The Bienvenue en France title of this album is sly in several ways. The program begins with the fairly rarely heard Oboe Sonata of Saint-Saëns of 1921, and it gets more obscure from there. The music of Pierre Sancan and Thierry Pécou is not much heard outside of France, and the early Oboe Sonata of Henri Dutilleux was disowned by the composer (an action that some oboists, fortunately, have had the good sense to ignore). The cheery mood the title might imply is undercut by the restlessness of the works by Pécou and Santan. ...
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The Bienvenue en France title of this album is sly in several ways. The program begins with the fairly rarely heard Oboe Sonata of Saint-Saëns of 1921, and it gets more obscure from there. The music of Pierre Sancan and Thierry Pécou is not much heard outside of France, and the early Oboe Sonata of Henri Dutilleux was disowned by the composer (an action that some oboists, fortunately, have had the good sense to ignore). The cheery mood the title might imply is undercut by the restlessness of the works by Pécou and Santan. This, however, is part of oboist François Leleux's point. All of the music is rooted in the French neoclassic impulse, which Saint-Saëns embodied before there was such a thing, and which still persists today. The music may be cheery or nervous, but it is marked by balance, harmonic facility, and a certain restraint that is often humorous. The Saint-Saëns sonata is worth the listener's time all by itself: the composer, by then, was considered hopelessly conservative, but in the last...
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Seller's Description:
Fair. Ex-Library rental. Disc(s) are professionally cleaned and may contain only light scratches that do not effect functionality. Includes disc(s), case, and artwork. May be missing booklet. Disc(s), case, and artwork may contain library/security stickers and ink writing. ARTWORK IS UNORIGINAL AND PRINTED BY LIBRARY. Case and artwork may show some wear. Case may not be an original jewel case. All disc(s) are authentic.