Something else to look forward to in Hyperion's April 2014 releases!
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA68036&vw=dc (http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA68036&vw=dc)
Thanks for starting this new thread. Much appreciated.
This is an absolutely glorious release. I had never really come across later Pierné before (the Piano Quintet dates from 1916), so I wasn't prepared for the much greater sophistication of its musical language - compared, that is, to his earlier music with its echoes of, say, Massenet and Franck, even Saint-Saëns. The PQ is much more fluid harmonically to my ears, but still extremely beautiful. A major find - for me at least. I now look forward to hearing the much earlier Vierne String Quartet.
there's been at least one recording before now (on Timpani) of the Vierne string quartet, if not others, though not easy to find. Good piece. (Despite the harmonic fluidity? Always found that among the (note the among...) interests, or maybe better stated, interesting tools in search of his goals (not end-in-itself), of (e.g.) Fauré's later chamber music myself- though to paraphrase someone else, arguments over harmony can distract from whether or not the composer had anything to say and whether or not they knew how to use everything else in service -of- their content :) rather than to distract from the lack of it.
I hope to hear the Pierné myself; I think I have heard a bit of his later music - his Cydalise et le chevre-pied (1914-15) once or twice, for instance- and while I know this isn't the first recording of his piano quintet either (I haven't heard it anycase) Hyperion has a deservedly good overall reputation in these things. Thanks for the review!
That and a quick look at his list of works makes me want to go listen to his Sonata da Camera (1927)... YouTube, here I come.
I agree, Eric, Vierne's string quartet is most enjoyable. The C minor Piano Quintet on Hyperion, with Stephen Coombs and the Chilingirian Quartet, is also excellent. All this came as a revelation to me, because I was unaware that he had composed any chamber music, although a quick check on the net would have put me right.
Pity that Hyperion is 'doubling-up' on such works, but then I suppose buyers can choose the parts of the disc they want by downloading the mp3s...
re that mentioned sonata de camera (1926, pub.1927), btw, there's a 2013 live performance of the work* on YouTube- belatedly checking it out now...
*(claims to be 2 videos, but "part II" is 30 seconds of applause)
Pierné and Vierne's complete chamber music have been recorded by the French label Timpani. Very enjoyable music. The apex of those (and masterworks of French music in general) are their piano quintets both written in 1917---a very unpleasant year in European history, especially for Vierne, who lost his son.