Search - Debussy, Inghelbrecht, French Nat'l Radio Orch :: La Mer / Images / Trois Chansons

C'est Magnifique!

Jeffrey Lipscomb | Sacramento, CA United States | 04/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is probably the closest you can get to the orchestral sound Debussy had in mind when composing. Desire-Emile Inghelbrecht (1880-1965) was closely associated with Debussy in the composer's later years. His meticulously-detailed and warmly-played interpretations have set the standard for me ever since first acquiring these recordings on EMI Pathe LPs back in the 1970's. Testament's mono transfers are excellent. The distinctive "old-style" French orchestral sound heard here - bright violins, reedy woodwinds, French horns with shimmering vibrato, and the blaring brass with its piercing trumpets - is now sadly extinct. Inghelbrecht's magnificent "La Mer" is filled with dramatic contrasts, subtle accents, and fragrant tone colors. Likewise the three wonderful "Images." A bonus attraction is the relatively rare "Trois Chansons de Charles d'Orleans" and the poignant "Noel des enfants qui n'ont plus de maison." The latter is a short, late work (1915) about children who have lost all in the war, and it's gorgeously sung by Madeleine Gorge.



C'est magnifique!"