Pierné is not as well remembered as his contemporaries Debussy and Ravel, who influenced him, but his compositions are of high quality and great appeal.
The LP contains music from the ballet Cydalise et le Chèvre-Pied, the orchestral suite Divertissements sur un theme pastoral and a Concertstück for harp and orchestra.
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| Gabriel Pierné |
Cydalise et le Chèvre-Pied is a two-act ballet that Pierné scored in 1914-15, but was not performed until 1923. "Chèvre-pied" is literally translated as "goat-foot," but it actually refers to a satyr. Here, let me quote a helpful summary from Gramophone magazine: "The story, setting the natural world of nymphs and satyrs against the ‘unnatural’ one of court life, gives him [Pierné] plenty of scope for atmospheric strings and pastoral woodwind on the one hand, and pseudo 18th-century pomposity on the other."
The sound world is reminiscent of Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé of 1912 and of Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune of 1894, both of which Pierné certainly knew and possibly led as the conductor of the Concerts Colonne. His work, however, has its own flavor due to its more formal structure, neoclassical elements and influences of Stravinsky. Pierné conducted the premiere of The Firebird in 1910.
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| Jean Martinon |
The composer drew two orchestral suites from Cydalise et le Chèvre-Pied. The first suite, presented by Martinon in its entirety, is drawn from the first act. The conductor also includes the final scene, which comes from the second act and was in Pierne's second suite from the ballet music.
The best-known excerpt from the score is the so-called "March of the Little Fauns," which opens the suite and sometimes appears on pops programs. It was recorded several times soon after its premiere, including a 1928 version from the Cleveland Orchestra under its founding music director, Nikolai Sokoloff. That disc can be found on my other blog.
Pierné's Concertstück for harp and orchestra comes from 1901 and here has a distinguished soloist, Lily Laskine (1893-1988). It, too, is a delightful work that Laskine and the orchestra perform superbly.
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| Lily Laskine |
The final work on the program is the Divertissements sur un theme pastoral, which dates from 1931. The LP's annotator, Harry Halbreich, contends that it is perhaps the composer's most successful orchestral work. As the title implies, it is a diversion - light music that is designed to beguile and amuse, as do all the works on this record.
Some of Pierné's compositions have enjoyed repeated recordings; others have not been as fortunate. As noted, the "March of the Little Fauns" was recorded many times in the first half of the 20th century, and Pierné himself set down the final scene of the ballet in 1930. André Cluytens recorded selections of the ballet in 1951, but the performance was never issued. Excerpts conducted by Jean-Baptiste Mari came out on a French label in 1961, followed by the Martinon record in 1970. Mari would record both suites for EMI in 1976. A complete account of the ballet later appeared on CD.
The Concertstück has been recorded several times; indeed, this was Laskine's third go at the piece, following versions from 1935 and 1961. The Erato LP seems to be the second release of the orchestral Divertissements; the first was led by Jean Fournet in 1950.
At one time, the composer's most recorded work was the brief Sérénade, an early work. This was back in the days of the 78 when short compositions were easier to record (and sell).
The sound on the Erato record is quite good. My transfer comes from a pristine pressing. The link below is to the 16-bit, 44.1kHz version. A 24-bit, 96kHz transfer also is available upon request.
LINK (16-bit, 44.1kHz)
Pierné the Conductor
My other blog has a new post devoted to two short works with Pierné conducting the Orchestre Colonne: Chabrier's España and Pierné's own orchestration of Franck's Prelude, choral et fugue. These recordings, which date from 1929, can be found here.
More from the Orchestre National de l'ORTF
The series of ORTF recordings of French music appeared both on the Erato and Barclay labels. The following have also been featured on this blog.
- Maurice Duruflé - Messe "Cum jubilo," Quatre motets, Trois danses, conducted by the composer
- Gabriel Fauré - Shylock, Pavane, Madrigal, Caligula, conducted by Antonio de Almeida
- Louis Vierne - Symphonie en la, Spleens et détresses, conducted by Georges Tzipine
Roussel's ballet Aeneas, also conducted by Martinon, is coming up next.
