Félicien David Symphony No.3; Christophe Colomb, etc.

[Alan Howe]

...forthcoming from Ediciones Singulares:
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Ediciones%2BSingulares/ES1028

Yummo!

[Mark Thomas]

How intriguing. What an interesting prospect. BTW, I believe I can claim credit, Alan, for introducing "yummo!" to UC. Always knew it would catch on!

[Alan Howe]

Excerpts from Christophe Colomb (CD1) are now available here:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/felicien-cesar-david-ode-symphonie-christophe-colomb/hnum/7505113

[eschiss1]

Does someone have a description or list (with keys or composition/publication dates...?) of David's numbered symphonies? I know of a symphony (no.1?) in E-flat published in 1846, knew of some of the named symphonies and symphony-odes, but didn't know of other, less programmatic-ish symphonies by him.

(Or maybe is symphony 3 the 1846-published one in E-flat?)

[jdperdrix]

I don't know if a complete catalogue has been published. The closest I know of is here:https://www.musicologie.org/Biographies/d/david_felicien.html
About the symphonies it lists:
F major (1837),  E major (1838), E major (1846), C minor (1849). It does not mention a symphony in E flat... There is no mention of whether they were published, or if this list is exhaustive...

[eschiss1]

My guess, offhand, would be that the 1838 or 1846 one would be the E-flat one I'm talking about, and that either I or the compiler of the list is mistaken as to key. However,

BNF gives "symphonie en mi bémol" - E-flat - published in 1846 by Meissonnier. BNF may have the key wrong (twice, since they give the key again when listing a piano reduction of the Andante in another entry), and I haven't seen the score.

The symphony in C minor I see listed in two arrangements (pub. 1853 - its Andante in A-flat - and 1869 - Scherzo) of individual movements; don't know if the full score is published...

Also, Pierpont Morgan Library has:

"Scherzo from Symphony in E flat, arranged for piano : autograph manuscript, 1846 Apr. 18."

so I'm fairly sure their "Symphony in E (1846)" should be "Symphony in E-flat (1846)", maybe I should write them and ask if they have the score and can correct me or...

[jdperdrix]

I think that the symphony from 1846 is indeed in E flat, given the reference at BNF and this notice from Bru Zane:
http://bruzanemediabase.com/eng/Works/Symphonie-n-3-en-mi-bemol-majeur-Felicien-David/(offset)/1028.
There is also a book by Arlette Millard, Félicien David et l'aventure saint-simonienne en Orient (Les presses franciliennes, Paris 2005), which mentions the same four symphonies, the second and the third in E flat on p. 118. https://books.google.fr/books?id=rMo_BJ8SqmAC&printsec=frontcover&hl=fr#v=onepage&q&f=false.

[eschiss1]

If this means that the symphony no.3 being recorded might be the only untitled symphony of his I knew about previously, anyway, ... well, happy to have my knowledge increased in several directions at once then

[eschiss1]

Of course, it's also possible that the one published in 1846 was actually the symphony no.2 of 1838; it doesn't do to confuse composition and publication dates. Or that maybe they're versions of each other. Or something. Hopefully Millard has seen all 4 (does the book contain incipits of all 4 out of curiousity? I recall one good feature of a dissertation about an almost-unknown Hungarian Romantic (Mihalovich) was that it contains the main-melody opening-incipit of each movement - four in each I think - of all 4 of his symphonies, only one of which (D minor) has been published. Plus premiere dates etc. Come to think of it I'm not positive that the E-flat symphony by David whose slow movement was arranged is the same as the one whose full score was published... not having seen either!)

(A reviewer "F. G." in La Révue indépendante (ed: in 1845, sorry, starting p.267, see Révue) writing of performances of (presumably symphony no.2) and noting that it was rarely performed without at least part of one of David's symphony-odes also being in the concerts, because of the greater popularity of program works- which, especially "ode-symphonies", F.G. abhorred - led F.G. to aver that, slightly paraphrasing, he would take 2 symphonies in E-flat by David for - etc. ... ok, I paraphrase, but he did much prefer the untitled work. Hopefully this promises well of whichever symphony is being premiered on the new disc, anyhow, though I predict some pre-written reviews about how David needed external impetus to compose, because some reviewers do seem to write from prewritten drawers, or - again, something.)

[eschiss1]

btw here's another somewhat more specific - though US-ized - link to the Millard with page number linked in...

