V 2: Orchestral Works

If I've ever owned a recording of an orchestral work by Vincent D'Indy I don't recall it. Nor do I remember ever hearing anything of his in the concert hall. I've heard a recording of his 'Symphony on a French Mountain Air', of course, and vaguely recall hearing something from his opera 'Fervaal', but that's about it. I knew of him primarily as co-founder of the Paris Schola Cantorum and as a guardian (and teacher) of conservative compositional techniques, stemming from his study with Franck and his admiration of Wagner. I was not, therefore, prepared to be particularly impressed by anything of his. But this recording of three of his works -- the Second Symphony, 'Tableaux de voyage' suite, and 'Karadec' -- has shown me that he was indeed an interesting and engaging composer.

Dedicated to D'Indy's friend, Paul Dukas, the Second Symphony, in the usual four movements, is an example of the cyclic form of composition propounded by Franck. It is based largely on two themes that we hear early in the first movement. It begins mysteriously and with a slightly menacing tone but evolves into a second movement that is in song form and contains a lovely melody sung in turn by viola, cor anglais, horn and clarinet. The third movement is an intermezzo that is lighter than anything previously. It starts with a melancholy folklike melody that is eventually transformed into a tipsy dance. The finale, early on, has a fugal treatment of one of the two main themes followed by a transformation of the other theme into a boisterous 5/4 section. The work concludes with a majestic chorale based on the more diatonic of the two themes, a triumphant conclusion to an immensely satisfying work. As in the following works, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra plays marvelously led by its music director, the young British conductor Rumon Gamba. This orchestra has been making some impressive recordings lately and this is certainly one of them.

'Tableaux de voyage', Op. 36, is an orchestration of six of the movements from D'Indy's piano suite of the same name. It commemorates a hiking tour D'Indy took in the Black Forest and the Tyrol. The individual pieces are:
1. 'Préambule', with somber beginning and conclusion surrounding a short lyrical middle section.
2. 'En marche', a sprightly folksong.
3. 'Le glas' ('The Knell'), with grave introduction leading to tolling of bells and concluding (there's that cyclic idea again!) with material from the Préambule.
4. 'Lac vert' ('Green Lake'), a gentle barcarolle.
5. 'La poste', a folk-like post-horn melody.
6. 'Rêve' ('Dream'), a darker form of the préambule, with reminiscences of 'Le glas' and 'Lac vert'.

'Karadec', Op. 34, is a suite of three pieces excerpted from D'Indy's incidental music for a forgotten play of that name by André Alexandre. The pieces are
1. 'Prélude', a march with ghostly harmonies. After a lyrical middle section it concludes with a broad diatonic version of the main melody.
2. 'Chanson', a gentle song based on a theme from the Prélude.
3. 'Noce bretonne' ('Breton Wedding'), after an eerily dramatic reminiscence of the 'Prélude', the mood changes to a jaunty oboe folk tune against musette drones and filigree-like chromatic counterpoint in the strings. It all ends with an optimistic restatement in augmentation of the Prélude theme and a brisk coda.

I would never have predicted it before hearing this CD, but this music will definitely be taken from my shelf with some regularity. What a discovery!

Scott Morrison

I am happy about this project from CHANDOS, since there are so few recordings of most of these works. However, don't forget that there are excellent recordings of d'Indy's orchestral music on French EMI, from the 70s and 80s, 4 CDs with French orchestras and conductors, some of them well known. The CHANDOS series has even better sound, but the interpretations could have more charisma and I enjoy the French recordings more.D'Indy: Symphonie sur un chant montagnard français, Symphony no. 2 CHANDOS, on the other hand include additional works, although they aren't always the most inspired.

Vincent d'Indy (1851-1931) is a French composer of the second rank whose career crossed paths with the late romanticism of his teacher, Cesar Franck, and went on to intercept the new French music of Poulenc and Milhaud. The compositions on this recording are from the earlier part of the composer's career. d'Indy's most famous work is the hybrid piano piece known as the Symphony on a French Mountain Air and its style is mimicked by these compositions.

The main item, the Symphony No. 2, has had several recordings over the years but has never made it to most people's ipods and CD players or the concert stage. The symphony is in four standard movements and is, like much of this composer's music, a bit uneven and episodic even within movements. The other two items -- Tableaux de Voyage, Op. 36, an orchestration of six piano pieces; and Karadec, Op. 34, musical sceness for the stage -- fill out the disk.

When listening to the symphony, it soon becomes apparent why d'Indy never became a household name anywhere but in the d'Indy household. There is a lack of thematic material developed strongly enough to engage the listener for the 44-minute duration. While the same symphony by Dvorak or Sibelius would make its mark in the listener's mind immediately after the opening and entertain the ear with tunes, development or themes worthy of your attention, there is little of that here. This symphony tends to repeat itself and the music is simply not first rate. It lays easy on the ear and sounds different enough the first time one hears it, but it wears out its welcome after a playing or two.

The Tableau de Voyage is more interesting but another problem from the symphony comes forward here -- the boring and unimaginative leadership of conductor Rumon Gamba and the generic playing of the Iceland Philharmonic Orchestra. While d'Indy (whose name is Indy but normally pronounced dan-DEE) does his part to create interest, Gamba and his orchestra do nothing to support the colorful creations in each movement. The orchestra, in particuar, plays in monochrome shades of blue while the composition demands plum, maize, maroon and tangerine. The fact is, this is a poor match of music and musicians.

While not one of the great composers, there are recordings of recent vintage that better exhibit the talent of d'Indy. Last year's recording of d'Indy's juvenile symphony labeled "Italian" Vincent d'Indy: Symphony "Italienne"; Concert pour piano, flute, violoncello et cordes was released to acclaim by Lionel Bringuie and Orchestra de Bretagne, coupled with a delightful Milhuad-esque Concerto for Piano, Flute and Cello. This recording shows the life and vital colors that make d'Indy unique and interesting. A more recent recording of Wallenstein, Saugerfleurle, Lied and Choral varié led by Thierry Fischer Vincent d'Indy: Wallenstein; Saugerfleurle; Lied; Choral varié, also shows the composer in better light, abetted by appropriately lively and colorful direction. Get either of those recordings and ditch this one if you want to hear Vincent d'Indy.