Marius Constant Conducts Debussy

Debussy's Le Martyre de Saint-Sébastien is not one of his best known or most popular compositions. It is, nevertheless, exquisitely beautiful.

Here the work is coupled with two Rhapsodies for solo winds and orchestra, both also strikingly good, although less often heard than many of the composer's other works.

These performances come to us from 1972 and composer-conductor Marius Constant (1925-2004), leading the Orchestre Philharmonique de l'ORTF (the present-day Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France).

Marius Constant

The disk is one of a series of LPs produced by Radio France showcasing its two orchestras - the Orchestre National and the Philharmonique. We most recently heard the former ensemble in music of Gabriel Pierné and Maurice Duruflé. Constant was the music director of French radio when he made this present album.

Constant also was a noted composer who is fated to be most remembered in the popular imagination by the theme from the American television program The Twilight Zone. Ironically, this theme was constructed by combining two pieces of library music that Constant had composed for a fixed fee.

Le Martyre de Saint-Sébastien

Ida Rubinstein as Saint Sebastian

Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien dates from 1911. The dancer Ida Rubinstein commissioned the text by Italian author and politician Gabriele D'Annunzio and engaged Debussy for the music, Michel Fokine for the choreography and Léon Bakst for the stage and costume design.

The resulting hybrid work was overlong (five hours!), overheated and controversial - the bishop of Paris condemned the idea of the person playing Saint Sebastian being a woman and a Jew.

Gabriele D'Annunzio, aesthete and future Duce

D'Annunzio was allied with the Decadent movement in the arts, which stressed sensuality and mysticism. Debussy, similarly, was influenced by the Symbolist poets Baudelaire, Mallarmé, Rimbaud and Verlaine. He famously rejected the structural thinking that underlies such forms as the symphony, instead looking to the Russians, Chopin and literature for inspiration.

Claude Debussy in 1909

The complete Martyre is almost never heard today. Instead, it is usually represented by the four Fragments symphoniques that Debussy's pupil and friend André Caplet assembled from the score. 

• La Cour de Lys (The Court of Lilies). Several tableaux depicting Sebastian's life, including his asking for a sign from God as he witnesses two young Christians being tortured to death.

• Danse extatique et Final du 1er Acte (Ecstatic Dance and Finale of the 1st Act). Sebastian dances on hot coals as lilies emerge from the ground.

• La Passion (The Passion). Sebastian experiences ecstasy as he anticipates being put to death.

• Le Bon Pasteur (The Good Shepherd). Set in Apollo's grove, in which Sebastian has a vision of the shepherd and a sacrificial lamb.

The music is unquestionably static, and for that reason it is not considered among Debussy's best. It is, however, strikingly beautiful, and that is perhaps the point.

Constant himself wrote many ballet scores, and his reading of Debussy's music is entirely sympathetic without any indulgences.

A side note about Gabriele D'Annunzio, a remarkable character. He was to distinguish himself as a Royal Italian Army officer during World War I. Postwar, he marched into Fiume and set up the short-lived Italian Regency of Carnaro with himself as Duce, emphasizing concerts and daily poetry readings. Some of his ideas and symbols were to influence Benito Mussolini and eventually Adolf Hitler.

Première rhapsodie, pour clarinette et orchestre

Guy Deplus

Debussy wrote his clarinet rhapsody in 1909-10 as an examination piece for the Conservatoire de Paris. The critic Trevor Harvey wrote in his Gramophone review of this LP, "Debussy himself thought highly enough of it to proceed to its orchestration, and marvelously he did it, too. Marius Constant realises it most poetically." I might add that the distinguished soloist Guy Deplus is faultless, as well.

Deplus was the professor of clarinet at the Conservatoire de Paris at the time.

Rhapsodie pour saxophone et orchestre

Debussy's rhapsody for saxophone has an unusual history. It was commissioned by the American Elise Hall, who was learning the instrument as a way to fend off encroaching deafness. (It didn't work.)  She paid in advance, a mistake because the composer had few compunctions about not completing the piece, even after she showed up on his doorstep more than once.

Elise Hall - dressed like an umbrella?

Debussy somehow acted the aggrieved party in all of this, complaining that Hall was "an old bat who dresses like an umbrella." He eventually finished the short score, selling it to a publisher. Jean Roger-Ducasse finally realized the orchestration in 1919, after Debussy's death, but Hall never heard it.

