Victorin de Joncières: Symphonie Romantique

[Mark Thomas]

Anyone who has enjoyed Joncières' Gounod-esque opera Dimitri, recorded by Palazzetto Bru Zane, may be intrigued by the prospect of some purely orchestral music by him - a symphony no less. A recording of his Symphonie Romantique, played by the Brussels Philharmonic under Hervé Niquet is on YouTube here. Much as I enjoyed Dimitri, it isn't the subtlest or most finely wrought piece of work, so my expectations for the Symphony weren't high, but unfortunately even they weren't met. Joncières piles on the orchestral colour in its four short movements (the work lasts just 23 minutes) but, as his thematic material is trite and symphonic development largely absent, it's very much an empty succession of "effects without causes". At best it's a Suite Romantique but, for me a least, it's not a work to which I'll bother returning.

[Alan Howe]

I see what you mean. Oh dear. I liked the ending - and the silence after the ending.

[Mark Thomas]

It's not just me then? Good to know.

[John Boyer]

It's not just me then? Good to know.

No, it's not. I could not even make it through the first movement. It sounded like a bunch of operatic overture clichés -- the noodling parts between the actual ideas -- all strung together.

[Mark Thomas]

I wonder why a conductor of Hervé Niquet's standing is  bothering with a piece of such little merit?   

[terry martyn]

I have made it through to the last couple of minutes in the hope that there might be a kind of Chapi or Reber discovery, but this is trumpery stuff indeed.

[Alan Howe]

It's just a reminder that there's a ton of music out there that deserves oblivion.

[semloh]

Yes, agreed, Alan. I often enjoy music that more discerning members of UC dislike, and I was determined to find something worthwhile in it. It proved futile - 25 minutes of my life that I wish I could get back!

[Ilja]

It's just a reminder that there's a ton of music out there that deserves oblivion.

The thing is that if we don't hear it, we can't make that judgment. So even mediocre or bad music needs to be played - at least once. 

[semloh]

Totally agree, Ilja. I see that as one of the missions of UC, and I'm always optimistic that we'll find a lost masterpiece even though the reality is often quite different. As Alan and Mark say, there's often a good reason why a piece of music is 'unsung', and this is a case in point.

[eschiss1]

And really goes without saying and doesn't require the reams of comment to that effect (half this thread, almost, now) that could be spent --- picking ourselves up and looking for another, better work (by someone). Of course most of them will not be.

[Ilja]

As a historian, I'm more interested overall in finding out the "average" of the romantic symphony, the standard of musical culture so to speak, than in some doomed quest for "masterworks". That Joncières doesn't quite reach that average appears clear, although I would argue that his brand of "bad" is endlessly more entertaining than, say, Lorenzo Perosi's.

[Gareth Vaughan]

I would argue that his brand of "bad" is endlessly more entertaining than, say, Lorenzo Perosi's.

Oh, how right you are, Ilja.

[Alan Howe]

For me, it's about trying to see the overall lie of the symphonic landscape, i.e. while appreciating the status of the symphonies featured in the standard repertoire, to understand and value their context - which quite open throws up works that would be well worth an occasional public airing (and certainly a recording).

[Reverie]

I dread to think what David Hurwitz would have to say! Maybe there's a French horn lurking to save the day 😊