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09/27/2025
“Ravel: Paris 2025”
Maurice Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin, M. 68 (Orch. David Molard Soriano: “Fugue”, “Toccata”) [1] – Ma mère l’Oye, M. 62 [3] – La Valse, M. 72 [3] – Une barque sur l’océan, M. 43A [3] – Pavane pour une infante défunte, M. 19A [3] – Alborada del gracioso, M. 43B [2] – Rapsodie espagnole, M. 81 [2] – Boléro, M. 81 [2] – Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57 [1]
Chœur de Radio France, Lionel Sow (chorus master), Orchestre national de France, Luc Héry, Sarah Nemtanu (concertmasters), Cristian Măcelaru (conductor)
Recording: Grande Salle Pierre Boulez, Philharmonie (February 28, 2025 [1]), Auditorium, Maison de la Radio et de la Musique (March 6 [2] and 13 [3], 2025), Paris, France – 179’
3 CDs Naïve Classique V9018 – Booklet in French and English
 
“Music, I feel, must be emotional first and intellectual second.”
Maurice Ravel
On a horoscopic plane, Maurice Ravel’s birthday, March 7, 1875, earmarks him as a Pisces. Why raise this question? Because the traits under this sign reveal such adjectives as dreamy, artistic, empathetic and sensitive reception. Commemorating the 150th anniversary of his genesis, this three CD offers a colorful selection of the Frenchman’s memorable works that address the aforementioned qualities. Contained within are Ravel’s orchestral works with versions which respect the order found in Ravel’s piano suites. Handily, David Molard Soriano neatly sews together two unpublished orchestrations (Le Tombeau de Couperin) to complete an illuminating patchwork quilt of treasured pieces.
Furthermore, these œuvres, performed by l’Orchestre national de France and under the direction of Christian Măcelaru, are handled with a shiny and fluorescent expertise.
Written as a musical tribute to lost friends and military soldiers in World War I during Ravel’s life, Le Tombeau de Couperin renders radiance under M. Măcelaru’s direction: “refreshing” is the word that comes to mind: briskly forward-moving, yet restraining excessiveness to deliver touches of feathery veiling of politesse. Particularly touching is the “Menuet”...exquisite, well‑nuanced. The same holds true with the dynamically and frenetically-appealing “Toccata” with appropriate perpetuum mobile tempo.
Originally written for piano, Ma mère l’Oye was turned into full orchestration and a ballet was born in 1912. The ballet was extended into eleven numbers, including six tableaux. This piece is brightly polished, effectively evoking refreshing and startling musical flavors that enlighten the score’s overall storyline, The impact l’Orchestre national de France has on a listener’s ear is filled with tense anticipation, never losing its verve of splendid curiosité with its keenly capricious absorbency. A vivid imagination ignites a colorful frisson. M. Măcelaru’s evocation freely ignites the imagination with intimate appeal for the individual.
Patience is a virtue when it comes to approaching La Valse. Beginning with a slight ominously macabre ambiguity, M. Măcelaru mathematically broadens the reach into a quirkly-flamboyant Viennese melody; it steadily turns forward like a spinning wheel with glittering equivocation, bringing forth pockets of “sighs of relief”. Ravel’s sinuously translucent legato captivates from beginning to end. This poème chorégraphique has interesting characteristics to Richard Strauss’ Schlagobers...a “musical supernova” of sorts.
Ravel’s Pisces characteristics translate with clear vision. Another example is in the opening piece of the second CD. Here, we discover strangely murky equations of Une barque sur l’océan, shrouded by mysterious inventions, akin to a distant cousin to La Mer. This rendition finds heavier sobriety and more profoundly and richly brooding sequences, especially pronounced by a deliberately lugubrious tempo: it magnificently draws the listener into a realm of spiritual fascination. The tables turn by seguing to the sassy and stiletto-castanet percussion that quickly open magical underpinnings of Alborada del gracioso. Invigorating.
Meanwhile, Maurice Ravel harkens back to his native Basque region where the Iberian border permeates into his Rapsodie espagnole. This orchestral piece brings forth another dimension of Ravel’s pizzazz. This firework translation possesses a magnificent energy and unbridled punctuation. Particularly, certain “Feria” passages bring to mind delights of Chabrier’s Espana (1883). “Methodical and forward-paced with a razor‑edge” can describe Christian Măcelaru’s commands exerted within the mesmerizing Boléro without “overtaxing” the reading.
Visual imagery gracing the CD focuses on works by Russian painter/scenery/costume designer, Léon Bakst who, alongside close partnership of ballet impresario, Sergei Diaghliev and choreographer Michel Fokine brought Ravel’s symphonie chorégraphique, Daphnis et Chloé, to light. It premiered on June 8, 1912 at the Théâtre du Châtelet. People well‑exposed to this ballet will likely be closely connected to Daphnis et Chloé Suite n° 2 (Tableau III); therefore, the full score found on this recording is revelatory. Tableaux n°s I and II are Ravelian-expressive: pointing to a storyline with remarkably luscious mystique...it opens the window into Ravel’s full inventions and luscious impressionism with flickers of neoclassical underpinnings. To this reviewer there’s a strong parallel to Gabriel Pierné’s Cydalise et le chèvre‑pied, similar in foundational mythological scope and élan. M. Măcelaru is poignantly aligned to all the subtle nuances required to freely allow the emotional energies of Ravel’s effervescent score to permeate the listener’s soul. Interestingly, the opening of Tableau III (“Le Lever du jour”) opens with much more caution and restraint. That’s a good thing, for this enables greater inertia and broader immensities to “build” inside the conclusive “Danse générale”. Maurice Ravel truly hit an apex of musical genius with Daphnis et Chloé which has a way of “engulfing” the inner‑sanctums of private emotion. Strongly attentive and permeating.
Ravel’s mind was filled with independent and ravishing invention. This Naïve Classique release is filled with top‑quality sound, attentive conducting, and an insightful orchestra. The selection of pieces in this collection brings a fair and balanced representation to audiences already familiar with the composer’s music, yet also invites the first‑timers into Maurice Ravel, yearning for more.
Well executed.
Christie Grimstad
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