This discs contains all of Albéric Magnard’s orchestral music after the symphonies, and anyone who enjoys those marvelous works certainly will warm to more music of similar style, character, and quality. All of Magnard’s trademarks are here: the Beethovenish rhythmic energy, the preference for melodic material in the bass with colorful woodwind patterning on top, melodies that alternate chromatic and simple diatonic elements, extremely efficient scoring (like Elgar, Magnard often achieves an astonishing richness of texture through simple means with quite modest forces), and a persistent nobility of tone and abhorrence of empty display that frequently leads even energetic movements to end calmly and quietly.
With the exception of the charming early Suite dans le style ancien, the remaining works conform to the above specifications, and all are extremely well performed by Mark Stringer and his Luxembourg forces. He gives emphatic readings of the tumultuous Hymne à la justice and Ouverture, with trenchant rhythms and solid contributions from timpani and those critical bass instruments. The elegiac Chant funèbre, commemorating the composer’s father, sustains a tone of elevated mourning for its full 16-minute length, and the luscious Hymne à Venus features some lovely lyrical passages and a particularly well-balanced harp (it can so easily sound tasteless, but somehow never does). Just about the only instrumental foible comes in the form of an unsteady solo trumpet in the Ouverture.
Timpani’s sonics, perhaps just the slightest bit constricted, offer excellent clarity and impact in all other respects. Certainly these performances offer a big improvement over previous renditions by Plasson for French EMI. The resurgence of interest in this very worthy composer has produced some fine recordings of late, and this is one of them. Don’t miss it!
