’s next opera, Le Roi malgré lui, a melting pot of complex political intrigue, cheerful arias, and vivacious dances.

In 1880 Chabrier had written his Dix Pièces pittoresques for piano, and over the next few years he orchestrated four of them to form the Suite pastorale, with its gently pulsing ‘Idylle’ movement (which inspired Poulenc to become a composer), the raucous ‘Danse villageoise’, the sultry ‘Sous-bois’, and last but not least the sunny, high-spirited ‘Scherzo-valse’.

Also on this disc is the Joyeuse marche, one of Chabrier’s most popular works, and the Bourrée fantasque, based on a dance from the Auvergne region in France where the composer had spent his childhood.

These unique recordings make their first appearance on CD. Some make their first ever appearance on Decca! Jean Morel (1903–75) counted among his teachers Isidore Philipp, Gabriel Pierné and Reynaldo Hahn. He established a connection with the United States early on, teaching at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleu between 1921 (when he was just eighteen!) and 1936. his conducting pupils included James Levine and Leonard Slatkin. Morel’s conducting bore many similarities to that of his countryman Pierre Monteux. His style was bright, clear and energetic, and he always gave the music’s colour its due. Appearing here is the only recording in the Decca catalogue of the complete orchestral version of Albéniz’s Iberia – in orchestrations by Arbós and Surinach. Completing this Spanish-flavoured program is music by Chabrier, Bizet and Ravel. The legendary Decca engineer Kenneth Wilkinson is responsible for the great ‘Decca Sound’.

Herbert von Karajan, one of the 20th century's greatest musicians, is not only the world's best-selling conductor, but also one of EMI Classics bestselling artists of all time.

He was very closely associated with EMI Classics and recorded with them from 1946-1984 - a partnership that produced nearly 160 CDs worth of music and over 1,000 hours of recorded music.

On a recent music forum the question was posed ‘What music makes you smile?’ The immediate answer ‘Anything by Chabrier’ initiated a chorus of approval as others responded with their favourite Chabrier pieces. Everyone knows Espana, many will recognise Joyeuse marche and an increasing number are now familiar with the exquisitely crafted L’étoile. This CD celebrates these works and much else besides in performances that have attracted the highest praise. Every emotion from the stormy (Gwendoline Overture) to the life-affirming (L’île heureuse) as well as the inevitable laugh out loud works, is covered, Chabrier’s genial nature, earthy sense of humour, unconventional keyboard technique and wide-ranging interests ensured that he moved easily in C19 artistic circles and amongst his closest friends were the finest composers, painters and writers of the day. His influence on twentieth century music was immense and if you enjoy Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel, Satie, Poulenc and de Falla, then you will love this disc!

It is interesting that of the nine composers featured in this recital four had no Spanish roots. The “exotic” nature of Spanish music - especially that of Andalusia in the south with its Moorish history and Gypsy culture - has irresistibly drawn non-Spanish composers.

It is an intriguing fact that the musical phrase that has surely been heard most often in history is taken from Tárrega’s charming Gran Vals, dating from around 1902. It was chosen by Nokia in 1993 to be the ring tone on its mobile telephones, and as such it has been heard billions of times. The phrase occurs 14 seconds into this recording, which is of a lightly elaborated four-hand arrangement made specially to provide the present recital with a whimsical encore – and again is the first recording in this form.

This disc, like the majority of recordings from Goldstone & Clemmow features numerous pieces which are new to the repertoire.

With CDs around forty in number and a busy concert schedule stretching back more than a quarter of a century, the British piano duo Goldstone and Clemmow is firmly established as a leading force. Described by Gramophone as ‘a dazzling husband and wife team’, by International Record Review as ‘a British institution in the best sense of the word’, and by The Herald, Glasgow, as ‘the UK’s pre-eminent two-piano team’, internationally known artists Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow formed their duo in 1984 and married in 1989. Their extremely diverse activities in two-piano and piano-duet recitals and double concertos, taking in major festivals, have sent them all over the British Isles as well as to Europe, the Middle East and several times to the U.S.A., where they have received standing ovations and such press accolades as ‘revelations such as this are rare in the concert hall these days’ (Charleston Post and Courier). In their refreshingly presented concerts they mix famous masterpieces and fascinating rarities, which they frequently unearth themselves, into absorbing and hugely entertaining programmes; their numerous BBC broadcasts have often included first hearings of unjustly neglected works, and their equally enterprising and acclaimed commercial recordings include many world premières.