Annotator
Jens F. Laurson writes accurately of
Koechlin: "His fame is limited, his compositions mostly forgotten but largely delicious." The neglect came largely because he was found insufficiently avant-garde by the modernist powers that were, but he was not really a late Romantic, either. The
Symphony No. 1, Op. 57bis, and the short tone poem
Au loin, Op. 20, No. 2, are here receiving their world premieres, and the work of the
Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen and conductor
Ariane Matiakh is contributing to a nice
Koechlin revival. Hear these two works and understand why it wouldn't be a surprise to see them enter the repertory. The harmonies are conventional enough, but what
Koechlin makes of them is not.
Au loin, derived from a piece for English horn and piano, is almost motionless harmonically for much of its length. It is no wonder that
Koechlin was fascinated by American film music, for this work could be applied in that way. The
Symphony No. 1 is more abstract but also has this static quality; some of it in pastoral in mood. This work was also derived from a chamber music original, and this shows how
Koechlin thought of his works, with the harmonic structure being important in itself regardless of its surface manifestations. The
three Mélodies that conclude the program also come from piano originals, and perhaps these don't fully stand up to full orchestral treatment, but really, nothing on the album is less than arresting.
Matiakh gets the unique flavor of
Koechlin's music, and the little-known
Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen seems fully absorbed in it. One eagerly awaits further releases in this series, which will include other full-scale symphonies by
Koechlin. ~ James Manheim
