Patrick Gallois, Lydia Wong - French Flute Music: Poulenc, Messiaen, Dutilleux, Jolivet, Boulez, Sancan (2005)

"A pupil of Jean-Pierre Rampal at the Paris Conservatoire, Patrick Gallois led the flutes in the Orchestre National de France before embarking on a solo career. He is also a conductor and is currently the Music Director of the Sinfonia Finlandia Jysvaskyla. He has recorded for a variety of labels, including DG and Ondine; the latter in Rautavaara’s Flute Concerto, ODE921-2. On , recordings include C.P.E. Bach’s complete flute concertos and Mozart’s concertos.

The present French recital makes for a fascinating hour’s listening. The Poulenc is a perfect opener, not only because of its fame. It is almost certainly the best-known work here. It introduces Gallois’s slightly breathy tone and Wong’s sensitive accompanying although she seems placed slightly too far back. Certainly the wheel of the accompaniment for the first movement turns, nicely greased.

That the pair work well together is seen in the peaceful slow movement, where a beautiful dialogue between flute and piano right-hand treble is very engaging. The finale is cotton-wool light, imbued with a most appealing, alive rhythmic sense.

Olivier Messiaen’s Le Merle noir makes for quite a contrast, immediately more austere. This is a gripping performance, with Gallois and Wong following the composer’s twists and turns faithfully. The suddenly animated section at 2’13 onwards is very effective, as are the ‘stellar’ birds (bird-song meeting music of the stars) at 4’58. With Gallois and Wong, this piece dances infectiously.

In direct contrast is the amiable fluff of Pierre Sancan’s Sonatine. Cowering under the weight of Messiaen, it is perhaps not ideally placed. There are plenty of programmes when upon hearing it one might purr with delight. As Keith Anderson’s booklet notes point out, there is more than a hint of the Debussian here. But be careful. So harmless is this that if you start listening while sleepy, you’l soon be in the Land of Nod. The agile finale is superbly played, by Wong in particular.

André Jolivet, a Varèse pupil, contributes the Chant de Linos, a funerary lament. Certainly this piece has more mettle than the Sancan. There is a sensuality here but indulgence is kept at bay by the piquancy of the harmonic language, and later on in the work the rhythms that sit on the cusp of dance and dynamism - with an acidic undercurrent - make for an exciting ride.

Dutilleux’s Sonatine is a fabulous work. Wong pedals the opening - hands two octaves apart - perfectly, with just the right amount of blur without losing definition. Together, Gallois and Wong set up an atmosphere of delicate warmth. However, the flute cadenza could be more declamatory and the build-up to 5’38 is mismanaged: left too late and therefore emerging without adequate tension. Yet Wong’s ‘toccata’ immediately thereafter is superb. The major disappointment, however, comes in the way they ‘prettify’ the music for long stretches so that the piano ‘outburst’ when it comes (around 7’44), a nod to Messiaen if ever there was one, sounds out of place. Excellent coda, though, especially from Gallois.

And so to the real meat. Pierre Boulez’s Sonatine unsurprisingly belies its tame title; it was premièred in Darmstadt. Such an innocuous name, such a difficult piece. Boulez referred to his Sonatine as ‘organised delirium’. The flute writing is exploratory in nature and the harmonic language advanced but very, very beautiful; try the piano chords around 0’37. The piano’s ‘gamelan impression’ (around three minutes in) is Debussy through a modernist prism. More, there are plenty of chances to hear Boulez in playful mode; how often does one hear that?

Much to enjoy here and very nearly an unqualified recommendation. This disc is not only for flautists, but should provide much enjoyment and stimulation for all. Just don’t turn the disc off after the Dutilleux!"

Review by Colin Clarke, MusicWeb International

Patrick Gallois is surely one of the most illustrious French flutists in the post-Rampal generation. He's done some outstanding work on the Naxos label in the past and this new one is excellent as well. He is partnered by a Canadian pianist new to me, Lydia Wong, and she, too, is an excellent collaborator. This CD starts out with the many-times-recorded Poulenc Flute Sonata, surely one of the great pieces in the flute/piano literature, and Gallois plays the bejabbers out of it. He not only commands the sweet tones required for the first two movements, but he plays the Presto giocoso movement faster than I've ever heard it and with what sounds like superhuman articulation: I cannot imagine how anyone can play so many staccato notes so fast. It does not sound rushed, but rather simply exuberantly alive.

