Each volume in the ‘Portraits’ series is devoted to a French composer who has now largely been forgotten. With performances by many talentes artists, it presents a panorama of his works. The ‘Portrait’ of Félicien David aims to complement the discography already available with world premiere recordings of the composer’s works. Among these are a glimpse of his orchestral output, with the Symphony no. 3 and the Overture to his opéra-comique La Perle du Brésil, the work that really launched David on his operatic career. But it is above all Christophe Colomb (1847) that deserves mention, for this ode-symphonie with speaker was an ambitious follow-up to the success of Le Désert, performed at the Théâtre-Italien some years earlier. Nevertheless, this anthology does not forget that Félicien David was also a figure of the salons, admired for his intimate music and especially his songs. The programme therefore offers a chance to discover excerpts from the Mélodies orientales for solo piano, a selection of romances in the style of the 1840s, and the very rare early motets for chorus in varied scorings. The culmination of this Portrait is the restoration of Le Jugement dernier, which was intended as the concluding apotheosis of the opera Herculanum, but was finally deleted and has never been published until today.

REVIEW:

The model of Christophe Colomb (1847) resembles that of Le Désert: an ode-symphonie for narrator soloists, chorus and orchestra. While it may not be as inspired as the earlier work, it is still an impressive composition. In the work, Columbus is portrayed as a great leader, one who could inspire his men to follow him into the unknown, even in the face of a revolt, as is seen in the third section. As with Le Désert, the piece combines operatic elements, such as arias and choruses, with spoken dialogue and orchestral passages, resulting in quite a dramatic work. The performance is excellent; I greatly enjoyed the singing of Josef Wagner, who has gravitas in the title role. The Flemish Radio Choir and Les Siècles under François-Xavier Roth sparkle.

The second disc opens with a spirited rendition of the overture from David’s opéra comique La perle du Brésil of 1851. This is followed by the highlight of this disc, Le Jugement dernier. It was originally planned as part of the final act of the opera Herculanum of 1859, but was eventually cut from the work. All I can say is that if this fourteen-minute choral masterpiece is anything to go by, then I am even more eager to buy the complete opera. The Symphony in E flat Major is not the best work here. It is something of a letdown after the other pieces. It lacks the intensity and fluid writing of the other pieces here. The disc concludes with Six Motets, which contain some very fine choral writing and are typically French in character. They are accompanied by the organ, expertly played by Francois Saint-Yves. The Flemish Radio Choir gives a first-rate performance again, with Hervé Niquet proving he is the master of both the chorus and the wonderful Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra.

The third disc offers the listener three genres of music usually forgotten is such sets, but here it completes, apart from opera, those areas in composition where David was active. Firstly, we are offered seven Mélodies. They complement perfectly those offered by the baritone Tassis Christoyannis on his Aparte disc. Duo Contraste’s tenor Cyrill Dubois brings a lightness of tone to some of these songs that made me think of Schubert. This is backed up by the excellent playing of Tristan Raës. There is real drama in these songs too. L'égyptienne could almost be linked to Le Désert with its references to the Middle East. Then follows the Piano Trio No. 1, a work that that—like Symphony No. 3—for me lacks a little imagination and inspiration. Schubert is once again drawn to mind. The performance by Pascal Monlong, Pauline Buet and David Violi is admirable. It is the work with its formality that lacks the spark of genius. The final offering is a selection of four of David’s short piano works. These are hardly indicative of his piano music, but they do give a further insight into his art.

As with all releases in this series, it is lavishly packaged in the form of a 133-page hardback book containing excellent essays on the composer and his music, as well as full texts and translations, French and English, of the sung texts. Particularly poignant is Saint-Saëns’s touching epitaph that begins “The tomb has barely closed on Félicien David, and music owes a tear to his memory”. This is a recording that should reinvigorate the composer and his music, and show it in a stronger light. This is an excellent introduction to a composer who is hardly a household name and who, on this evidence deserves better recognition. He was not just an acolyte of Berlioz but an important composer in his own right, as most of the music and documentation here clearly shows.

-- MusicWeb International