Claude Debussy - Debussy Orchestrated (Pascal Rophé)

Information

Composer: Claude Debussy

• Petite suite, L. 65 (orch. Henri Büsser)
• La boîte à joujoux, L. 128 (orch. André Caplet)
• Children's Corner, L. 113 (orch. André Caplet)

Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire

Pascal Rophé, conductor

Date: 2022

Label: BIS
https://bis.se/conductors/rophe-pascal/debussy-orchestrated

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Review

For their latest album, Pascal Rophé and his Loire orchestra turn to music by Debussy originally written for piano but orchestrated by other hands, either with Debussy’s consent during his lifetime (Children’s Corner, Petite Suite) or, in the case of the ballet La boîte à joujoux, the completion of an orchestral version left unfinished at his death.

The piano originals are to some extent linked by ideas of expressive directness and on occasion technical simplicity, which should not blind us to their subtlety. Children’s Corner (1906 08) and La boîte (the piano version dates from 1913) are, of course, aimed at children (specifically Debussy’s daughter Chouchou) as well as adults, both as listeners and potential performers: La boîte, its ‘joujoux’ punning on Chouchou’s name, was at one point intended for children to dance to. The lovely Petite Suite (1886 89), inspired in part, like many of Debussy’s songs, by Verlaine’s poetry, was commissioned, probably by his publisher Jacques Durand, as a work for talented amateurs. The orchestrations, meanwhile, were the work of proven associates and colleagues. Henri Büsser’s version of the Petite Suite, which Debussy much admired, dates from 1907, a year before Büsser tackled the orchestration of Printemps. Children’s Corner and La boîte à joujoux were undertaken in 1910 and 1919 by Debussy’s pupil André Caplet, who is also thought to have had a hand in Le martyre de Saint Sébastien.

All three works are superbly done here. Rophé is wonderfully alert to points of colour and detail throughout. The shifting textures of ‘The Snow is Dancing’ from Children’s Corner are breathtakingly done. We’re reminded that Büsser treats ‘En bateau’, from Petite Suite, almost as a sketch for Faune, in the swaying flute phrases at the start, the sensuous string-writing and suggestive low woodwind just before the main melody returns. La boîte is by turns tender and witty, carefully paced and shaped: with its divertissements derived from classical ballet it can turn episodic if not carefully handled, a trap Rophé manages to avoid. That the work, and indeed Caplet’s orchestration, owe something to Petrushka, which floored Debussy at its premiere, is discreetly underscored.

This is a fine orchestra, meanwhile, and the playing is exquisite. The woodwind sound particularly lovely, most notably perhaps in the unfurling phrases at the start of the Petite Suite’s ‘Menuet’, and there are ravishing, poised flute and oboe solos in ‘En bateau’ and Children’s Corner’s ‘Little Shepherd’. My only cavil is that we could do with a better synopsis of La boîte than the one provided, which omits too much detail of the dances for the various toys, making the narrative difficult to follow for anyone coming to the work for the first time. Otherwise, it’s a wonderfully engaging disc of great charm.

-- Tim Ashley, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2022/Feb/Debussy-orch-BIS2622.htm

https://www.classical-music.com/reviews/orchestral/debussy-orchestrated/

https://www.allmusic.com/album/debussy-orchestrated-mw0003648324

https://www.thewholenote.com/index.php/booksrecords2/classicalabeyond/31728-debussy-orchestrated-pascal-rophe-orchestre-national-des-pays-de-la-loire

https://www.amazon.com/Debussy-Orchestrated-Orchestre-National-Loire/dp/B09NYJWG86

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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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Pascal Rophé (born 16 June 1960 in Paris) is a French conductor. Rophé studied at the Conservatoire de Paris and also worked with Pierre Boulez and David Robertson. From 2006 to 2009, Rophé was musical director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège. In September 2014, Rophé became musical director of the Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire. In 2016, he recorded with the orchestra works by Dutilleux to mark the composer's centenary, including Le Loup, 3 Sonnets de Jean Cassou and Fille du Diable. Rophé was re-appointed as orchestra director in 2017 for three years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_Rophé

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