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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Roussel: Symphony No. 1
Résurrection, Roussel’s first orchestral work, is a delicate and mysterious piece inspired by Tolstoy’s last novel, while Le marchand de sable qui passe (The Sandman) is a tuneful, colourfully orchestrated suite. His Symphony No. 1 ‘Poem of the Forest’ traces the cycle of seasons from winter to autumn through its four movements. “…Le poème de la forêt… sounds beautiful to the ear, especially in Stéphane Denève's sensitive but firmly paced interpretation. ,,,Le marchand de sable qui passe… is disarmingly gentle, attractive and easy on the ear. Highly recommended.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2010 “The sumptuously beautiful First Symphony is the headline work… Stéphane Denève and the RSNO have already proven themselves to be fine advocates of Roussel's music, and this is no exception, with plenty of colour and panache.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2010 **** “Denève excels in flagging up Roussel’s supple ear for hybrid washes of colour.” Classic FM Magazine “The most recent digital set on Naxos is, on balance, perhaps the best [Roussel cycle], and is certainly well on its way to being the most comprehensive...The First Symphony is a highly atmospheric, impressionistic piece and, although with no programme, each movement represents a season, starting with Winter.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | (also available to download from $6.00) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Albert Roussel: Complete Symphonies
France’s symphonic tradition may not compare to the immensity of Germany’s, but it has produced a number of impressive works. This release is dedicated to those by Albert Roussel, one of classical music’s most distinguished late-starters. The compilation begins with the delightful Poème de la forêt – Roussel’s first great work of importance and one whose strong Impressionist flavour is revealed through the use of picturesque movement titles. From the Second Symphony’s powerful proportions to No.3’s cyclic nature, we encounter a composer whose music was beginning to harbour a fierce and concentrated energy. His final work in the genre, written three years before his death in 1937, represents for many the apex of his achievements. Roussel may never have gained the popularity of Debussy and Ravel, but he was an important and compelling composer whose symphonies combined both 20th-century style and colour with Classical structures. Tracing the entire development of his style, this assured recording by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France brings Roussel’s distinctive voice to life. “It is Janowski’s exquisite nuancing of melody (timing as well as shaping) that catches the ear as often as the correctly achieved balances, the purity of tone and the general limpidity of the sound.” Gramophone Magazine, June 1996 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Roussel - Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4
“…these are very impressive performances… The languorous slow movement of the first symphony, 'Soir d'été', is sublime, while Eschenbach finds the latent menace underpinning the opening 'Forêt d'hiver'. These are spacious performances allowing the music plenty of space to breath...His magnificent account of the 1st Symphony is unsurpassed.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2007 ***** “For a work composed originally as independent items, Roussel's impressionist First Symphony (1904-06) works surprisingly well. True, its structure is unorthodox, each of the four movements – which form a seasonal cycle from winter to autumn – larger than its predecessor, but it all flows together remarkably well, adding up to rather more than a picturesque set of tonepoems or suite. Small wonder it so impressed early audiences.
Roussel refined his symphonic style considerably over time, so comparing the First with the Fourth of three decades later shows just how far he had travelled. The Fourth is an abstract masterpiece, typically mixing up compositional rigour, lyrical intensity and rhythmic élan. If the Fourth does not quite match the Apollonian drive of No 3, this is because it is a very different type of work to its celebrated forebear.
As with his recording of No 2, Eschenbach's accounts are highly evocative and beautifully phrased. Tempi are again broad, working well in Le poème de la forêt where he relishes the poetry of this quietly sumptuous score. In the Fourth, however, after finely shaped readings of the first two movements, the third and fourth are dispatched with a lightness bordering on the throwaway. What makes this newcomer recommendable is the superb playing and Ondine's first-rate sound.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 | | | (also available to download from $10.75) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | Roussel - Symphonies Nos. 1-4
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Het Symfonieorkest Van Vlaanderen, Fabrice Bollon Albert Roussel only began to study music seriously after his resignation from the French Marine in 1894. He was a pupil of Vincent d'Indy at the Schola Cantorum. He became Professor of Counterpoint there in 1902 and remained in the post until 1914. His pupils included Satie and Varèse. In his first great orchestral score, Poème de la forêt (Symphony nr. 1) (1908), however, he followed the impressionist aesthetic of Debussy, abandoning the principles taught by d'Indy (firm structure, melody, thematic development, or recurring themes), in favour of delicate scoring with transparent timbres. His Piano Concerto dates from 1928. He was then living in seclusion in Normandy and developing a purely personnel style which was harsh, intransigent and rigorous, although that did not preclude extremely sensitive lyrical passages. Pour une fête de printemps was originally the iridescent sensuous scherzo of his 2nd Symphony. Roussel turned it into an independent composition and symphonic poem without any real literary programme. The works are impeccably played by the Symphony Orchestra of Flanders, under the baton of their young conductor, Fabrice Bollon from France. | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Roussel: Un Siècle en France
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| |  | Roussel: The Complete Symphoniesand other orchestral works
Roussel: | Bacchus et Ariane, Op. 43 (complete ballet) Symphony No. 3 in G minor, Op. 42 Symphony No. 2, Op. 23 Pour une fête de printemps, Op. 22 Suite in F major, Op. 33 Symphony No. 1 'Le Poème de la forêt' Résurrection – Symphonic Prelude Le Marchand de sable qui passe, Op. 13 Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 53 Rapsodie flamande (Flemish Rhapsody), Op. 56 Petite Suite Op. 39 Concert pour petit orchestre, Op. 34 Sinfonietta for string orchestra, Op. 52 |
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