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03/21/2025
“Fernande Decruck: Concertante Works, Volume 2”
Fernande Breilh-Decruck: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra – The Trianons: Suite for Harpsichord and Orchestra – Sonata in C‑Sharp minor for Viola and Orchestra – The Bells of Vienna: Suite of Waltzes (World Premiere Recording)
Mitsuru Kubo (viola), Jeffrey Crosmer (cello), Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord), The Jackson Symphony Orchestra, Matthew Aubin (conductor)
Recording: Harold Sheffer Music Hall at the George E. Potter Center, Jackson, Michigan (June 2023) – 64’46
Claves Records CD 50-3108 (Booklet in English)
 
“Women are so talented at music; why aren’t there more female composers?” As I was growing up, I heard this question asked so many times, in schools and universities, and in the worlds of culture and entertainment. “Why” indeed. A better‑phrased question would be, “Why don’t we hear the music of the countless women composers who exist now and have existed since music as we know it first began?”
The answers are complex, and while largely rooted in bias and denied opportunities, also reflect a myriad of other possibilities. It’s daunting, for example, to come face‑to‑ face with the long-held view that all female creations are destined for mediocrity among the ranks of the second rate.
Thankfully, attitudes toward women’s pursuit of artistic goals have changed, albeit slowly, as the culture by and large has accepted, sometimes reluctantly, the participation of women in all aspects of society. We are now at the point where we not only can accept the idea of women composers, but we also can compare them with peers and established composers in the Western canon. We can make value judgments and include them on the same programs occupied by Mozart, Verdi, or Lutoslawski to enjoy simply as pure music, not the entrée into a debate about the gender divide.
All of which brings me around to “Concertante Works, Volume 2”, a recording of four estimable works by French composer, Fernande Decruck (1896‑1954). Though clearly composed in the Impressionist style, these compositions declare a unique musical presence. These are not the creations of a “woman composer,” but simply, “a composer,” and a talented one at that.
The four symphonic works offered in this collection feature the Jackson Symphony Orchestra (Michigan) under the direction of Matthew Aubin, the unchallenged leading Decruck scholar. During the 1930s and 40s, Decruck’s music was widely performed in France and the U.S., but was largely forgotten after her death in 1954. Aubin is credited with rediscovering Decruck and restoring her image through performances and sharing of information about the composer obtained through discussions with her family members. Evidencing musical talent at an early age, Decruck won prizes at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris, where she went on to teach Olivier Messiaen who dedicated a work to her. In addition to a productive compositional lifestyle and a side hustle as an improviser on the organ, Decruck taught at the Toulouse Conservatory, was married (later divorced) and the mother of three children.
This collection opens with Decruck’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (1932), an astonishing work which pits sheets of orchestral sound in varying degrees of volume against the expressive warmth of the cello, in this instance played by Jeffrey Crosmer. The cellist is a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and has many impressive credentials that fit him for the role of soloist in a work rich in melody and intricate interplay between the cello and other instruments, particularly the woodwinds. I found this work reminded me of some of the more transparent works of the Impressionists, from a slow movement in Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé to Tailleferre’s Concertino for Harp and Orchestra. But it does Decruck no favor to liken her closely to other composers, for she stands alone with a distinctive musical personality.
The album also includes Decruck’s Sonata for Saxophone in C‑Sharp minor, with orchestral accompaniment. Here, I was disappointed to hear, not Decruck’s writing for alto saxophone, but, instead, an alternative pairing (viola and orchestra). However, as much as I wanted to listen to a fine concert saxophonist, I did find the viola version immensely satisfying. Mitsuru Kubo’s performance on the viola was spellbinding, emerging from a dark mysterious context into an open space spangled with starry harp strings and a subtle rhythmic undercurrent. This is some fine viola playing and a reminder that not only are composers sometimes the victim of bias, but instruments (like the viola) may suffer from discrimination as well.
The album also features a performance of Decruck’s suite, Les Trianons, with harpsichord soloist, Mahan Esfahani. The suite is named for the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon, two ornate royal buildings in Versailles dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. Esfahani needs no introduction, widely recognized as one of the leading harpsichordists of our time. His light touch and elegant tone is perfectly balanced with the instrumentalists under Aubin’s direction. This is a light‑hearted piece, with some whimsical touches provided by trumpet and percussion, combining modern French sensibilities with Rococo accoutrements. The suite concludes with plenty of plucky rhythms, sweeping passages, and some friendly discords, all neatly accomplished under Aubin’s guiding hand.
The album concludes with a charming suite of Viennese waltzes of Decruck’s own invention. All in all, this is a delightful album, featuring first‑rate soloists, and reminding us that there are additional American orchestras outside “the big five” which deserve our attention and support. Viva, Decruck!
Linda Holt
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