A shame, because it is quite a good composition. Trevor Harvey's verdict on the performance: "On the whole I just slightly prefer this Erato version to the CBS [Stanley Drucker with the New York Philharmonic] since, while both soloists are splendid, those in the Erato are more integrated into the orchestral texture, yet never failing to speak out loud and clear at the right moments. The general orchestral sound is just right for such music."

Daniel Deffayet

The soloist on this record is Daniel Deffayet, who was professor of saxophone at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he succeeded his teacher Marcel Mule.

The recording of this music is excellent, derived from a flawless pressing. The link below is to a 16-bit, 44.1kHz transfer. A 24-bit, 96kHz version is available upon request.

LINK (16-bit, 44.1kHz)

An Earlier Set of Recordings

My other blog has a new post that presents 1931 recordings by Piero Coppola of some of the music on the Erato LP above. These comprise two of the four Fragments symphoniques from Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien and a performance of the Clarinet Rhapsody with Gaston Hamelin.

The Iturbis in Gershwin, Debussy and More

Those of you who have been paying attention to things around here will be aware that the music of George Gershwin is among the most popular of my subjects. The Rhapsody in Blue, in particular, has been the topic of many posts, including ones covering the original recording, a version with a chorus, jazz interpretations, and what have you.

But there is always more to discover, and today we have two different versions for two pianos - one with orchestra and one without. These are part of a collection by duo pianists Amparo and José Iturbi that also includes several unusual examples of mid-century Americana, plus their recordings of Debussy's En blanc et noir and two Andalusian Dances by Manuel Infante.

The 1949 Rhapsody in Blue recording

10-inch cover

Siblings Amparo (1898-1969) and José (1895-1980) were virtuoso pianists who often performed together.

When this 1949 recording of Rhapsody in Blue was made, they (particularly José) were at the height of their fame. They appeared together in several Hollywood films, with José taking a speaking role in most of them.

As sometimes happens, the more the performers became familiar to the general public, the less they were held in regard by the audience for classical music.

The pair took the Rhapsody into the recording studio twice, both in arrangements by José. The first was in 1938 in a duo piano arrangement without orchestra (discussed below); the 1949 version included orchestra.

Both are well worth hearing. The earlier version, made in New York, strikes me as a bit more refined than the 1949 orchestral arrangement. But then, José in particular was not known for subtlety and both can be brash. I will say that the 1949 version is dramatic, and is in excellent sound.

José Iturbi in Anchors Aweigh

In addition to his piano duties, José also conducted the orchestra in the 1949 Rhapsody, made in Hollywood. He had just appeared as himself in the Kathryn Grayson-Mario Lanza epic That Midnight Kiss, managing to be billed above Lanza, who was in his first leading role.

The 1949 version came out on EP and 78 sets, later migrating to 10-inch LP (cover above) and 12-inch LP. The LP versions included additional works, as described below.

Chambers - All American - A Satirical Suite

Both the LP versions included the duo's recording of a brief All American satirical suite by avocational composer J. Clarence Chambers, who at one time was the general medical superintendent of the New York City hospital system. Dr. Chambers' suite is perhaps the only work of his that has been recorded. It comes from a 1946 session in Hollywood, where José was appearing in the Jane Powell movie Holiday in Mexico.

The suite's titles will give you a good sense of what it's about - "Chicken in the Hay," "Lush," "Bloozey-Woozey" and "Parade of the Visiting Firemen."

Debussy and Infante

12-inch cover

The 12-inch version of the LP also included works by Debussy and Infante. The bigger LP came with a much better looking cover, the work of artist and illustrator Robert J. Lee.

Debussy's En blanc et noir is a turbulent wartime work, written in 1915, when the composer, afflicted with cancer, had but a few years to live. The work is dedicated to Serge Koussevitzky, Jacques Charlot (a business associate who was killed in the war), and Igor Stravinsky.

Debussy was passionately anti-German at the time; he deconstructs Martin Luther's hymn, Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, in the second movement.

The Iturbis' intensity is well suited to this work; at the same time they inject more light and shade into this recording than some of their other efforts. The 1950 sessions were held in Hollywood.

