Landowski: Concerto for ondes Martenot - Concerto for Trumpet and Electro-acoustic Instruments

I revisited Marcel Landowski's Concerto for ondes Martenot, string orchestra and percussion and complemented it with the Concerto for Trumpet, orchestra and elecro-acoustic instuments. Although the latter was written more than twenty years later then the former (1976 and 1954, respectively), they partake very much of the same kind of atmosphere. I can imagine that this music strikes many listeners as rather dour and uninspired, but I feel it speaks eloquently to me. Landowski's themes are almost artless and mundane, but his forte is in the subtlety of his coloristic palette and in the skillfulness with which he is able to capture a mood. There is nothing that jumps out, neither the idiom's post-romantic or post-impressionistic leanings, nor its occasionally avantgardistic pretensions. His use of electro-acoustic instruments is wonderfully sensitive and eschews any kind of showmanship. Sometimes it looks like the composer deliberately wants to explore a restricted band of tonality and mood. The three movements of the Concerto for Trumpet (titled Cantiques d'un soir (Andantino), Chant pour une feuille morte (Allegro moderato) and Cortège (Andante) respectively) all assume a pensive and, as in the Concerto for ondes Martenot, almost mournful posture. That is in a way remarkable given the rather bright and martial character of the trumpet as a solo instrument. The piece is prefaced by a quote from the poet Paul Eluard: "Au bout du chagrin une fenêtre ouverte". The 1977 performance by dedicatee Maurce André and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, led by Alain Lombard, is commendable. The technical qualities of the Erato recording are sadly not in the same league.

Landowski: Symphony nr. 3, Concerto for Ondes Martenot, 4 Pieces for Trumpet and Organ - Koechlin: Vers la Voûte Etoilée - Dutilleux: Timbres, Espace, Mouvement

 The 9 CD Landowski set came in and I was keen to relisten some of what I had heard in decidedly lo-fi fashion on Youtube. The Symphony nr. 3 'Des Espaces' (1964) consists of two contrasting movements: an introductory Grave (10'21") followed by a propulsive Allegro deciso (6'10"). Landowski conceived it as a concerto for orchestra and it shows in the lush, pointillist orchestral fabric. The title of the work expresses the composer's ambition to 'evoke the great spaces of the work as well as, inwardly, those spaces imagined sometimes in our dreams'. I find this an attractive work that in its orchestral brilliance, shimmering dark harmonies and voluptuous chromaticism reminds me strongly of early Dutilleux.

Another captivating work is the earlier Concerto for Ondes Martenot, String Orchestra and Percussion (1954). Personally I have never taken to this weird instrument - which works by varying the frequency of oscillation in a vacuum tube. In Messiaen's work its contribution strikes me often as comical or even slightly vulgar. But in this concerto it has a beautifully suggestive part, singing out a kind of unearthly melancholy in tune with the overall mournful ambience of the piece. Sure, Landowski is not a great melodist, likely not even a particularly great musical architect, but much more of a colorist who knows how to coax a distinctive atmosphere from the orchestra. The accompaniment by the Orchestre de Chambre de Musique Contemporain led by Jacques Bondon lacks refinement but the solo part by Jeanne Loriod (younger sister of pianist and Messiaen's second wife Yvonne Loriod) is commendable. The recording date is unknown but must be from the mid-1960s as Bondon's OCMC was established in 1962 and only existed a couple of years under that name.

Landowski's feeling for unorthodox instrumental colours is also the main attraction of his Four Pieces for Trumpet and Orchestra (1977). It's a substantial work of about 22' consisting of four parts, each of which carries vague references to religious or mystical regimens: 'jour du secret intérieur', 'jour de quête de soi', 'jour des regrets et des pardons', 'jour de joie'. These kinds of religious, literary or philosophical-humanist references seem to be quite abundant in Landowski's work, although they never assume the fervour with which they are flaunted by Messiaen. The four pieces are quite interesting to listen to. Again it's more the mood of mystery and introspection that captivates rather than anything else.