The other pieces include the Messiaen 'Le Merle noir,' the Sonatine by Pierre Sancan, Jolivet's 'Chant de Linos,' Sonatines by both Dutilleux and Boulez. I recall hearing the latter years ago and finding it ugly. I suppose I've come some distance in the intervening time because this time it doesn't sound ugly, although I must confess I still can't make much sense of it. I went through a time of trying to understand Boulez's music by studying some scores, and finally gave it up as beyond me. My deficiency, I'm sure, but there you are. One can say, however, that Gallois and Wong make a good case for it without convincing this particular jury. On the other hand, I've grown more and more fond of Messiaen's music over the years–his piano music has made a real believer of me, particularly in some recent recordings by Hakon Austbo ('Petites esquisses d'oiseaux/Catalogue d'oiseaux' et al.) and Pierre-Laurent Aimard ('Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-J'ésus')–and this performance of 'The Blackbird' builds on that admiration. This is not only gorgeous music, it is gorgeously played, with real feeling for the birdcalls. The fast section toward the end is really exciting.

I don't recall ever seeing the name, much less hearing any of the music, of Pierre Sancan (b. 1916). He was for many years a professor at the Paris Conservatoire. The music is rather more impressionistic than anything else here, very reminiscent of the flute writing of Debussy. Jolivet's 'Chant de Linos' is a threnody that attempts to recall funerary gestures of ancient Greece. Jolivet's style is more disjunct than Poulenc's or Sancan's and seems to alternate between songful and dancing sections. It does indeed evoke ancient times although I can't quite put my finger on how Jolivet accomplishes this. That said, it did not stick with my aural memory for very long; each time I listened to it seemed to be the first time.

Dutilleux is another fairly recent discovery of mine, perhaps in the past ten years, and I am happy to label him as a great composer. Some of his orchestral works–e.g., 'Mé'taboles,' 'Tout un Monde lontain,' the Cello Concerto–are truly masterpieces. The Flute Sonatine, less than ten minutes long, was written in 1942 as a test piece for the Conservatoire, is rather more clearly impressionistic than his later music, but the limpid melodies and evanescent atmosphere so characteristic of his later works, is already present. I'd not heard this work before but found myself returning to it repeatedly. There is a calming effect, always, for me in his music, no matter how dramatic it becomes, and that is true for the Sonatine as well. I think that is because Dutilleux is, to use a psychological term, constantly centered, constantly at peace with himself and the world. At least that how it sounds to me.

With the exception of the Boulez, which I didn't hate but also didn't 'get', this is an exceptionally beautiful disc. And even with the Boulez the playing is beautiful. I really don't think anyone interested in this corner of the chamber music literature would go wrong to acquire the disc, and the superbudget Naxos price makes that painless.

Review by J Scott Morrison, Amazon.com

Exact Audio Copy V1.1 from 23. June 2015

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Patrick Gallois, Lydia Wong / French Flute Music

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foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2016-09-06 14:22:14

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Analyzed: Patrick Gallois, Lydia Wong / French Flute Music
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DR Peak RMS Duration Track
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DR13 -5.80 dB -24.26 dB 4:30 01-Poulenc: Sonata for Flute and Piano - 1. Allegro malinconico
DR14 -4.20 dB -24.93 dB 3:55 02-Poulenc: Sonata for Flute and Piano - 2 .Cantilena
DR13 -2.29 dB -21.40 dB 3:28 03-Poulenc: Sonata for Flute and Piano - 3. Presto giocoso
DR15 -3.67 dB -26.63 dB 5:41 04-Messiaen: Le Merle Noir
DR15 -2.99 dB -25.29 dB 9:07 05-Sancan: Sonatine
DR15 -2.21 dB -22.92 dB 10:27 06-Jolivet: Chant de Linos
DR14 -2.63 dB -23.62 dB 9:29 07-Dutilleux: Sonatine
DR16 -1.52 dB -23.73 dB 12:55 08-Boulez: Sonatine
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