Ernest Fanelli (1860-1917)

[Alan Howe]

Has anyone come across the music of this exceptionally forward-looking composer?>>
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fanelli-Symphonic-Pictures-Slovak-Symphony-Orchestra/dp/B00006GO3W/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1413552924&sr=1-1&keywords=fanelli

[jdperdrix]

Fanelli is "famous" for this only piece. It's worth listening, not because it's a masterpiece, but because it anticipates French impressionist music as well as cheap film music (cf. Debussy's opinion). When listening to this music, you can really see the movie that should go with it!

The Tableaux Symphoniques were composed in 1883-86, but created only in 1912, after he had shown the score to Pierné. The performance was a huge success. But it was Fanelli's only success. He had given up composing in 1894.

A few opinions about Fanelli (found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Fanelli):
- Fanelli was "one of the greatest inventors and musical iconoclasts of all time" (George Antheil)
- The works of Fanelli were pure "Afternoon of a Faun" or "Daphnis and Chloe", at least in technique, and they predated the Debussy-Ravel-Satie works by many years. But, as I also soon discovered, they were not as talented as the works of the two slightly younger men although they had had the advantage of being "firsts" ... Debussy was the genius who had distilled Fanelli into immortality! (George Antheil)
- Fanelli had "an acute sense of musical ornamentation" but it "dragged [him] towards such an extreme need of minute description" that it made him "lose his sense of direction." (Claude Debussy)
- "Now we know where his [Debussy's] impressionism comes from" (Maurice Ravel)

Thanks to Adriano for reviving the memory of Ernest Fanelli!

[adriano]

And thanks to both of you Alan and jedperdrix for "resurrecting" this in this forum 

[jdperdrix]

Hadrianus, could you tell us your opinion about this piece of music?

[Alan Howe]

The music's absolutely extraordinary. I couldn't believe my ears.

[Aramiarz]

I have this recording from many years ago! I like very much this work And his orchestral colour,  I remember that the notes said that it's very difficult find Other Scores of Fanelli. This Cd has too Other work by Bourgault, Fanelli was musician in the orchestra that Pierne conducted, Colonne Concerts?
It's true! Our friend Adriano made this rescue 2002 in Marco Polo!

[adriano]

@jdperdrix: well, what I write in my own liner notes is the opinion I have and I would certainly have recorded more, if I would have come across to more scores!
@Aramiarz: I struggled 8 years to be allowed to do this recording; read the article "too obscure" in the chapter "special features - essays" of my homepage how this became possible (www.adrianomusic.com).
Incidentally, after having told them the year of its composition, the Bratislava musicians (who adored this music) thought they were playing a fake score: some asked me if I was the real composer...

[semloh]

The music's absolutely extraordinary. I couldn't believe my ears.

Tell us more, Alan! What was so unbelievable?

[Alan Howe]

Basically, that it was written when it was...

[adriano]

@semloh: just listen!

[semloh]

.... so another to add to my wish list, Hadrianus! 

[Sibeliusfan]

Just listened to this. Never heard of Fanelli, but glad that Adriano was patient for eight years. You should think there are compositions recorded that deserve less attention than these Tableaux Symphoniques.

[semloh]

I have been listening, at last, to Adriano's splendid disc.

The Tableaux is not a lost masterpiece, but it is an enjoyable and fascinating attempt to go beyond the dominant musical style of the day (1883/6) and explore some of the possibilities of musical impressionism. I think there is a strong hint of The Ring cycle, but I could also hear "pre-echoes" of a number of later composers as suggested earlier in this thread. I am usually so keen to listen to the music on a new CD that I forget to read the liner notes, but in this case Adriano's informative notes are an absolute 'must read' for any listener who wants to understand the nature of Fanelli's achievement. It hardly needs to be added that it is a  sensitive, committed performance that will withstand repeated listening.

[jdperdrix]

For those who want to know more about Fanelli, this particular work or Adriano's CD before buying it , or maybe have access to a streaming version of it (on spotify or elsewhere), Adriano's comments are freeoly available on www.naxos.com (look for Fanelli).

[adriano]

Oh, infinite thanks, semloh and jdperdrix for all these compliments on this 14 years old CD of mine 
I will never forget the "coup de coeur" I had while discovering the autograph of the second part of "Tableaux Symphoniques" in Radio France's library. It was wrongly classified, just perusing all the "F" cases, I found it. The first part had been published by Max Eschig, they did not know that it was in their vaults, and there too, it was only thanks to my insistence, that we got it.
And this it not all: a friend of mine, who knew that I was looking for this music, found (in a Paris second-hand music shop) a copy of this score, with a personal dedication by Fanelli, written in lead pencil. The dedicatee ("Hardy Thé"), I was told, could have been a cabaret dancer...