Pascal Rophé & the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire: Debussy Orchestrated
BIS

Rather than present fresh performances of standard Debussy fare such as Nocturnes, La Mer, and Images, conductor Pascal Rophé and his Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire (of which he has been music director since 2013) opt for treatments of Children's Corner, La Boîte à joujoux, and Petite Suite. All three possess ample charm, but what recommends the recording as much are the orchestrations Henri Büsser and André Caplet created for what were originally piano works. Petite Suite was written for piano four-hands in 1899, with Büsser's orchestration arriving eight years later. Debussy composed Children's Corner in 1908, and the piano version of La Boîte à joujoux was published in 1913. Both were dedicated to his1905-born daughter, Claude-Emma, and eventually orchestrated by the composer's friend and pupil Caplet, the ballet completed by him after Debussy's death prevented him from finishing what he started in 1914.

At a compact fourteen minutes, the four parts of Petite Suite pass like the smoothest of breezes, with the opening two movements alluding to Verlaine poems from Fêtes galantes. “En Bateau” inaugurates the suite beautifully with a sultry susurration of flute and strings and the serene hush of the music evoking the poet's words, “However, the moon rises / And the skiff, on its brief course / Moves happily on the water that dreams.” Animated by comparison, the regal “Cortège” sparkles and bursts with energy without ever losing that trademark Debussy elegance. Whereas “Menuet” presents its graceful triple time dance with reserve, the rousing “Ballet” explodes with joy, the dancers seemingly at their most uninhibited. Büsser's orchestration is so attuned to Debussy's sensibility, one would think the composer himself had done the honours.

The half-hour La Boîte à joujoux came about when illustrator André Hellé persuaded Debussy to write a ballet for puppets, the central idea involving toys coming to life and the adventures that follow (the release's inner sleeve shows four characters drawn by Hellé and the musical motifs created for them: a military march for the Soldier, a graceful waltz for the Doll, etc.). A love triangle of sorts animates the story-line with the Soldier and Polichinelle competing for the Doll's affections; the soldier eventually wins out, and the romantic couple moves to a sheep farm to grow old together. Adding to the playfulness of the project, Debussy works into the rather programmatic score quotes from both nursery rhymes and operas. The six-part ballet advances from a slowly blossoming prelude where characters are introduced to four tableaux featuring elaborate dances and prototypical Debussy melodies. The musical tapestry alternates between tender and action-packed moments as the romantic entanglements and battles play out. Of the three works on the release, it's La Boîte à joujoux that would most benefit from an audio-visual presentation when the musical content is so closely tied to stage action; that said, there's no shortage of pleasure to be had from the strictly musical presentation, especially when Caplet, like Büsser, does such a terrific job of bringing the piano score to life.

Debussy's love for his daughter comes through vividly in Children's Corner, which he wryly dedicated to his his “dear little Chou-chou, with tender apologies from her father for what follows.” While the suite's six parts will be familiar to Debussy devotees, Children's Corner retains its sumptuous appeal in Caplet's splendid orchestral treatment. Framing the eighteen-minute work are the dynamic “Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum” and delicious romp “Golliwogg's Cake-Walk,” the latter a cheeky tribute to Wagner that references the opening notes of the overture to Tristan and Isolde. In between, the low register notes with which the hushed reverie “Jumbo's Lullaby / Berceuse des éléphants” begins both conjures the image of the animal and creates a musical effect conducive to sending a child to sleep. Debussy selected a Chinese porcelain toy as the subject for the graceful “Serenade for the Doll / Sérénade à la poupée” and evokes the poetic image of snowflakes swirling in “The Snow is Dancing / La neige danse.” In the penultimate position, “The Little Shepherd / Le petit berger” arrests the ear with oboe melodies that are both stirring and sinuous.

May 2022