Manuel Infante

José championed the music of Spanish composer Manuel Infante (1883-1958). He and Amparo often played Infante's suites for two pianos. The LP includes two of the three Andalusian Dances - No. 1 and No. 2. (The LP sleeve gets the markings wrong - No. 1 is Ritmo; No. 2 is Sentimento.)

These are highly attractive characteristic pieces that are just right for the performers, who carry them off with panache. The recordings were made in November 1946 in Hollywood.

All the works discussed so far were transferred from my copy of the 12-inch LP.

Music by Gould and Reddick

Morton Gould

I've added three brief American works to the program. The first is the Blues movement from the American Concertette No. 1 by Morton Gould, here in a version for solo piano by José, for whom the work was written. The Concertette is usually called Interplay, after the ballet that Jerome Robbins produced using the score. You can hear the complete work in a recording by Cor de Groot that I posted many years ago.

Also from Gould is a highly idiomatic and convincing Boogie Woogie Étude that is powerfully played by José. The work dates from 1943. Iturbi recorded the two Gould pieces in November 1944 in New York.

Willam J. Reddick

Finally we have an unusual orchestral piece by William J. Reddick called Espanharlem. Not sure what program Reddick had in mind for this work, but it's an attractive piece in the Gershwin vein. This comes from a V-Disc with Iturbi conducting what the producers called the "Rochester Symphony." This is very likely the Rochester Philharmonic, which Iturbi conducted from 1936 to 1944. He made a few RCA Victor recordings on May 9, 1942 with that ensemble, per A Classical Discography. The V-Disc came from an unissued master from that date.

Reddick was known for his arrangements of spirituals and a collection of roustabout songs from the Ohio River. He was producer and director of radio's Ford Sunday Evening Hour from 1936-42, then again after 1945. This was probably the connection with Iturbi - José and the Rochester orchestra sometimes appeared on the program.

The 1938 Rhapsody in Blue

The Iturbis

Gershwin himself transcribed the Rhapsody in Blue for two pianos, but the Iturbis' 1938 recording was arranged by José. The pair made the recording in August and September 1938 for Victor. This transfer comes from HMV pressings.

Just as with the 1949 version, the performances are skillful and forthright, conveyed in very good sound from Victor's New York studios. The 1938 recording, issued on 78s, has not been reissued, to my knowledge. However, a set of Iturbi's complete RCA Victor recordings will be released this week, I believe.

This version of the Rhapsody in Blue, along with the Gould and Reddick works, come from cleaned-up transfers found on Internet Archive.  

Ravel and Debussy from Cleveland, Rodziński and Leinsdorf (Plus a Bonus)

The Cleveland Orchestra did not spring into being upon the accession of George Szell to the music directorship in 1946. Three chief conductors had preceded him: Nikolai Sokoloff, Artur Rodziński and Erich Leinsdorf.

This blog has concerned itself with Rodziński's recorded output since its founding, including several Cleveland efforts: Jerome Kern's Showboat Scenario for Orchestra, Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream, and Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet and 1812 Overture, in addition to many recordings from New York, one from Vienna and one from Chicago.

Last year I posted several of Leinsdorf's Cleveland outings: the Schumann Symphony No. 1, Rimsky-Korsakov's Antar, plus pieces by Schubert and Mozart.

Today we return to Cleveland for music of the Impressionists: Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 and Rapsodie Espagnole and Debussy's La Mer from Rodziński, and instrumental music from Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, as arranged and conducted by Leinsdorf.

A single link to all these items is at the end of the post. 

Today's bonus is in the form of another welcome compilation from David Federman: "From Dearth to Mirth," a concept we can all support, I am sure. Details and a link below.

Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 and Rapsodie Espagnole

Artur Rodziński

After the Cleveland Orchestra and Rodziński began recording for the reorganized Columbia Records company in 1939, it wasn't long until the conductor turned his attentions to the music of Ravel, first the Rapsodie Espagnole in 1940, then the Suite No. 2 from the Daphnis et Chloé ballet music the next year.

Critics differ about the merits of his readings. In the reviews included in the download, some contemporary writers longed for the more lush sounds of Stokowski or Koussevitzky. However, I am inclined to agree with critic Donald Rosenberg, who wrote, "Rodziński's limber approach and his attention to balance and tuning are ideal for the two French scores" and Howard Taubman of the New York Times, who praised the Rapsodie's "precision, rhythmic vitality and rich orchestral color."

