Charles Koechlin - Oeuvres pour Ensembles

As an old man Koechlin wrote: "One of the most dreadful diseases of our day is the desire to be modern", but he was not a stuffy conservative himself. Far from it, in fact - he counted among his friends virtually all the leading French musicians of his day, old and young, adventurous and less so, and acknowledged and even assimilated all the trends. He does not really sound like Debussy or Ravel; perhaps one can only say that he is a composer that has his own version of being French, like Satie. His music, consequently, is a highly appealing blend of late-romanticism and impressionism, though he does not hesitate to blend in other styles where appropriate. In fact, his oeuvre is a veritable treasure trove of melodies - Koechlin's ability to conjure up lyrical passages that seem to have always existed must rank alongside Tchaikovsky's; in the context of the 20th century he may be unrivaled. 

Michel Fleury's remarks on Koechlin in the Timpani booklet bear the title 'Open Air Music', alluding to the idea that Koechlin was an 'outdoor' kind of composer. Certainly in this splendid recording nature's big, bold canvases are very much in evidence, nowhere more so than in the retrospective Paysages et Marines ('Landscapes and Seascapes'), one of Koechlin's key works. The same can be said of the spirited Wind Septet. These are all lovely, often unusual chamber works
("Sonate a Sept" as an example is scored for Piano, Flute, Oboe, 2 Violins, Alto (stringed instrument, somewhere between a cello and a viola), and Harpsichord). Enjoy!

Koechlin_ Œuvres_Pour_Ensembles_Tz.zip

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