Here is yet another superlative recording that some collectors may inadvertently pass over–even chamber music enthusiasts. After all, cello sonatas aren’t everyday fare, and these two are not usually considered to be major works. But they are. Poulenc’s sonata is his biggest and most important solo sonata. Debussy’s says in 10 minutes what would take another composer more than an hour.
Among the shorter works, Poulenc himself made this arrangement of the Suite française, and it’s delightful. The three Debussy pieces are actually surprisingly substantial and not as well known (“La plus que lente” aside) as they might be. The arrangement of pieces on the disc offers delicious points of contrast and an entirely harmonious program that you can listen to at a sitting and still come away wanting more.
The performances are wholly remarkable. Alexandre Tharaud was the guiding force behind Naxos’ excellent series of the complete Poulenc chamber music, and in Jean-Guihen Queyras he has an even better cellist than previously. Interpretively, this newcomer is fractionally more lively and a touch more rhythmically incisive than its otherwise very fine predecessor. The Debussy sonata, its central Sérénade in particular, is little short of amazing. It combines spontaneity and flexibility of tempo with supernaturally accurate ensemble in a way that’s absolutely jaw-dropping. Toss in perfectly warm, ideally balanced engineering, with none of the grunting and groaning that sometimes disfigures HM’s chamber music recordings, and the result is a disc that belongs in every collection, plain and simple. [10/29/2008]
