Works for Chamber Orchestra

Lovely music. Difficult to describe. Light, airy, very Parisian. Perhaps the old fashioned use of the word "gay" says it best. Different in a way that I like and that offers an alternative to the usually more somber chamber music I listen to most often. Not sure I will play if every week or even every month but am glad to have it to play when the mood suits.

Late works by a great master. I am pleased with my purchase.

Reynaldo Hahn’s best songs are heart-stoppingly beautiful – often simple, but wonderfully evocative and wistful. Apart from those, I was familiar with some of his chamber music, including a surprisingly robust piano quintet. I had some hopes for the music on this disc, but I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed. All of this is light music and written in a style that might perhaps be described as typically French. Some of the pieces are neo-classical, but everything sounds … well, proto-Poulencian, for lack of a better term, but completely lacking the kind of substance with which Poulenc imbued even his lightest works, and which Hahn himself also manages to achieve in some of his songs. Yes, Hahn evidently had a gift for melody, and there is nothing wrong with a program of works that are unfailingly sunny, optimistic and joyful, but too much of this is simply facile.Le Bal de Béatrice d’Este (1905) has been recorded before, and is the best of the lot. Le Bal is a dance suite scored for winds, two harps and piano comprising seven movements, which seek to conjure up the atmosphere of festivity at the Milanese court in the fifteenth century – though apart from the archaic titles the music doesn’t exactly try to sound like music of the period (for better or for worse but very possibly better). It’s not terribly memorable, but inventive and colorful and containing some nice touches. The Concerto provençal is almost 40 years younger, and a sort of Concerto grosso in three movements (supposed to depict the Provence region). This one too may be worth hearing if you like this kind of thing: moderately atmospheric and tuneful, and the middle movement does at least bring a bit of melancholia to the cheerfulness, but the charms are superficial and the music strikes me as sounding a bit world-weary.The final two works are world premiere recordings and unfortunately rather dull. The neo-classical Sérénade from 1942 is a relatively brief affair scored for flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon. It consists of two bright movements flanking a slightly more reflective one, but nothing is even remotely memorable or even particularly enjoyable. The Divertissement pour une fête de nuit from 1931 is a suite in six movements supposed to conjure up the spirit of old Vienna. Well, I suppose it is skillfully done, the scoring is fine and the Haydn and Mozart parodies are – well, not so much parodies as movements in a pale imitation of the styles. Perhaps it will appeal to others but I couldn’t really wait for it all to end.Overall I can’t help but to be somewhat disappointed, probably because my expectations were set to high. At least the Ensemble Initium is not to blame; they give superb performances throughout, imbuing the music with as much spirit, life and color as possible. They are supported by the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie in the Concerto provençal, which strikes me as a bit on autopilot, but no misgivings I might have can be blamed on the musicians. The sound, too, is excellent and the notes are good. Nonetheless, I cannot really get myself to give this one more than a qualified recommendation.

The notes to accompany this beautiful recording say it all. He was so much more than a drawing room Belle Époque entertainer.Listen to the pieces on this recording and note the delicacy, restraint, subtlty and delight his music affords. Not Massenet, nor Satie, his musical "calligraphy" is totally individual as he extracts and edits out to create his own lines. If you already know a little of his work buy this, if you don't understand he was so much more than just a dilettante. Bravo Monsieur Hahn. Oh yes and the performances are passionate, delicate, and with extraordinary textures clearly displayed, as provided by Hahn in his use of the combinations of instruments.

Classic works by Hahn are included on this album.