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PASC043:
Ibéria
(Images pour Orchestre, No. 2) - Debussy
MP3
price
Le
Grand Orchestre Symphonique de L'I.N.R.,
Conductor: Franz André Released
in 1952 on Telefunken LP LGX 66001
Download ID: 113796
(Duration
16'54")
Par
les rues et par les chemins
Les
parfums de la nuit
Le
matin d'un jour de fête
Play
sample movement:
Debussy
began the 3 orchestral Images (called Images pour Orchestre
to differentiate them from the earlier piano compositions of the same
name) in 1906 and completed them in 1912. By then he'd effectively founded
Modern Music and much of his most important, or at least most famous work
was behind him.
In
works like the orchestral Images we see the result of Debussy's constant
refining of his technique and style, and of the three is the second which
is most often heard and most popular.
Ibéria,
the ancient Roman name for the Spanish penunsular, is set in three parts,
with the opening By the roads and by the paths using a number of
short Spanish tunes. One suggestion for this movement is a juxtaposition
of the contrasting streets of the towns and the rural lanes of the countryside
- there certainly is plenty going on!
The second
movement, The perfumes of the night, can be read a highly impressionistic
and abstract evocation of the night air of Spain. The movement ends as
the dawn begins and we move into The morning of a festival, which
depicts with mounting emotion and excitement the preparations and enjoyment
of a fiesta. As I write this our southern French village is itself
preparing for a jour de fête and this music seems entirely
appropriate!
This
new restoration was carried out by Andrew Rose at Pristine Audio from
an original Telefunken LP, pressed in the UK by Decca.
REVIEW
OF DEBUSSY - IBERIA Le
Grand Orchestre Symphonique de L'I.N.R., conducted by Franz
André (1954)
Why
do Frenchmen write such wonderful Spanish music? I think of
Debussy's Ibéria as well as his "Soiree dans Granade",
"Le Serenade Interompue", "La Puerta del Vino";
Ravel's "Rhapsodie Espagnole", "Alborada del
Gracioso" and "Habanera"; Faure's enchanting
end to the "Dolly" suite; Chabrier's "Espana";
Roussel's "Guitarre" and sundry other efforts. I
don't wish to ignore efforts by Rimsky, Wienawski, Mozkowski
and all the other sunshine-seeking Slavs. But it seems that
the French really have their hearts in it and I believe the
reason is that the Spain of their imagination (don't bother
to visit the real place!) is a realm where the French demand
for restraint and reason is much loosened and they can free
their more primitive side: their sensuality and anger and
joy. And believe me, everybody, this is the Spain that Franz
André springs on us in the recording under review.
I
actually wondered why I should bother listening to this recording.
Franz André was a shadowy figure from my early 20's
conducting the (to me) obscure Belgian Radio Orchestra. I
remember the early Telefunken LPs as being clunky and dim
and selling in 1951 at the outrageous price of $5.98. Having
now heard the performance four times, I can only say that
the opening fortissimo chord raises my blood pressure and
knotty, sunbaked, hieratic Spain of my imagination begins
to unfold. This is not the one-week tour from Gatwick or Frankfurt
to Alicante where lobster-colored English and German tourists
get whisked to their cabanas. Franz Andre makes me think in
the first movement of the Spain of Don Quijote setting out
and of the Falangist Guardia Civil beating up leftists. In
the second movement, there is little languor, but constant
restlessness - don't Spaniards sleep? In the last movement,
the Id reigns with incredibly forceful large guitar-type chords
and screaming clarinets in alt and I see religious processions
and penitents and maybe even an auto de fe or two. As André
plays this work, it is not an orchestra showpiece or the weaker
and more dissonant sister to La Mer. It is a worthy successor
to that greatest of all French symphonies.
This
restoration of Ibéria springs from my speakers with
almost no apology for its source material. I do not know how
this was accomplished; it is very difficult for me to believe
that this tiger lay for 50 years inside an elderly Decca or
a Telefunken cage. In the first movement, there is no blending
of colors; the harshness of dissonances intended by Debussy
comes through. In the second movement, the lack of sonic murk
actually makes the night seem less languorous. In the finale,
the guitarish chords and pizzicatti are incredibly thrilling
sonically and the ending is very exciting. There is a hint
of glare in string fortissimos, but just a hint. Even audiophiles
will be surprised by this finale.
A
final note: as much as I congratulate the audio restorer on
unleashing this tiger, I congratulate him even more on knowing
that this tiger of a performance existed.
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Ibéria,
the ancient Roman name for the Spanish penunsular, is set in three parts,
with the opening By the roads and by the paths using a number of
short Spanish tunes. One suggestion for this movement is a juxtaposition
of the contrasting streets of the towns and the rural lanes of the countryside
- there certainly is plenty going on!
