Our discovery of the French composer Theodore Dubois continues with his piano chamber music, which for us here and now is very much new musical terrain: a Piano Quartet in the classic ensemble as well as a Piano Quintet as a fascinating exception to the rule with its string trio and oboe (instead of a second violin). The flawless design and tonal beauty of these works make us sit up and take notice, and by the way they were penned during the first decade of a new century by a composer who was almost seventy years old and now was focusing on the writing of chamber music. The Quintette pour violon, hautbois, alto et violoncelle was published in 1905, prior to the Piano Quartet, and its exquisite ensemble generates a special magnetism. Here the master aims at a noble, sensuous sumptuousness in the melody instruments in which the special color of the oboe now has its share. At the same time, the rich sound captivates the listener as chamber music building on a piano foundation and exclusively employing the character of this keyboard instrument as a sort of dramatic signal in the dialogue of the song lines during all the movements.

Born in the Champagne countryside in 1837, Théodore Dubois developed his talents at the Reims Cathedral, which explains why the Catholic sacred sphere influenced him throughout his life. Even today he continues to be known in France above all as a composing organist and a composer of sacred music for liturgical use who compiled a massive oeuvre. He also continues to be much discussed in educational circles as the author of the standard manuals in music theory of a strictly conservative nature. We are now releasing three of his violin compositions, which, by contrast, have been neglected and wrongly forgotten by posterity. His Violin Concerto was dedicated to none other than the violin legend Eugène Ysaÿe. The quality of this work is manifested most impressively in the Adagio middle movement in the form a long-drawn-out melody with a mighty amplitude; the deepest depths are fathomed with big sound, and iridescent heights are scaled. Here the whole individual value of French violin culture is revealed. And his only Sonata for Violin and Piano also contains the name of a great virtuoso in its dedication – Henri Marteau – and was composed to order for him.

Classical Music

Each volume in the 'Portraits' series is devoted to a composer who has now largely been forgotten; it presents a varied selection of his works. Theodore Dubois is the perfect example of the 'official' composer during the time of French Romanticism: he successively was a Prix de Rome recipient (1861), organist at the Madeleine (1877), an academician (1894), and director of the Conservatoire (1896) where he had been teaching since 1871. However, so much injustice as well as honor was heaped upon his music - accused of academic rigidity - that it is important to rehear it to be in a better position to judge it's real interest value. A representative selection of works, typically previously unrecorded, is provided on this multi-faceted book-CD: A biography, extracts from Dubois' recollections, as well as articles discussing the composer's style and personality.

The music of Théodore Dubois (1837–1924) has rather been overshadowed by that of other French composers of the same period, not least Fauré and Saint-Saëns. But Dubois does not deserve his relative neglect: not only was he a superlative craftsman, but he could also unfold a fetching melody and had a strong sense of musical narrative. This recital of chamber works for oboe and strings is noteworthy for a further quality, one often underestimated: much of the music is, quite simply, charming.