(2022) Philippe Gaubert, Chamber Music
Category(ies): Chamber Piano Rarities
Instrument(s): Cello Flute Harp Oboe Piano Violin
Main Composer: Philippe Gaubert
Ensemble: Ensemble Chant du Vent
CD set: 1
Catalog N°:
CD 3059
Release: 25.11.2022
EAN/UPC: 7619931305929
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VAT included for Switzerland & UE
Free shipping
This album is now on repressing. Pre-order it at a special price now.
CHF 18.50
This album is no longer available on CD.
This album has not been released yet.
Pre-order it at a special price now.
CHF 18.50
This album is no longer available on CD.
CHF 18.50
This album is no longer available on CD.
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PHILIPPE GAUBERT, CHAMBER MUSIC
PHILIPPE GAUBERT CHAMBER MUSIC
Those playing the flute may know Philippe Gaubert as co-author of the great Méthode complète de flûte, a standard work even a hundred years after its publication. Those who do not play the flute have in all likelihood never heard of him - yet Gaubert was an outstanding figure in French musical life in his day and is still highly interesting as a composer today.
The eventful life of a multi-talent
Born in 1879 in the Occitan town of Cahors, Philippe Gaubert moved with his family to Paris as a child, where he received private flute lessons at an early age from the great Paul Taffanel. At the age of fourteen he was officially admitted to the Conservatoire, and at eighteen he became principal flute at the Paris Opéra and an orchestral member of the venerable Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, where he was elected assistant conductor in 1904. In 1905 he ranked second in the Prix de Rome, the composition competition par excellence.
During World War I, Gaubert served as an infantryman, forcing him to put his musical activities aside.
Then, in 1919/20, he was offered three positions almost simultaneously, any one of which would have been enough to secure him a place in musical Parnassus: chief conductor at the Opéra, chief conductor at the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, and professor for flute at the Conservatoire. Gaubert accepted them all, ending his soloist career at its peak and henceforth acting as one of the most influential figures in the musical life of Paris.
After his sudden death in 1941, obituaries across the country paid tribute to the great conductor and flutist; as a composer, he garnered little attention even at the time. Yet Gaubert’s OEuvre encompasses almost all genres: One constant in his oeuvre is, of course, the flute, which he used in many combinations - only, astonishingly, he never dedicated a solo concerto to it. He also composed a large number of piano and orchestral songs; in later years he also composed a series of major orchestral works, two operas and three great ballets.
His style is characterized by a lyrical quality that always prioritizes the melodic line, coloring it with a rich harmony. As early as 1924, the music journalist Dominique Sordet attested to the “subtlety of expression” of Debussy, the “flowing grace” of Fauré, and “a certain poetic and passionate ardor” peculiar to Gaubert himself. Nolwenn Bargin and her fellow musicians reveal on the present CD the wide spectrum of chamber music that resulted from this.
Gondellied and Nymph Round Dance
The Sicilienne for flute and piano (1914), initially written for orchestra, is an example of the return to old forms that was in vogue at the time: With its swaying rhythm and simple, songlike melody, Gaubert mimics a Sicilian gondola song.
A virtuoso showpiece, Fantaisie for flute and piano (1912) is inspired by Gabriel Fauré’s 1898 work of the same name. Like the latter, it consists of a slow and a fast part, which demand all the tricks of the flute without tipping over into vain virtuosity. In Gaubert’s case, there is also an exotic introduction and a large cadenza.
Gaubert dedicated his Médailles antiques for flute, violin and piano (1916) to his violinist friend Fernand Luquin, perhaps with a view to a joint performance. Thus the two nymphs, flute and violin, enjoy themselves at the rippling fountain of the piano. And perhaps it is also their round dance, which in the second movement is sometimes elegant, sometimes lively, then again languorous. Gaubert artfully employs the various techniques of the violin - his second instrument - and skillfully plays with the tonal possibilities of the combination of violin and flute.
The Madrigal, an early work for flute and piano (1908), remains one of the most popular pieces from Gaubert’s pen. The work shares with the original Renaissance madrigals the rapid alternation between cantabile and agitated episodes, as well as a harmonic twist or two.
Composing with pen and brush
The fact that the art-historical term ‘Impressionism’ was also associated with the music of the same period was certainly due to the fact that the composers in this period liked to make allusions to paintings in the titles of their works. Claude Debussy provided the Estampes (‘Prints’) and two large series Images (‘Pictures’), and Philippe Gaubert also liked to draw on the vocabulary of the visual arts.
