Fernand Halphen (1872-1917) Chamber Music & Songs

[Martin Eastick]

Although not a "new release" as such, having just obtained a copy of this rather interesting 2CD set issued by www.budamusique.com, in association with the Fondation du Judaisme Français, I thought it well worth highlighting here. The main work here (CD2) is the Violin Sonata which dates from 1900, and was dedicated to Georges Enesco. The rest of the disc consists of shorter pieces for piano (6), flute & piano (3), cello & piano (3), and a couple of short piano pieces (originally for organ) composed by his daughter Henriette. CD1 consists mainly of solo songs.
Although his  music was much influenced by Fauré, Halphen's Violin Sonata owes more than a little to Franck, and, on the evidence of the music included on these  2CD's I certainly would be rather interested to hear his Symphony, which dates from 1898! - it would seem that his ms scores have been preserved and are now held in the musical collections of the Fondation.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Martin. It's available from MDT:
http://www.mdt.co.uk/halphen-fernand-melodies-pieces-for-chamber-music-buda-musique-2cds.html
...and a download is available here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/F-Halphen-M%C3%A9lodies-musique-chambre/dp/B00BEBPH48/ref=dm_cd_album_lnk