• logo

Ensemble Midtvest - Poulenc: Chamber Works (2012)

Ensemble Midtvest - Poulenc: Chamber Works (2012)

BAND/ARTIST: Ensemble Midtvest

  • Title: Poulenc: Chamber Works
  • Year Of Release: 2012
  • Label: CPO
  • Genre: Classical
  • Quality: FLAC (tracks+booklet)
  • Total Time: 69:47 min
  • Total Size: 264 MB
  • WebSite:
Tracklist:

01. Clarinet Sonata, FP 184: I. Allegro tristamente: Allegretto - Tres calme - Tempo allegretto
02. Clarinet Sonata, FP 184: II. Romanza: Tres calme
03. Clarinet Sonata, FP 184: III. Allegro con fuoco: Tres anime
04. Elegie for Horn and Piano, FP 168
05. Un Joueur de flute berce les ruines (arr. for chamber ensemble)
06. Flute Sonata, FP 164: I. Allegro malincolico
07. Flute Sonata, FP 164: II. Cantilena: Assez lent
08. Flute Sonata, FP 164: III. Presto giocoso
09. Oboe Sonata, FP 185: I. Elegie: Paisiblement
10. Oboe Sonata, FP 185: II. Scherzo: Tres anime
11. Oboe Sonata, FP 185: III. Deploration: Tres calme
12. Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon, FP 32: I. Allegro: Tres rythme
13. Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon, FP 32: II. Romance: Andante tres doux
14. Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon, FP 32: III. Final: Tres Anime
15. Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano, FP 43: I. Presto
16. Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano, FP 43: II. Andante
17. Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano, FP 43: III. Rondo

You could be fooled into thinking that this release contains all of Poulenc’s sonatas for winds, especially as there is just enough space on this 71-minute disc to include the missing Villanelle for Pipe and Piano, as well as the lovely but very silly Sonata for Two Clarinets. I’m guessing these were only left out because of the lack of a piper or second clarinetist in the superb Danish group, Ensemble MidtVest. In their favor they do include the recently unearthed flute miniature from 1942, Un joueur de flûte berce les ruines (A Flautist Plays for Ruins), which doesn’t make the complete chamber collections on Hyperion and EMI.

The playing is bright, expressive, and very polished throughout, possibly even a little too serious at times. Predictably their clear-eyed approach suits the Elegy for Horn and Piano, Poulenc’s tribute to Dennis Brain and the Clarinet Sonata, dedicated to the memory of Honegger. Likewise the exquisite rendition of the Flute Sonata is all the better for not being pulled about for romantic effect. Charlotte Norholt is a stunning flutist and, in my view, she and pianist Martin Qvist Hansen surpass the classic version from Michael Debost and Jacques Fevrier on EMI. In fact all the members have stunning technique, although I wish the Oboe Sonata let rip a little more, despite the plangent tone from oboist, Peter Kirstein. There is energy and formidable skill on display for a devilishly fleet-footed performance of the Stravinsky-hued Wind Trio, but (a silly gripe, maybe) the odd bit of splashiness or wit might not have gone amiss. Placed sensibly at the end of this immaculate recital, as the most substantial but earliest work, it proves how Poulenc’s voice was mature already in his 20s, just as the earlier tracks (flitting about from 1962 to the wartime and the mid ’50s) show how, even at his most poignant and restless, he never loses his lightness of touch. This disc, better than most, demonstrates how Poulenc’s chamber is more than charm and neoclassical homages and does often respond well to being treated seriously.

CPO’s presentation is exceptional with superb notes on each work, as well as performer bios, all in German, English, French, and Danish; an example to other labels, and with bright, spacious sound to match. This doesn’t topple all the other great versions of Poulenc’s chamber works out there, although the classic EMI recordings with Poulenc’s contemporaries are starting to feel a little dated and stiff limbed, but this makes a superb supplement to the bright and breezy Nash Ensemble on Hyperion. I can’t wait for future volumes.


As a ISRA.CLOUD's PREMIUM member you will have the following benefits:
  • Unlimited high speed downloads
  • Download directly without waiting time
  • Unlimited parallel downloads
  • Support for download accelerators
  • No advertising
  • Resume broken downloads
  • User offline
  • platico
  •  wrote in 00:46
    • Like
    • 0
gracias...