[Mark Thomas]

The download of this exciting set is now available. Thus far I've only listened to the Symphony, which is a lively, highly melodic and very enjoyable work. To characterise it further I can do no better than copy here what the superb booklet says about it:

[...] David's career in the purely symphonic genres was not of the easiest. Indeed, his first two symphonies never enjoyed the honours of publication and are still stored in manuscript (difficult to decipher) in the cartons of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. The Symphony no.3 in E flat major (Moderato – Andante con moto – Scherzo – Finale. Moderato) has been luckier: it did achieve publication, and has been reissued by the Palazzetto Bru Zane on the occasion of the present recording. This work, which continues the vein of composers such as Méhul and Onslow, is contemporary with the symphonies of Reber and was soon to be followed by those of Gounod, Bizet, Godard and – above all – Gouvy, who composed some ten. If it deserves to be restored to posterity today, one can understand why it may have disappointed a section of the public at the time: its eclectic inspiration is a motley assembly of influences as contrasted as Mendelssohnian rhythm, Beethovenian concepts, the naïve grace of Haydn and the rhythmic impetus of contemporary ballet music. The first movement, which begins like Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony, swirls around a single motif in 6/8 time, whose swaying gait permits amusing rhythmic games. The second theme, which is derived from the first, does not languish amid 'Romantic' lyricism. The slow movement, like those of Reber in particular, is a sort of meditative rhapsody that never overindulges in pathos. The appearance of its second motif is the only place where the technique of orchestration typical of David's 'orientalist' side is noticeable, especially in its use of the nostalgic sonority of the oboes. The Scherzo initially surprises the listener with an emphatic Adagio maestoso opening, played fortissimo by the tutti. Then, like some heroic cavalcade, the ensuing Quasi presto does not pause in its headlong dash until reaching its goal. It was a fine stroke of orchestral daring to invent this frenetic motif played by all the instruments, which yet avoids heaviness. The clarinet theme that follows this first idea contributes a bucolic colouring that the entry of the horns, soon afterwards, almost transforms into a joyful hunting scene. Like the two movements that precede it, the Finale has a highly theatrical opening. This time, the surprise is total when, after a few bars, a solo clarinet makes way for a folklike motif with rustic accents, recalling those that David sometimes conceived for the finales of his string quartets. For the fervent champions of Beethoven, this was doubtless an inspiration unworthy of the 'Germanic' genre of the symphony. But today's listeners need not deny themselves the pleasure of following with amusement the inventive trajectory David imposes on his melodic idea.

[Mark Thomas]

Another very welcome discovery from this set is Le Jugement dernier. This compact work for choir and orchestra has real power and effectiveness. It was intended to be the apotheosis for David's opera Herculaneum (previously issued by Palazetto Bru Zane and equally as recommendable), but was unperformed and unpublished until now. The nearest comparison I can make is the epilogue to Boito's Mefistophele. Once again, I can't better the excellent booklet's description:

This piece, which remained in manuscript for almost two centuries, is the apotheosis of the opera Herculanum (1859), a finale so demanding to perform that it was cut before the premiere. Constructed after the manner of the great Berliozian crescendos, it juxtaposes a chorus of the Elect with another of the Damned, thereby calling for vocal forces that few theatres had at their disposal. The narrative trajectory, clearly specified in the score, allows us to hear – since unfortunately we cannot see – the awakening of the dead, the trumpet calls of the Last Judgment, and the Damned falling sorrowfully into the abyss of Hell while the Elect hymn the glory of God. The cor anglais, so dear to Berlioz, colours the moments of anguish and introspection, while the massed brass is handled with mastery in the collective passages. Among the refinements of the orchestration, one may note the use of the string sections (sometimes extensively subdivided) in their topmost register, notably in harmonics. The imperious theme on horns and trombones that follows the trumpets of the Judgment provides a link with Herculanum: at this point we recognise the motif of Magnus heard at the end of Act One of the opera. It takes on its full meaning here, since, having been associated in the opera with the threat of the fall of decadent Roman civilisation, it appears this time to symbolise apotheosis.

[Alan Howe]

Symphony No.3 is certainly 'yummo'! As the booklet essay suggests, one begins to see how the French symphonic tradition developed - from Méhul and Onslow through Reber and David to Gounod, Bizet, Gouvy, Saint-Saens and Godard, with Berlioz as a complete one-off - and genius, of course.

[Mark Thomas]

I'm rather less enthusiastic about the Ode-Symphonie Christophe Colombe, which lasts around 70 minutes. Despite being spit into four sections it's a great deal more "Ode" than it is "Symphonie", and somehow lacks the charm that it's predecessor Le Désert has. In form it's a cantata or concert opera, with many choruses, some solo numbers and a few short orchestral episodes, all linked together by a spoken narration. David's melodic ideas are usually catchy and frequently pretty, and the orchestration is very effective in that French early-romantic style, but the choral writing in particular lacks subtlety and choruses are often remorselessly driven at their close. For me, it was a pleasant listen, but not the highlight of this set that I was expecting it to be.

[eschiss1]

What may be the complete full manuscript autograph score of Le jugement dernier (I don't know, it's less than 60 pages- compact indeed!) has been digitized by the French National Library. (see BNF link. I am thinking that while the catalog row in the "David" list says 1884 (unlikely given his death date, unless it refers to date of cataloguing or something else), that's a misreading for what seems actually to be "1854" in the note on the cover. One often sees 5s, 6s and 8s misread for each other- for instance- and not only handwritten ones.)