Alberic Magnard(1865-1914)

[ChamberNut]

Thanks @Vox Maris.  I did order the Sanderling/BIS for the 4 symphonies, while I ordered the Bollon/Naxos miscellaneous orchestral works disc.

[Vox Maris]

Thanks @Vox Maris.  I did order the Sanderling/BIS for the 4 symphonies, while I ordered the Bollon/Naxos miscellaneous orchestral works disc.

I wanted to point out @Franco_Manitobain that the miscellaneous orchestral works are fantastic. This is the disc I own:



The Hymne à la justice is a ferocious work that will leave you on the edge of your seat!

[Roasted Swan]

I wanted to point out @Franco_Manitobain that the miscellaneous orchestral works are fantastic. This is the disc I own:



The Hymne à la justice is a ferocious work that will leave you on the edge of your seat!

absolute agreement about the music and indeed this is a fine disc all round.  Which makes me lament (all over again!) at the way the Timpoani label has disappeared and the recordings don't appear under licence anywhere else - a real waste.......

[Vox Maris]

absolute agreement about the music and indeed this is a fine disc all round.  Which makes me lament (all over again!) at the way the Timpani label has disappeared and the recordings don't appear under licence anywhere else - a real waste.......

Absolutely agree with you. Timpani was such a fine label and it makes me wonder why they couldn't sustain their label. Too bad another record company like Outhere Music didn't buy them out --- that way we, at least, have their catalog (or some of it) still in-print.

[Spotted Horses]

absolute agreement about the music and indeed this is a fine disc all round.  Which makes me lament (all over again!) at the way the Timpoani label has disappeared and the recordings don't appear under licence anywhere else - a real waste.......

As far as I know, Timpani records are now distributed by Naive, and seem at least some of the catalog is available for download or streaming (including this release).

[Vox Maris]

As far as I know, Timpani records are now distributed by Naive, and seem at least some of the catalog is available for download or streaming (including this release).

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

[Spotted Horses]

Of course that doesn't change the fact that they are no longer producing new recordings, which is a shame because a lot of what they did was previously unrecorded repertoire.

[kyjo]

Recently I was revisiting Magnard's quirky and inventive Cello Sonata in A major (1908-10) in this excellent recording:



Magnard's symphonies all have their quirky elements, but these come to the fore even more prominently in his chamber works, especially the Cello Sonata. While fundamentally late-romantic in style, Magnard's music successfully avoids any clichés and always keeps the listener guessing as to what will come next. His use of rhythm is consistently interesting and infectious - e.g. the playful dotted-rhythm motif in the first movement. I was following along with the score, and noticed that one of the themes in the first movement (which has a vaguely "exotic" flavor) is wittily marked alla d'Indy! In typical Magnard fashion, the brief scherzo contains a middle section which a strong rustic flavor. The Funèbre slow movement, in the distant key of B-flat minor, provides the dramatic center of gravity of the work. And the finale brings the work to an effervescent, virtuosic conclusion!

Magnard's output may have been relatively small, and his untimely (yet heroic!) death was certainly a great loss to 20th century music. But the output he did leave us is fastidiously crafted, stylistically singular, and not lacking in emotional depth. Like Fauré's later music, Magnard's may be a bit elusive to grasp at first, but it almost always gains in approachability and stature with repeated listening.

[ChamberNut]

Stop the presses everyone! Did I just listen to the greatest piano trio of all time?

Omg!

Magnard's Piano Trio in F minor, op. 18

WOW

[ChamberNut]

Move over Castelnuovo-Tedesco string quartets, Magnard's Piano Trio has just hopped over you for discovery of 2025.

[André]

Cross-posted from the Opera thread:

First, lets' get straight to the unimportant: the absurd star billing given Hildegard Behrens on the cover. She has only a small role in the first act, never appears in the long second act, and has a leading part for about 12 minutes in the third act. The main character is of course Guercoeur, a bass (the admirable José van Dam).

Second, Guercoeur rivals Pelléas et Mélisande for non-action dullness. I'm talking about the non-plot only (the music is lovely). Guercoeur has died in battle. He's in Heaven but longs for his wife so he gets a furlough to get back to earth. Unfortunately for him his wife Giselle is now paired with his best friend, Heurtal. Betrayal, remorse, forgiveness, general wringing of hands. Disillusioned, Guercoeur goes back to heaven, where he is treated to a lengthy preach from the goddess Truth.

It's a symbolist text concocted by Magnard himself. Apart from Guercoeur, Giselle and Heurtal, all the characters are immaterial: Truth, Goodness, Beauty, Suffering, Ghost of a Woman, Ghost of a Virgin, Spirit of a Poet (soloists), Illusions (chorus). Magnard titled it a « Tragédie (drama) en musique ». It lasts a little over 3 hours.

