Lambert Conducts Auber, Waldteufel and Chabrier

My recent post of Daniel Auber's Fra Diavolo Overture on my other blog reminded me that I have this set of French music - including another Auber treat - ready to go, as conducted by one of my long-time favorites, the English composer-conductor Constant Lambert (1905-51).

Auber's Les diamants de la couronne ("The Crown Diamonds") Overture leads off this collection, here in a 1938 performance with Lambert conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Auber (1782-1871) is seldom heard today, but his music is delightful, similar in spirit to the better-known Gioachino Rossini.

Daniel Auber and Émile Waldteufel as seen by their contemporaries

Lambert championed the music of Émile Waldteufel (1837-1915). In previous posts, we heard the composer's waltzes Les Patineurs and Pomona. Today we complete Lambert's set of Waldteufel's works with Estudiantina and Sur la plage. He handles the music wonderfully well in 1950 recordings with the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Finally, we have Lambert's last recording. As it happens, it is his own orchestration of a posthumous work by Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-94), a graceful Ballabile, written for piano.

The sound of these vintage recording is splendid.

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A Fantin-Latour painting of Emmanuel Chabrier at the piano. Vincent d'Indy is at right.

Pierné Conducts Chabrier and Franck

Gabriel Pierné

Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937), whose compositions are being celebrated on my other blog, also was a distinguished conductor and organist. This post looks at a few of the records he made leading the Orchestre Colonne, which he conducted from 1910-32.

The recordings, dating from December 1929, pay homage to two French composers of an older generation - Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-94) and César Franck (1822-90).

For Chabrier, Pierné chose the work that is still the composer's most popular - the orchestral rhapsody España. The lively and memorable piece set off a fashion for Spanish-themed works among French composers, including Debussy (Ibéria) and Ravel (Rapsodie espagnole). (It also "inspired" Perry Como's 1956 hit, "Hot Diggity.")

Franck is represented by a contrasting work, his solemn Prelude, choral et fugue, a brief piano work here in an orchestral transcription by the conductor. Pierné was one of Franck's organ students, and later succeeded him as organist at the Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde in Paris.

César Franck and Emmanuel Chabrier

The recordings, remastered from transfers on Internet Archive, were originally issued on Odéon. The transfers come from somewhat later US Decca pressings. The sound is vivid despite a relatively constricted frequency response, which tails off below 200Hz and above 4.5kHz. It does provide a good representation of the sound of the Orchestre Colonne under its distinguished conductor.

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For more on Pierné as conductor, please see this post on Internet Archive by my friend Satyr. It includes Berlioz's Carnaval Romain Overture, Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite no. 1 and the Berceuse from Stravinsky's L'Oiseau de Feu (The Firebird). Pierné led the 1910 premiere of the work for the Ballets Russes.