Landowski is stylistically often associated to his teacher Arthur Honegger but from what I hear this doesn't seem to make much sense. Honegger's musical language is more severe and often has a granitic quality that Landowski's work seems to lack. I may change my mind after I have heard some of the latter's dramatic works but I'd be really surprised. No, for me there is a line towards more wayward figures such as Charles Koechlin, who left a sprawling and unorthodox oeuvre. I have started to collect some of his work that has appeared on the Hänssler label as part of a long-term project to record a significant part of this largely forgotten music. Making the transition from Landowksi's work to Koechlin's symphonic study Vers la Voûte Etoilée, op. 129 (1923-33, rev. 1939) feels very natural. There's the nocturnal atmosphere, the impressionistic colour palette, the sweeping chromatic lines, the heartfelt humanism that blooms from a confrontation with the tantalising cosmic expanses. Whilst Koechlin's orchestral textures are fuller than Landowski's there seems to me an unmistakable kinship between these two composers. The recording by the SWR orchestra led by Heinz Holliger is fine but in terms of sound quality it's sadly enough thirteen-to-the-dozen. However, we are not in a position to complain as there are no alternative recordings in the catalogue. 

I finished this evening's program with a piece by Dutilleux: Timbres, Espace, Mouvement (1978, rev. 1991), subtitled La Nuit Etoilée (as it was inspired by Van Gogh's delirious Starry Night). In it's original incarnation it's a two-mouvement suite ('Nébuleuse', 'Constellation') that constitutes an impressive demonstration of the composer's symphonic prowess. The piece has an epic sweep and a rethorical immediacy that enthralls. Clearly, here is someone that not only has a very fertile orchestral imagination but also the ability to marshal his material in a rigorous and convincing way.  Remarkable is that the orchestra does not include violins and violas but this hardly registers given the prominent and lively role of winds and percussion in this concerto for orchestra. Again, there are obvious resonances with the sound world of his almost exact contemporary Landowski. Baudo's recording with the Lyon orchestra is an early one (the 1985 Harmonia Mundi recording is not very impressive) and lacks an interlude for solo cellos that Dutilleux included only in the early 90s. I have that on a disc with the Bamberg orchestra conducted by Marc Soustrot issued on the Koch-Schwann label.

All in all this is another rewarding branch of French 20th century music. I am quite happy to have discovered Landowski who seems to naturally fill in a gap in this complex landscape. Reading some of the Gramophone reviews that have appeared over the years, I notice that Arnold Whittall gives Landowski short shrift. To my mind this is unjustified as there is a lot that seems to warrant closer investigation and patient listening.

Martinon: Symphony nr. 4 - Mennin: Symphony nr. 7 - Landowski: Symphony nr. 3

I have some catching up to do. In the next few weeks I will have precious little time to listen and keep up the diary. First I just want to make a note of some cursory listening I did last Friday. As I was impressed by Jean Martinon's rendering of Ibert's Divertissement (and also of Debussy's Boite à Joujoux, of which more anon), I did some internet research to learn more about this French conductor. And so I discovered that he was not alone a successful conductor but also a notable composer in his own right. I was particularly intrigued by a reference to his Symphony nr. 4 'Altitudes', which drew its inspiration from the activity of mountaineering. It's in three movements, each of which is labelled by a suggestive title: La Porte des Etoiles (Allegro agitato), Les Jardins Verticales (Adagio misterioso) and La Traversée des Dieux (Tempo di scherzo). I found a recording accessible via the internet which I listened to on my computer. I can't say I was particularly enamoured by the piece which comes in an angular, expressionistic idiom. The connection with the mountain world is maybe reflected in the music's jagged contours. Anyway, it likely warrants repeated listening.

The work was written for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, of which Martinon was chief conductor at that time (1963-1968, following in the footsteps of the redoutable Fritz Reiner). There has been an RCA recording with Martinon and the CSO, where Altitudes is coupled with Peter Mennin's Symphony nr. 7. I aurally scanned that too via Youtube. It's quite a bold an attractive work, matching the Martinon symphony in its uncompromising stridency, but formally and harmonically it seems to yield more easily to the ear. I have one recording of Mennin's Eighth and Ninth symphonies (on New World Records) in my collection. Clearly, this is a symphonist with a very serious mien. The Seventh has certainly picqued my interest.

Finally, I made an interesting discovery in the personality of Marcel Landowski, a French composer which was all but unknown to me (1915-1999). I listened to his Symphony nr. 3 'Des Espaces' on Youtube, a recording with the French National Orchestra under Georges Prêtre. This seems to be a captivating work that seemed to connect readily to the lush soundworld of his colleague Henri Dutilleux. Warner has issued a 9-CD set which collects a significant number of symphonic works (4 symphonies and a number of concertos). I will not hesitate to add that to my collection.