The Hallé Orchestra has played Debussy well for a long time, and the group's recent recordings under Sir Mark Elder have attracted critical notice. Those interested would do very well to start with this release, which joins the familiar Nocturnes for orchestra (perhaps a bit less familiar in the 1999 edition by Denis Herlin heard here) with some fascinating lesser-performed works. The latter group includes two unique later works, the highly evocative Les soirs illuminés par l'ardeur du charbon, L. 150 (from a recently ...
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The Hallé Orchestra has played Debussy well for a long time, and the group's recent recordings under Sir Mark Elder have attracted critical notice. Those interested would do very well to start with this release, which joins the familiar Nocturnes for orchestra (perhaps a bit less familiar in the 1999 edition by Denis Herlin heard here) with some fascinating lesser-performed works. The latter group includes two unique later works, the highly evocative Les soirs illuminés par l'ardeur du charbon, L. 150 (from a recently discovered piano work orchestrated by Colin Matthews), and the Marche écossaise sur un thčme populaire, L. 77. The Marche écossaise was commissioned, and if the idea of Debussy writing a Scottish march sounds odd, well, it's probably odder than it sounds: it sounds for all the world like a folk song setting, except then it doesn't. La Damoiselle elue, L. 62 is a very early piece, written by Debussy in connection with his Prix de Rome award. It's conventional, but the restless...
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