Bax - music for flute and harp
Rob Barnett
Elegiac Trio (flute, viola and harp) 9’
Fantasy Sonata (viola and harp) 25’
Sonata for flute and harp 19’
Trio Turner
Arion ARN 68423
53:23
It is very good to see that Bax is making headway with French record
companies (*). Here is a French Trio (who have adopted the name of
one of England most impressionist painters - one of Turner’s
paintings graces the CD cover) with a programme which has a
delightful symmetry. All three are heard in the Trio. The other two
works have the harpist (Isabelle Perrin) as their common feature but
she is joined by Sabine Toutain for the viola fantasy sonata and by
Philippe Pierlot for the flute and harp sonata. The harp is of course
a bardic instrument and its influence can be heard in Sibelius’s The
Bard and many other Celtic and mythically orientated works. However
the sound of the modern concert harp is indissolubly bound up with
French impressionism and above all with Ravel.
The performances are very good indeed. The best of three is of the
Trio. This is a very popular piece and has been recorded several
times. For my money the performance of the trio with its blend of
French and Celtic influences with a strong leaning towards the Gallic
is the best available. The performance has a sweetness and sorrowing
beauty unrivalled even by the very fine Hyperion recording.
The Fantasy Sonata for viola and harp is not otherwise available
unless you count the version of this work recorded for viola and
piano on Olympia OCD454 (Richard Crabtree/Charles Matthews) which is
anyway much faster than this performance. This is in any event not
directly comparable. The performance is sensitive to the poetry of
the piece which is actually quite strong and far from the evanescence
you might associate with the medium. But I must say that I find the
general slowing up of tempi by the Turners has not helped the
cohesion of the work. The Turner’s performance tends to fragment and
the flow and melodic line of the work is disrupted. The performance,
presumably now long gone, by Michael Ponder and Imogen Barford on a
Ensemble cassette ENS136 is preferred. However no-one buying the
Arion disc is likely to be disappointed and there are many
compensations including a rich and warm sound picture to match the
rhapsodic music. For now there are really no other available
recordings of this piece.
Next comes the Flute and Harp sonata which has previously been
recorded to fine effect by the Beynon sisters on Metier MSVCD92006.
This disc is still available and is recommendable though the coupling
is a mixed recital offering works for flute and harp by Dodgson, Maw,
Harty and Alwyn. The Turner’s approach is brisker in the middle
movement and slightly more expansive in the final moderato giocoso.
The notes are by my old friend Michel Fleury who has done so much to
revive the fortunes of music such as this. Michel has been at the
centre of many projects including promoting the various Breton
composer (Ropartz, Cras, Leflem, Lazzari etc) revivals and recording
and concert projects presenting the neglected but beautiful music of
Bax, Bowen, Holbrooke and so many others. His book L’impressionisme
at la Musique (French language only) linked together the diverse and
rich rivers flowing into and out of impressionism providing a
completely fresh perspective to be read with the late Christopher
Palmer’s work in this field. The notes explore the meshing Russian
and Celtic influences prominent in these works.
The notes are in both French and English. They usefully introduce Bax
- an attractive yet also perhaps irresponsible character. Full
details of first performances are given and much rewarding background.
I rather lament the short measure of this disc which runs only to
about 54 minutes. That said this is an attractive recital of works
which cannot be found in a similar coupling elsewhere. Everything
here is eminently listenable and the Trio and flute/harp sonata are
attractively done. The sonata for viola and harp is not otherwise
available. Recommended.
I hope that other French ensembles will explore the works of Bax and
indeed of York Bowen and most clamant of all Joseph Holbrooke whose
chamber music (often French influenced) is inspired and inspiring. I
cannot think of a better person than Michel to guide the hands of any
record company whether in relation to Bax, Bowen or Holbrooke
projects. © Robert Barnett
(*) This is not the first example. About ten years ago
Marine-Catherine Girod recorded the complete Bax piano sonatas for
the Opes 3D company. Here performances were exemplary. Again Michel
was associated with that project.
Note: I do hope that Mlle Girod will record the two Holbrooke piano
sonatas (dating from the 1930s and each about 20 minutes long) and
also the four Cambrian Ballades and the Valse Talsarnau. These latter
Welsh-inspired pieces date form the early 1920s and Holbrooke’s Harlech years.