Charles Koechlin is one of those composers that have suffered neglect mainly because his music was so individual it was hard to characterise, or so it seemed in his own time (1867-1950). With distance he mirrors those 77 years well, beginning in the aftermath of D’Indy and Fauré, independent but relative to Debussy and Ravel, ending in the world of film music and the ravages of World War II…
These are all world premiere modern recordings made in Paris of music by two composers who have largely slipped through the reputational net undeservedly…
The concept behind this release is to compare and contrast two cello concertos written a century apart, 1919 and 2017, and both imbued with echoes of World War I. There’s nothing wrong with the concept but from the buyer’s point of view once the point is made, the recording has only the quality of the music and performances left to offer…
The Basset instruments of the late 18th century, whether called clarinets or horns, were particularly delicious in tone, giving not only extra notes to the clarinet range but a rich and mellow tone that modern generations do not quite match…