2023-12-01 17:00:15
Passionate
Mer(s)
Claude Debussy: The Sea. Paul Dukas: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Jean Cras: Logbook. Appassionato, Mathieu Herzog (conductor). Pochette of the album « Mer(s) », by the orchestra Appassionato, Mathieu Herzog (direction). PASSIONATE ABOUT LABEL
Illustration of the non-conformism claimed by the Appassionato orchestra in its approach to the symphonic repertoire, among others, by the creation of its own label so as not to submit to “short-term profitability logic”this first “house” album unexpectedly places The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (1897), by Paul Dukas, under the aegis of a program dedicated to the marine world. The frenzied filling of a basin of water by the magic broom, whose enterprise Walt Disney immortalized in Fantasia, does not, in fact, have much to do, including from the angle of imagery, with the aquatic considerations developed in the works which frame it here. Except perhaps in the spectacular, not to say Hollywood, dimension that Mathieu Herzog seems to seek for The sea (1905), by Claude Debussy, with a sound recording that gives the listener the impression of perceiving the swirls as if he were in an immense Jacuzzi. Paradoxically, the Logbook (1928), by Rear-Admiral Jean Cras, does not seem very far from the Debussy triptych in terms of its dreamlike figures. The qualities of Appassionato (individual precision, collective energy) are, on the other hand, fully expressed in a Sorcerer’s Apprentice masterfully measured right down to the purring of a mutant double bassoon. Pierre Gervasoni
Georg Friedrich Handel
Messiah
Avec Lucy Crowe, Alex Potter, Michael Spyres, Matthew Brook, The English Concert & Choir, John Nelson (direction). Pochette de l’album “Handel Messiah”, par The English Concert & Choir, John Nelson (direction). ERATO/WARNER CLASSICS
Masterpieces never die, as evidenced by this new version of one of the most recorded works in discography. An unusual vision, going backwards and forwards from the past and today, from the voluptuous illuminations of yesteryear to the striking Baroque carvings. Simplicity and fervor are shared, in fact, in this magnificent interpretation carried by a first-rate cast and musicians. And above all by a leader, John Nelson, whose spiritual integrity is palpable at every moment. Strings full of light, winds rounded with sweetness, The English Concert reveals with jealous care, steeped in elegance and vigor, a score which supports without the slightest ostentation the dramaturgical meanders of the biblical text. The solo quartet is remarkable. From soprano Lucy Crowe, luminous with accuracy and expressiveness, to countertenor Alex Potter, carrying with great emotion Christ’s Stations of the Cross, through Michael Spyres at the peak of his art, alternately caressing and furious, as was Matthew Brook. And what about the chorus, sensual, homogeneous, mysterious and jubilant? Marie-Aude Roux
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