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| A Sound that Stands Alone: Professor of
Flute Michel Debost |
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| By Zachary Lewis |
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Michel
Debost's sound is utterly unique among the great flute
virtuosos of the world. Bright and expressive but not breathy
or thick with vibrato, it is readily distinguished from the
music of others within Debost's tiny circle of world-class
peers—Jean-Pierre Rampal, James Galway, and Eugenia
Zuckerman.
Timbre, however, is only one dimension in which Panorama, Debost's
new recording on Skarbo records, stands out. Programming is another. The palette
on this disc, which compares 20th-century French and American flute music,
could hardly be more eclectic, although it's on a par with his earlier recordings,
among them three volumes also titled Panorama. Included here are the
classically formal Odelette by Saint-Saëns, the impressionistic Poem by
Griffes, and the searing, atonal "Memoriale" by Boulez.
Credit for this chronologically ordered Panorama goes
to La Traversiere, the French Flute Association. A few years
ago, the group invited Debost, former principal flutist of
the Orchestre de Paris, to record competition pieces used at
the Conservatoire National de Paris, from which he graduated
in 1954. Debost complied, recording Panorama in June
2003 in Hungary with the up-and-coming Orchestre Symphonique
de Miskolc.
Few outside the world of flute literature will be familiar
with George Hue's Fantaisie, the first work on the
disc, but this recording may produce a few converts. A whispered,
toccata-like introduction marked by long, florid passages yields
to a pleasant, lilting melody that drives the rest of the piece
in a range of harmonic guises. Debost's unique sound quality
strikes the ear almost immediately. Also evident is Debost's
unrivaled position in the sonic spotlight. This is not a balance
problem. Rather, the flutist never has trouble holding his
own against a full orchestra, as the rest of the recording
bears out.
Charles Tomlinson Griffes: Poem
Charles Tomlinson Griffes, a name only slightly more recognizable
than Hue, turns up here via the beautiful Poem. Completed
in 1919, a year before Griffes' death, the Poem reveals
a lingering interest in the impressionist movement. Low murmuring
in the strings, reminiscent of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony,
is the bed from which blossoms an upwardly striving melody.
Robust development by the orchestra leads to variations and
extensions on the theme and then to a repeat of the opening
idea and husky final comment from the flute.
Camille Saint-Saëns: Odelette Op. 162, Romance
Op. 37, and Excerpts from the ballet Ascanio: "L'Amour
Fait Apparaitre Psyche" and "Variation de L'Amour"
Saint-Saëns enjoys a major share of this disc. The first
entry, Odelette, begins almost like a Mozart concerto,
with the orchestra repeating a cheery, syncopated, four-bar
opening theme. A secondary theme—this time lyrical and
connected—allows for greater interaction with the orchestra.
Debost takes an accompanying role in a development section
but soon returns in a series of blazingly fast cadenza-like
gestures. It's easy to love this piece. Its melodic profile
is graceful but strong and it embeds itself into the memory
without much effort. Debost executes the well-known Romance with
unfailing elegance. From the familiar theme stems a development
section marked by long scalar passages, showy leaps, and a
bravura trill. A brief retreat into a hushed mode follows,
but soon the opening theme is back, leading to a brilliant
final note for solo flute against a quiet orchestral backdrop.
The two brief ballet excerpts pose a technical workout for
Debost. Arpeggio fireworks open "L'Amour" but give way quickly
to a lilting, exceptionally light, march-like tune in partnership
with the harp. The "Variation," meanwhile, is a perpetual motion
piece calling for flutter-tongue and virtuoso leaps in a mad
dash toward a concluding high note.
Cecile Chaminade: Concertino, Op. 107
A pastoral, vaguely Celtic tune gets things going in this
colorful work from 1902 by Cecile Chaminade, a Parisian-born
pianist and composer. Chaminade, the only female composer on
the disc, has the flute repeat the theme several times in different
harmonic settings before giving it to the orchestra, which
states it more strongly and sentimentally, like the score to
a romantic movie. Debost's role then transforms dramatically
with a much bolder Badinerie-style section marked by a two-note
pattern that skips up and down the staff. Skillfully, Chaminade
ties this section back into the main theme and into a lush
ending with a flute coda.
Leonard Bernstein: Halil
Panorama moves forward a few decades, and the orchestra's
percussion springs to life in this little-known work from 1981.
The flute is the first to state the melody, but soon joining
Debost are the snare drums, woodblock, xylophone, and kettledrums.
Though there is a jazzy edge to some of the musical writing,
it's clear from the mournful outset that Halil is
not upbeat (indeed, it is dedicated to a young Israeli musician
killed in the Six Day War). Once again, Debost displays his
masterful technique, including the ability to bend a pitch
slightly as his part contrasts with a tensely dissonant orchestral
part that only gradually achieves resolution.
Boulez: "Memoriale" from Explosante-Fixe
The orchestra's wind and brass sections practically disappear
here, leaving only two horns with the strings. But even they're
diaphanous, texturally speaking. Boulez gives these players
jittery, pizzicato parts, while Debost's best is called upon
again for some demanding flutter-tongue and many curlicue phrases
ending in trills. As the end point on this thoroughly engaging
timeline of French and American music in the 20th century,
Boulez's place is as appropriate as his music is enigmatic.
Zachary Lewis is a freelance arts journalist in Cleveland.
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