Maurice Ravel; Claude Debussy - Bolero; La Valse; Rapsodie Espagnole; Images (Charles Münch)

Information

Composer: Maurice Ravel; Claude Debussy

1. Ravel - Bolero
2. Ravel - La valse
3. Ravel - Rapsodie espagnole: I. Prélude à la Nuit. très modéré
4. Ravel - Rapsodie espagnole: II. Malagueña. assez vif
5. Ravel - Rapsodie espagnole: III. Habanera. assez lent et d'un rythme las
6. Ravel - Rapsodie espagnole: IV. Feria. assez animé.
7. Debussy - Images, L. 122: Gigues
8. Debussy - Images, L. 122: Ibéria. I. Par les rues et par les chemins
9. Debussy - Images, L. 122: Ibéria. II. Les parfums de la nuit
10. Debussy - Images, L. 122: Ibéria. III. Le matin d'un jour de fête
11. Debussy - Images, L. 122: Rondes de printemps

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Charles Münch, conductor

Date: 1955, 1957
Label: RCA

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Review

I listened in awe to the ‘sharp as a gnat’s-kneecap’ clarity of the ghostly effects of the Boston Orchestra flute player’s triple tonguing in Ravel’s La Valse. It is amazing to realize that this classic recording was made as long ago as 1957. This album is another in the latest incarnations of the renowned RCA Living Stereo series, each incarnation revealing more and more detail as technical advances moved onwards through acoustical LP, digital, CD etc to this new superb SACD format.

Charles Munch, a conductor of the widest musical culture, but noted particularly for his interpretations of French and German music, was music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1949 until he resigned in 1962 at the age of 70. The Boston Symphony first performed in public on October 22, 1881. The orchestra personnel were appointed by virtue of their virtuosity by the conductor, not the orchestra management. This album is testimony to the requisite high performance standards.

Munch’s La Valse shimmers excitingly, sensually; the music is ghostly, erotic, flirtatious. The mind’s eye so easily can visualise sweeping gowns, fluttering fans and  peacock-proud hussars in elaborate uniforms. But beyond this, Munch points up Ravel’s markings thus presenting an unflinching picture of decadence, of a doomed world from which the glitter would soon fade in the holocaust of world war.

The ever-popular Bolero is given a taut and characterful reading full of pride and swagger but also with sly sardonic humour. Ravel’s Rhapsodie Espagnol, under Munch, is equally persuasive. ‘Prélude à la nuit’ is mysterious, slightly sinister and threatening, the jazz element sounding deliciously decadent. This is a night that is glamorous and sensual with a perfumed atmosphere of dangerous love and romance. Malagueña’s voluptuous slides are redolent of swishing skirts, castanets and clicking heels. The ‘Habanera’, proud disdainful, exciting and sexy, with its abrupt twists and turns, also has a sweet poignancy. Munch gives the final ‘Feria’ movement all this too but contrasts it with threatening sudden darkness. Throughout there is wonderful ensemble playing and marvellous clarity.

Turning to Debussy and Images performed in full (not every recording includes all the sections of this colourful, atmospheric work). For ‘Gigues’, Munch realises the mocking irony behind the folkdance material; probably, as the notes claim, from Normandy but equally the provenance could be somewhere over the Channel as far north as Scotland or west as Ireland.  The misty opening is quite magical, the folkdance (recognisable as the Keel Row) tentative at first then oscillating between the merry, the plaintive and the jaunty. Pleasingly subtle touches abound and, often, ear-catching phrasing fires the imagination. The three-movement Iberia section forms the greater part of Iberia. The first is ‘Par les rues et par les chemins’ (In the streets and byways) and Munch seems to capture its very heart and spirit in phrasing, rhythm and dynamics. Munch floats the music of ‘Les parfums de la nuit’ (Fragrances of the Night) beguilingly. Here is all the sweet tremor and languor of a summer night, aromatic with hints of tiny hidden movements then a sudden darkness and chill as if a cloud is passing over the moon suggesting amours dangerous as well as sweet. Suddenly dawn brings all the bustle and excitement of ‘Le matin d’un jour de fête’ (The morning of a Festival Day) and castanets, harps, xylophone, snare drums and trumpets usher in the festivities, the music growing in excitement and anticipation; the mind’s eye seeing gorgeously dressed young girls riding side-saddle behind proud young grandees, colourful dancing in the streets, street performers and excited jostling crowds. The final movement ‘Rondes des printemps’ is a sophisticated setting of an ancient dance song ‘Nous irons plus au bois’ In it there are elements of the wood magic and languor of L’Après midi d’un faune and the eager folkdance material of earlier Images movements. Once again the virtuosity and imaginative playing of the Boston musicians encourage the most extravagant flights of imagination. 

Another RCA Living Stereo classic recording wonderfully enhanced by the new SACD technology. Heartily recommended.

-- Ian Lace, MusicWeb International

More reviews:
http://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-14045/
http://www.classical.net/~music/recs/reviews/r/rca66374a.php
http://www.allmusic.com/album/ravel-bol%C3%A9ro-la-valse-rapsodie-espagnole-debussy-images-mw0001376284
http://www.amazon.com/Ravel-Bolero-Valse-Rapsodie-Espagnole/dp/B0006PV5US

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Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with impressionism along with Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In the 1920s and 1930s Ravel was internationally regarded as France's greatest living composer. Among his works to enter the repertoire are pieces for piano, chamber music, two piano concertos, ballet music, two operas, and eight song cycles. His best known works include Boléro (1928), Gaspard de la nuit (1908), Daphnis et Chloé (1912). Ravel was also an exceptionally skilled orchestrator.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Ravel

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Claude Debussy (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music, though he disliked the term when applied to his compositions. Debussy is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. His innovative harmonies and his use of non-traditional scales were influential to almost every major composer of the 20th century and also some modern music groups. Debussy's music is noted for its sensory content and frequent usage of nontraditional tonalities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Debussy

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Charles Munch (26 September 1891 – 6 November 1968) was an Alsacian symphonic conductor and violinist. He studied with Carl Flesch in Berlin and Lucien Capet at the Conservatoire de Paris, and served as concertmaster of the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester under Wilhelm Furtwängler and Bruno Walter. Noted for his mastery of the French orchestral repertoire, he was best known as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Munch's discography is extensive, both in Boston on RCA Victor and various other labels, including Decca, EMI, Nonesuch, Erato and Auvidis-Valois.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Munch_(conductor)

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