The title of Deux esquisses for flute and piano (1914) is a deliberate understatement and the accompanying music, to use Beethoven’s phrase, “more an expression of sensation than painting.” In Soir sur la plaine, the introductory theme - Debussy’s Faune sends his regards - gradually becomes a natural part of the musical fabric, while the Orientale expands conventional harmony with sounds from the Far East.
The Trois Aquarelles for flute, cello and piano (1915) - written at the front during World War I - is also a genuine little sonata, beyond the painting of a view, at least in terms of the sequence of movements. The atmosphere of departure of D’un clair matin is followed by the thoughtful intermezzo Soir d’automne, concluding with the somewhat lively Sérénade.
Lyrical and virtuosic
With the triple establishment of his career after the war, Gaubert shifted from brilliant salon pieces to the more prestigious format of the sonata. The Ballade for flute and piano (1926) finally returns to the format of the Fantaisie once again, allowing the flute to become the storyteller.
The 24-year-old Gaubert dedicated his first publication, the Tarentelle for flute, oboe, and piano (1903), to his longtime teacher Paul Taffanel. The virtuoso piece for the two woodwind instruments draws on the idea of the Neapolitan tarantella, but Gaubert’s own style is already well recognizable here. Also dedicated to Taffanel is Nocturne et Allegro scherzando for flute and piano (1906), a dreamy recital piece in the best Chopin tradition followed by a bouncing scherzo reminiscent of Schumann. Evidence of the work’s high demands, as well as its importance, is the fact that it was chosen by the Paris Conservatoire as a compulsory piece for the admission examinations in 1906.
With the Divertissement grec for two flutes and harp (1908) we once again return to idyllic Arcadia - signifying the ancient Greece of fauns, nymphs and archaic scales. Instead of the lyre, however, the harp is being strummed, and the crooning flutes are not made of reeds, but of metal.
Two miniatures for flute and piano that evoke quite different moods in the same 6/8 time signature conclude the journey across Gaubert’s chamber music oeuvre. In Sur l’eau (1909), the flute carries us over the rocking waves of the piano accompaniment; the Berceuse (1907), on the other hand, captivates with a simple melody full of intimacy.
As a pioneer of a new French school of flute playing, Philippe Gaubert knew the qualities of his instrument; his oeuvre paved the way for the flute from the tradition of Debussy and Fauré into the modern age. A composer who definitely deserved more respect!
Adrienne Walder
***
Nolwenn Bargin, flute
Maki Wiederkehr, piano
ENSEMBLE CHANT DU VENT
Héléna Macherel, flute
Maria Sournatcheva, oboe
Olivier Blache, violin
Flurin Cuonz, cello
Julie Palloc, harp
Read bios in the booklet
***
Teaser
(2022) Philippe Gaubert, Chamber Music - CD 3059
PHILIPPE GAUBERT CHAMBER MUSIC
Those playing the flute may know Philippe Gaubert as co-author of the great Méthode complète de flûte, a standard work even a hundred years after its publication. Those who do not play the flute have in all likelihood never heard of him - yet Gaubert was an outstanding figure in French musical life in his day and is still highly interesting as a composer today.
The eventful life of a multi-talent
Born in 1879 in the Occitan town of Cahors, Philippe Gaubert moved with his family to Paris as a child, where he received private flute lessons at an early age from the great Paul Taffanel. At the age of fourteen he was officially admitted to the Conservatoire, and at eighteen he became principal flute at the Paris Opéra and an orchestral member of the venerable Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, where he was elected assistant conductor in 1904. In 1905 he ranked second in the Prix de Rome, the composition competition par excellence.
During World War I, Gaubert served as an infantryman, forcing him to put his musical activities aside.
Then, in 1919/20, he was offered three positions almost simultaneously, any one of which would have been enough to secure him a place in musical Parnassus: chief conductor at the Opéra, chief conductor at the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, and professor for flute at the Conservatoire. Gaubert accepted them all, ending his soloist career at its peak and henceforth acting as one of the most influential figures in the musical life of Paris.
After his sudden death in 1941, obituaries across the country paid tribute to the great conductor and flutist; as a composer, he garnered little attention even at the time. Yet Gaubert’s OEuvre encompasses almost all genres: One constant in his oeuvre is, of course, the flute, which he used in many combinations - only, astonishingly, he never dedicated a solo concerto to it. He also composed a large number of piano and orchestral songs; in later years he also composed a series of major orchestral works, two operas and three great ballets.
His style is characterized by a lyrical quality that always prioritizes the melodic line, coloring it with a rich harmony. As early as 1924, the music journalist Dominique Sordet attested to the “subtlety of expression” of Debussy, the “flowing grace” of Fauré, and “a certain poetic and passionate ardor” peculiar to Gaubert himself. Nolwenn Bargin and her fellow musicians reveal on the present CD the wide spectrum of chamber music that resulted from this.
