Roussel: Le Festin d'Araignée, Fragments Symphoniques - Debussy: Jeux

Roussel's ballet Le Festin d'Araignée was premiered in april 1913, barely a month before Debussy's Jeux. I have just one recording of the fragments symphoniques (not the full ballet) in my collection: a live 1974 radio recording of the Concertgebouw Orchestra led by Haitink. It's a charming work, with the poise, delicacy and clarity of line so typical for this composer. Le Festin is scored for a very classic ('Mannheim') orchestra (with added harp and some percussion). However, the work predates Bacchus et Ariane by almost 20 years and can still be considered 'early Roussel' (only his post-war Second Symphony would herald his mature style). The influence of Debussy is very obvious throughout but we can also hear a sniff of Ravel (Rhapsodie Espagnole, Ma Mère L'Oye (premiered a year earlier)), a whiff of Wagner (Siegfried Idyll) and a hint of Tchaikovsky (Nutcracker). The music that accompanies the 'Hatching of the Mayfly' (L'Eclosion de l'Ephemère'), a broad and mysterious theme for the strings punctured with questioning motifs in the winds, even reminded me of Dvorak in his most wistful moments (we know for a fact that the Bohemian connection ran in the opposite direction as Roussel, from 1923 onwards up to his death in 1937, taught and coached Bohuslav Martinu). Haitink's performance of Roussel's ballet-pantomime is serviceable, maybe even good, but it's not great. I have the feeling there is more to be drawn from this music.

The 14-CD set with Haitink radio recordings also contains a 1967 reading of Debussy's Jeux and this struck me as very accomplished. In its consummate combination of atmosphere and athleticism it maybe even surpasses his later studio recording. Jeux is a work that continues to startle me with its kaleidoscopic richness. As a listener one can only yield and drift along with the momentary changing moods and dynamics. I will certainly return to this recording.

I followed up with a 1994 Jeux by Jukka-Pekka Saraste and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (recently re-issued as part of a bargain-priced 5CD box with Virgin recordings). It's two minutes faster than Haitink and to me it sounds curiously anemic. The indifferent digital sound doesn't help. Jeux has to be perfectly moulded and played. If not, it quickly bores and that is what happened to me when I listened to this recording.