Orchestra: Hallé Orchestra
Conductor: Mark Elder
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Hallé
Size: 535 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Claude Debussy (1862-1918):
Trois Nocturnes
The Hallé Youth Choir, The Hallé Choir
01. I. Nuages
02. II. Fêtes
03. III. Sirènes
04. Rhapsody for clarinet & piano (or orchestra), L. 116 ‘Première rapsodie’ – Sergio Castelló López
05. Marche Écossaise
06. Les soirs illuminés par l’ardeur du charbon
07. La Damoiselle élue 21:05 – Sophie Bevan
The Hallé and Sir Mark Elder follow their previous highly acclaimed Debussy albums, with a stunning orchestral collection including a world premiere recording.
This collection features works from across the composer’s career, from his early winning of the Prix de Rome, as a result of which he composed the delicate cantata La Damoiselle élue in 1887. Recorded following the highly acclaimed Proms performance and featuring stand-out soloists Anna Stéphany and Sophie Bevan, hailed by reviewers.
The enigmatic Nocturnes date from 1897-9 and show the composer at the height of his orchestral powers, in music that is highly evocative of mood and which displays deft instrumental writing.
Mastery of instrumental writing is further evidenced in the technically demanding Première Rapsodie, which calls upon the full range of emotions from the soloist, here the Hallé’s Principal Clarinet, Sergio Castelló López.
The album features a world premiere recording of Colin Matthews’s orchestration of the piano piece Les soirs illuminés par l’ardeur du charbon, unknown until its discovery in 2001. This arrangement follows Matthews’s universally acclaimed orchestrations of the Debussy Préludes.