Post Debussy

[randyhersom]

I'm interested in hearing the names of composers who came after Debussy and who might be said to be more similar to him than they are to any other composer that preceded them. I know Koechlin finished a ballet, and probably belongs on this list, but I haven't heard any of his own compositions.

Any thoughts to share?

[7/4]

Tōru Takemitsu

maybe? I don't know, I only know his reputation, but not much of his music.

[A Lark Ascending]

Delius - although English, he lived much of his life in France.

Although his music is very different, he has that translucent quality; he also evades that Germanic trait of having the structure showing through the music. As with Debussy, musical ideas arrive, evaporate and are not heard again - or only after being heavily transformed.

I was drawn to both composers around the same time in the early 70s - they both have that dream-like, wool and water feel to them; themes that arrest you, yet seem to dissolve before you've grasped them.

Or that's how I hear them!

[Early Delius tends to be more Germanic].

Edited March 6, 2008 by Bev Stapleton

[Chuck Nessa]

Some Bax.

[Larry Kart]

He's more acidic, but you might try some Roussel to see if he's for you.

[Teasing the Korean]

Some Bax.

and some Baxter.

[Joe]

Charles Tomlinson Griffes

I prefer the Noel Lee recordings on Nonesuch, but I do not know how readily available they are.

[randyhersom]

Yes, Delius a good choice, one that has already grabbed me. I liked On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring immediately.

[A Lark Ascending]

Two pieces that seem to inhabit the afternoon world of that faun...

The Bliss 'Pastoral'

Lyra Angelica which is almost a harp concerto. I heard it first whilst driving, having no idea what it was - I assumed it was French and from the 20s. Turned out to be English.

On Delius, I swear by this record:

Disc 1

1. Brigg Fair - An English Rhapsody

2. In A Summer Garden

3. Appalachia

Disc: 2

1. On Hearing The First Cuckoo In Spring

2. Summer Night On The River

3. A Song Before Sunrise

4. Intermezzo And Serenade From 'Hassan': Intermezzo

5. Intermezzo And Serenade From 'Hassan': Serenade

6. La Calinda

7. Late Swallows

8. Fennimore And Gerda: Intermezzo from 'Fennimore and Gerda'

9. The Walk To The Paradise Garden: The Walk To The Paradise Garden from A Village Romeo and Juliet

10. Irmelin Prelude

11. A Song Of Summer

Delius played by Sir John Barbirolli (though Sir Thomas Beecham's recordings get the approval of experts in this area). 'Appalachia' on the first disc is a longer piece and a bit more dense than classic Delius - but wonderful nonetheless. The rest is pure, gossamer Delius. Perfect for that day in May when it seems like high summer, yet the plants are still saturated with colour.

Manuel de Falla is another worth exploring - you can get all his major orchestral music on one double disc. 'Nights in the Gardens of Spain' has a strong Debussy-like feel. I think I'm right in recalling that Debussy spoke highly of him. The later works enter a more Stravinsky-like world - also superb.

Edited March 7, 2008 by Bev Stapleton

[randyhersom]

That reminds me of a piano disc on Naxos that MikeWeil recommended to me here, that I got from emusic. A piano collection from a composer with a spanish sounding name ... Jordi Maso ... searching eMusic ... aaah, Severac. I was thinking more orchestral, but that disc certainly fits the question as asked. Emusic has Chandos now, so I'll hunt up the Alwyn.

No accident that there is no Debussy Symphony No. 1 - the formal structures are at least somewhat at odds with the coloristic and rhapsodic nature of the music. But he did leave us three wonderful sonatas, so perhaps there is hope for a synmphony that gets and builds upon his essence.

[Spontooneous]

No accident that there is no Debussy Symphony No. 1 - the formal structures are at least somewhat at odds with the coloristic and rhapsodic nature of the music. But he did leave us three wonderful sonatas, so perhaps there is hope for a synmphony that gets and builds upon his essence.