The music is beautiful, but in the first two acts it's all slowish, slow or slower. There's a modicum of turmoil at the beginning of Act 3 when the town's folks and Heurtal blame Guercoeur for the war that has brought famine and devastation to his city. Guercoeur is killed (again). He goes back up to meet the goddess Truth, who prophesies that «  Work will enable Man to conquer poverty, science will enable him to conquer pain and he will combine Reason and Faith. Behold the dawn of a new age (...) which will liberate you from hunger, in which your awareness, suffused with light, will develop in an atmosphere of goodness, in which your victorious spirit, the limit of matter, will comprehend with ease the Laws of the Universe. Then Earth will have completed its circle, Man his destiny ». Amen (yawn).

  There really should be an orchestral arrangement of the best bits. The opera has many superb orchestral preludes and interludes. Paris' Opéra Comique wouldn't stage it because there were too many of them (among other things). A Guercoeur suite or symphony would be nice to have.

My advice: stick to the symphonies (and chamber music), and petition your local orchestra to arrange a suite from the preludes and interludes.

[Madiel]

Move over Castelnuovo-Tedesco string quartets, Magnard's Piano Trio has just hopped over you for discovery of 2025.

You really must stop putting things on my to-do list, it's long enough as it is...

Actually Magnard was already on there. I own a recording of the string quartet, and did start listening to more but it got put on pause when I decided there was a limit to how many composers I could practically explore at the same time.

[ChamberNut]

You really must stop putting things on my to-do list, it's long enough as it is...

Actually Magnard was already on there. I own a recording of the string quartet, and did start listening to more but it got put on pause when I decided there was a limit to how many composers I could practically explore at the same time.

I'll be test driving the string quartet tomorrow.

[Jo498]

the string quartet is a remarkable piece but not for everyone. It's very long but not as unified as e.g. the Franck qt.
Interestingly there are at least 4 quartets in e minor by composers who wrote only a single string quartet. And this is not a very common key for quartets, among well known quartet composers only Mendelssohn and Beethoven wrote each one in that key (Boccherini has one as well but it's not well known).

[ChamberNut]

Move over Castelnuovo-Tedesco string quartets, Magnard's Piano Trio has just hopped over you for discovery of 2025.

Again, what a marvelous piano trio, especially that final movement! It is of such quality, I could surely see Brahms nod and smile with approval.

Also, the quintet for winds and piano is quite lovely. Alert for this one goes to @Karl Henning , as I know he might appreciate this one (if he hasn't heard it already)

Disc 2

Magnard

Piano Trio in F minor, Op. 18 (1905)
Quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and piano, Op. 8 (1894)

Solenne Païdassi, violon
Laurent Wagschale, piano
Camille Thomas, violoncelle

Ensemble Initium, quintet

Timpani label

[Mapman]

The recent discussions about Magnard made me want to continue exploring his symphonies. I listened to #4 today, and it impressed me the most of any Magnard I've yet heard. The first movement sounds almost like a Star Wars soundtrack. I think I'll listen to that movement one more time before I go to sleep.

[Den glemte sønnen]

The recent discussions about Magnard made me want to continue exploring his symphonies. I listened to #4 today, and it impressed me the most of any Magnard I've yet heard. The first movement sounds almost like a Star Wars soundtrack. I think I'll listen to that movement one more time before I go to sleep.

Magnard is fantastic, but, like so many other composers, I need to spend more time with his music. He is a remarkable composer, though.

[kyjo]

Stop the presses everyone! Did I just listen to the greatest piano trio of all time?

Omg!

Magnard's Piano Trio in F minor, op. 18

WOW

It certainly is a great piece, full of all the characteristics of Magnard's mature style. The CPO recording (coupled with the Violin Sonata) is really superb, to my ears.

[kyjo]

The recent discussions about Magnard made me want to continue exploring his symphonies. I listened to #4 today, and it impressed me the most of any Magnard I've yet heard. The first movement sounds almost like a Star Wars soundtrack. I think I'll listen to that movement one more time before I go to sleep.

Magnard's 4th Symphony is a masterpiece IMO, full of complex and colorful orchestration, deeply felt emotion, and a compelling "visionary" quality. I won't deny that the transcendent chorale in the coda of the finale often brings me to tears. I must admit that the only recording I've heard is the Mälmo SO/Sanderling one on BIS - I should make comparisons with Ossonce, Bollon, and Plasson.

[André]

My reference for the 3rd symphony is from Ansermet and the Suisse Romande. It's head and shoulders above the competition. For the other symphonies I can't decide btw Ossonce and Plasson. I haven't listened to them in years.