My transfer comes from a circa 1949 first-generation LP transfer with good sound and surfaces. The download also includes the second generation cover in addition to the 1949 "tombstone" above.

Debussy's La Mer

Rodziński added a recording of Debussy's La Mer to his Cleveland discography during late 1941 sessions that also included the Daphnis et Chloé music, and the Kern and Mendelssohn works mentioned above.

Here again, some critics longed for the coloristic effects of a Koussevitzky, but I find Rodziński's control and clarity to be well suited to a score that is as fascinating and impassive as the sea it depicts.

La Mer was originally issued in a 78 set with the cover above. My transfer comes from a first-generation 10-inch LP with very good sound.

Artur Rodziński ... 'as featured in Collier's'

Debussy (arr. Leinsdorf) - Pelléas et Mélisande Suite

Erich Leinsdorf

Erich Leinsdorf made all his recordings with the Cleveland Orchestra in late February 1946, after George Szell had been appointed to succeed him as music director. Included were the recordings mentioned above, along with Dvořák, Brahms and Leinsdorf's own arrangement of instrumental interludes from Debussy's opera Pelléas et Mélisande.

Critic Edward Tatnall Canby was taken with Leinsdorf's work, not the least because it was, in his view, "a fine way to sample a rare opera." But the music is not particularly characteristic of the complete score, where the vocal lines are primary. The composer wrote the interludes to cover scene changes, and his debt to Wagner is more apparent in this music than elsewhere.

Leinsdorf was a volatile conductor at this early stage in his development, but that tendency is not in evidence here. The performance is enjoyable, but it does not (and perhaps could not) capture the unique sound world of the opera.

This transfer has been cleaned up from needle drops of the original 78 set, as found on Internet Archive. The sound is very good, but there is some surface rustle that will be apparent on headphones.

Although the recording was made in early 1946, the album did not come out until 1949, by which time Leinsdorf was the music director in Rochester. It was issued simultaneously via the 78 set and the new LP format.

Bonus: 'From Dearth to Mirth'

In his collection "From Dearth to Mirth," David has assembled a 27-song set from days gone by (the only days we recognize on this blog). He notes, "I seek out music that consoled my parents in times equivalent to ours when tyrants trod the earth. I call it 'Three-Cheers-For-Good-Times' music and I’m presenting a generous sampling of it in this mix."

He adds that "your job as listener is to try to take this music as sincerely as it was intended and be cheered by it. As you will see, George and Ira Gershwin invested heavily in the effort to cheer up America--contributing two largely forgotten Jazz Age gems, 'Clap Yo' Hands' and 'Oh Gee Oh Joy,' songs to this giddy mix. So there's no need for smirks, just smiles. They will come fairly easy to regular patrons of Buster’s blog. Or at least I am counting on it."

LINK to Ravel and Debussy

LINK to 'From Death to Mirth'

20th Century Music for Clarinet and Piano

Stanley Drucker is one of the best known clarinet players of the recent past but he has made relatively few solo recordings. Here is one from 1971 with five excellent works from eminent 20th century composers. The Odyssey LP pairs Drucker with pianist Leonid Hambro, himself a distinguished figure.

Stanley Drucker

Drucker, born in 1929, was the principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic for an amazing 49 years, from 1960 until 2009. He was with the orchestra for more than 62 years - his entire working career.

Leonid Hambro

Hambro (1920-2006) made a number of recordings early in his career for such labels as Allegro, but later became known for his comedic bent. He spent a decade as the sidekick of Victor Borge, and appeared on P.D.Q Bach and Gerard Hoffnung programs. He also collaborated with synthesizer player Gershon Kingsley for a record of Switched-On Gershwin. He was a talented accompanist as well.

For this LP, Drucker and Hambro programmed Leonard Bernstein's early and enjoyable Sonata, Sonatinas from Darius Milhaud and Arthur Honegger, Debussy's brief Petite Piece for clarinet and piano, and a typically discursive but lovely sonata by Sir Arnold Bax.

I suspect that this was an independent production that Drucker and Hambro brought to Columbia, which put it out on its budget Odyssey label, mainly devoted to reissues. The sound is vivid but it does compress the dynamic range of the performance.

I transferred the LP is response to a request on a classical sharing site, but I thought some readers here might enjoy it as well.

Circa 1970s ad