Gondellied and Nymph Round Dance
The Sicilienne for flute and piano (1914), initially written for orchestra, is an example of the return to old forms that was in vogue at the time: With its swaying rhythm and simple, songlike melody, Gaubert mimics a Sicilian gondola song.
A virtuoso showpiece, Fantaisie for flute and piano (1912) is inspired by Gabriel Fauré’s 1898 work of the same name. Like the latter, it consists of a slow and a fast part, which demand all the tricks of the flute without tipping over into vain virtuosity. In Gaubert’s case, there is also an exotic introduction and a large cadenza.
Gaubert dedicated his Médailles antiques for flute, violin and piano (1916) to his violinist friend Fernand Luquin, perhaps with a view to a joint performance. Thus the two nymphs, flute and violin, enjoy themselves at the rippling fountain of the piano. And perhaps it is also their round dance, which in the second movement is sometimes elegant, sometimes lively, then again languorous. Gaubert artfully employs the various techniques of the violin - his second instrument - and skillfully plays with the tonal possibilities of the combination of violin and flute.
The Madrigal, an early work for flute and piano (1908), remains one of the most popular pieces from Gaubert’s pen. The work shares with the original Renaissance madrigals the rapid alternation between cantabile and agitated episodes, as well as a harmonic twist or two.
Composing with pen and brush
The fact that the art-historical term ‘Impressionism’ was also associated with the music of the same period was certainly due to the fact that the composers in this period liked to make allusions to paintings in the titles of their works. Claude Debussy provided the Estampes (‘Prints’) and two large series Images (‘Pictures’), and Philippe Gaubert also liked to draw on the vocabulary of the visual arts.
The title of Deux esquisses for flute and piano (1914) is a deliberate understatement and the accompanying music, to use Beethoven’s phrase, “more an expression of sensation than painting.” In Soir sur la plaine, the introductory theme - Debussy’s Faune sends his regards - gradually becomes a natural part of the musical fabric, while the Orientale expands conventional harmony with sounds from the Far East.
The Trois Aquarelles for flute, cello and piano (1915) - written at the front during World War I - is also a genuine little sonata, beyond the painting of a view, at least in terms of the sequence of movements. The atmosphere of departure of D’un clair matin is followed by the thoughtful intermezzo Soir d’automne, concluding with the somewhat lively Sérénade.
Lyrical and virtuosic
With the triple establishment of his career after the war, Gaubert shifted from brilliant salon pieces to the more prestigious format of the sonata. The Ballade for flute and piano (1926) finally returns to the format of the Fantaisie once again, allowing the flute to become the storyteller.
The 24-year-old Gaubert dedicated his first publication, the Tarentelle for flute, oboe, and piano (1903), to his longtime teacher Paul Taffanel. The virtuoso piece for the two woodwind instruments draws on the idea of the Neapolitan tarantella, but Gaubert’s own style is already well recognizable here. Also dedicated to Taffanel is Nocturne et Allegro scherzando for flute and piano (1906), a dreamy recital piece in the best Chopin tradition followed by a bouncing scherzo reminiscent of Schumann. Evidence of the work’s high demands, as well as its importance, is the fact that it was chosen by the Paris Conservatoire as a compulsory piece for the admission examinations in 1906.
With the Divertissement grec for two flutes and harp (1908) we once again return to idyllic Arcadia - signifying the ancient Greece of fauns, nymphs and archaic scales. Instead of the lyre, however, the harp is being strummed, and the crooning flutes are not made of reeds, but of metal.
Two miniatures for flute and piano that evoke quite different moods in the same 6/8 time signature conclude the journey across Gaubert’s chamber music oeuvre. In Sur l’eau (1909), the flute carries us over the rocking waves of the piano accompaniment; the Berceuse (1907), on the other hand, captivates with a simple melody full of intimacy.
As a pioneer of a new French school of flute playing, Philippe Gaubert knew the qualities of his instrument; his oeuvre paved the way for the flute from the tradition of Debussy and Fauré into the modern age. A composer who definitely deserved more respect!
Adrienne Walder
***
Nolwenn Bargin, flute
Maki Wiederkehr, piano
ENSEMBLE CHANT DU VENT
Héléna Macherel, flute
Maria Sournatcheva, oboe
Olivier Blache, violin
Flurin Cuonz, cello
Julie Palloc, harp
Read bios in the booklet
***
Teaser
Return to the album | Read the booklet | Composer(s): Philippe Gaubert | Main Artist: Nolwenn Bargin
STUDIO MASTER (HIGH-RESOLUTION AUDIO)
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