Fanfare 3

****

Very good performances that take up a notable position in the vast discography of these pieces.

RAVEL La Valse. Rapsodie espagnole. Alborada del gracioso. Boléro  Pierre Bleuse, cond; Odense SO  OUR 8.226944 (52:56)
It might seem like a misguided project to record these frequently performed masterworks by Ravel with a relatively little-known conductor and what many would consider a second-tier orchestra. However, even a cursory audition of this disc reveals performances of distinction, with a unique interpretive perspective and excellent playing.
In his brief note conductor Bleuse emphasizes the idea of instrumental color and that is indeed the single aspect of these performances that most impresses. One might expect Bleuse, director of the Ensemble intercontemporain, to look primarily to the modernist elements of the scores, but quite the opposite turns out to be the case. These are sensuous renditions, projected with copious rubato and focusing on many rarely heard details.
La Valse features very broad tempos with some of the waltz rhythms exaggerated to marvelous effect. The section beginning at 5:54 is wonderfully schmaltzy. But while Bleuse often stops to smell the roses, he never loses sight of the overall structure; the piece works inexorably to a powerful conclusion, as it should. The orchestra sounds fine.
In Rapsodie espagnole, the opening “Prélude à la nuit,” is suitably atmospheric. Recordings of this movement display a bewildering variety of tempos, from Reiner’s slow, dreamy performance (RCA) to Cluytens’s brisk trot (Erato). Bleuse comes in basically at the mean, with a nice sense of line. I thought “Malaguena could have used a little more rhythmic point. However, the outer sections of the “Feria” are very exciting. The contrasting central section of the latter is colorful and attractive.
Alborada del gracioso is distinguished, with light-footed rhythms and excellent orchestral playing, the winds particularly fine. The vivid recording really helps here—I heard several details that are buried on many recordings. Bass lines are prominent, something that helps the piece come alive. The bassoon solo in the central section has plenty of character.
Boléro is, well, Boléro. There are so many recordings of this piece that comparisons are rather pointless. Suffice to say that this is well played within middle-of-the road tempos. The macro-level crescendo comes off well.
It would be foolish to claim that these performances best classics like Reiner’s Rapsodie espagnole or recordings of La Valse by the likes of Munch (RCA) or Cluytens. But it would be just as foolish to dismiss these versions. They bring out the harmonic and timbral color of these scores like few others and conductor Bleuse adds many attractive individual touches. Great sound, good notes. Michael Vaillancourt