Roussel: Aeneas & Psalm 80

 

I know French composer Albert Roussel didn't write much music for chorus, thus I was curious exactly where this music would go. After all, the last movement of Évocations, the only bit of choral music I really know of Roussel, fit into the composer's earlier impressionistic phase, while these four pieces came about after WWI.

Serious. That is what I would call this music, with a bitter resentment for where humanity was taken in the First World War. Psalms are usually reserved for poetic rejoicing with a few exceptions, but Roussel's Psalm 80, here sung in its original English, is nigh-upon scary. The Biblical text is full of questions to God regarding the conditions and degradation of community, and the music can't seem to contain its fear and anger at the state of things. This is Old Testament fire and brimstone from Roussel.

Psalm 80 brought to mind Benjamin Britten's War Requiem a time or two, maybe because of the English language. This would be music akin to Hindemith's When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd, although Roussel was not the modernist Britten or Hindemith were. Yet, the open angularity is stark and biting, eventually joined in by chorus.

Roussel drives the music across the 20-minute Psalm 80, nearly to the very end. In the very last minute, the composer strips away the orchestra for a final a cappella choral benediction, finally giving prayer to God in the purest possible demeanor. This ending is unusually effective considering the rough emotions Roussel put the listener through up until that point. The music may be be strident, but it is hardly unappealing and often quite powerful.

The other big work on the program is Roussel's 38-minutes of music to the ballet Aeneas, the Trojan character of Dido and Aeneas fame. Here, the music sounds strikingly Neo-Classical, although once the chorus enters about 11 minutes into the ballet, that stylistic feeling fades away some. The presence of chorus is certainly an oddity, especially the large role the vocal ensemble is afforded by Roussel. The singers pretty much have the entire Finale to themselves, making the listener completely forget the dance-based story of Aeneas.

To me, what is most appealing are the colors Roussel elicits from the orchestra. Sure, the harmonies are a tad craggy at the opening, but what follows is akin to his Bacchus and Ariadne, full of Romantic choral and orchestral gestures. The tempos are varied enough to provide the listener a wide range of musical settings as well, although the story of Aeneas is hardly light or coquettish, rather laying on the adventurous side. Here, Dido is but a chapter of the ballet, rather than a primary focus, instead traveling with Aeneas from The Iliad clear through to his arrival back at Rome, with colorful stops along the way.

Betwixt these two large works are two short numbers. The Fanfare for a Pagan Coronation is unsurprisingly brief, yet Roussel crams in quite a few harmonic surprises regardless. The other is a short choral/orchestral piece of a militaristic nature, the War Song of the Franks. In this one, Roussel scores for brass and percussion only, featuring just the men of the chorus as well. Both sit with the message of the larger works remarkably well.

The Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra is captured closely, and a lovely instrumental ensemble they are. An occasional wind tuning issue is a rarity for the group, but shows the slightest bit of fallibility. I enjoyed the singing of the EuropaChorAkademie, a choral group I was unfamiliar with before this recording. I doubt anyone would be disappointed with any of these ensembles, and Benjamin Butterfield joins in on the fun rather thrillingly towards the end of Psalm 80.

Timpani is an enterprising Classical Music label for repertoire not often recorded. As it is, only some very elderly recordings from Martinon and Paillard exist for the ballet and Psalm (in French), although I am not sure they ever made it to CD, at least outside of large box sets; I could be wrong. I highly doubt, however, those recording's fidelity could match the exquisite sound put forth from this Timpani recording.

The physical media comes in an attractive Digipak with texts and translations.

 

 

Works
Psalm 80, op. 37 (20.24)
Aeneas, op. 54 (37.51)
Fanfare pour un Sacre Païen, L. 28 (0.52)
Le Bardit des Francs, L. 40 (4.42)

Soloists
Benjamin Butterfield, tenor

Ensembles
EuropaChorAkademie
Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra
Bramwell Tovey, conductor

Label: Timpani
Year: 2004
Total Timing: 64.04

What a terrific find for lovers of the music of Albert Roussel! Certainly, it is difficult to find this music on record, and the composer didn't compose much for chorus anyway.

Too bad, for Roussel is shows an unusually strong affinity for choir in these three works.

Find more Roussel recordings HERE!