Yeah, but what if he'd done a switcheroo on you and published "La Mer" as "Symphony No. 1, Op. 11"?

[Larry Kart]

De Severac is a terrific composer -- somewhat narrow in scope perhaps but unique and focused like a laser beam.

[seeline]

Ditto on De Severac - I can't understand why he isn't much more widely known. (Though I wouldn't know he existed if it weren't for the kindness of someone at Academy Records in Manhattan, who steered me to a wonderful set, recorded by Aldo Ciccolini...)

[Larry Kart]

I have and like the Ciccolini but think that this collection by Jean-Joel Barbier is better:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Deodat-de-Severac-Oeuv...8QQcmdZViewItem

Ciccolini by comparison is a bit too all-purpose sec. Don't know the Jordi Maso because between Barbier and Ciccolini I think I have all the De Severac piano works of note covered.

[seeline]

Thanks muchly for the link + recommendation, Larry.

I've got a soft spot for Ciccolini, I confess. I much prefer his recording of Albeniz' Iberia to most of the others that seem to get touted a lot, but - it's a taste thing, I think.

[A Lark Ascending]

I've never even heard of De Severac! One to explore.

Two Honegger pieces that might fit:

Pastoral d'ete

Symphonie no.4 'Deliciae basiliensis'

Sorry - anothe 'pastoral' - I think I was meant to be a shepherd!

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Not later, I think, but about contemporary, is Faure. His chamber music seemed to me to have a similar feel to Debussy's.

Duparc. Particularly his songs.

Daniel-Lesur.

Hindemith's "Herodiade" is very like Debussy's work of a similar nature. If you can pick up Vera Zorina's Herodiade/Debussy's "Chansons de Bilitis" (Columbia (US)) you'd get two very similar-feeling pieces (poems recited over and around music - er, Rap?).

Agree about Delius.

MG

[Larry Kart]

Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was born well before Debussy (August 22, 1862 – March 25, 1918), though their careers overlapped.

Berkshire has a nice Duparc songs disc for a song:

Duparc, The Songs. (Sarah Walker, mezzo-soprano & Thomas Allen, baritone w.Roger Vignoles, piano)

Add to cart | Price: $ 6.99 | Country: ENGLAND | D/A code: Digital | Code: CDA 66323 | BRO Code: 125634 | Label: HYPERION

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was born well before Debussy (August 22, 1862 – March 25, 1918), though their careers overlapped.

Yes, I thought they were about contemporary. I got the same kind of feeling from Faure's chamber music as from ACD's.

MG

[Joe]

More solo piano literature... Federico Mompou. Perhaps ultimately more Satie-like than Debussy-esque. Then again, you might not paint landscapes in Catalonia the way you would in a landscape in Le Havre.

Edited March 8, 2008 by Joe

[Unbeknownst Recordings]

Francis Poulenc?

Some of the piano works remind me of Debussy, although they are much simpler.

Colbert Cassan will help us here.

Debussy

Poulenc

Faure

The large images are so much nicer though.

[mikeweil]

I second the recommendation of Jean-Joel Barbier's Déodat de Séverac disc - I have yet to find a better one.

Japanese pianist Izumi Tateno made a double disc for Finlandia, a Warner label, that's pretty comprehensive and very well played, certainly better than Ciccolini. There's a disc on Hyperion with his songs that I haven't heard yet, and one on Aeolus with his organ music, but I find the latter is not nearly as fascinating as his piano pieces. A friend of the composer told Séverac once played an hour-long suite to him that was magnificent, that he never wrote down ...

André Caplet could be interesting to you, Randy, he was involved in Debussy orchestrations just like Koechlin.

Conte fantastique; Sextuor; Prières; by Ensemble Musique Oblique

Edited May 27, 2008 by mikeweil

[Teasing the Korean]

You should check out Ginastera's ballet "Panambi." Imagine if Debussy had written "Rite of Spring" and not Stravinsky.