Schmitt, Florent - Légende
A very Debussyan opening lays out an effective canvass for the saxophone melody's first phrase, which becomes slightly more unsettled as it winds and twists its way through the shifting harmonies. The piece continues to meander, the saxophone often emerging seamlessly out of the orchestral textures. There feels constantly as though there is a sense of journeying through changing landscapes both curious and delightful. A vague sense of menace (shall we call it 'mild peril'?) prompts a quickening in tempo and pushes the music towards a more turbulent mood for a time. Still the saxophone is only an additional orchestral colour rather than a soloist at this time.
Clarinet, flute and especially oboe lines often take centre stage in this ever changing collage. Quite what or who this Legend is about is not immediately clear, but it is likely that Schmitt had something in mind. The composer seems to have had an interest in the magical and fantastic. A member of Les Apaches, an elite cultural society that included Ravel and Stravinsky, Schmitt composed in the predominant style of his time. His work has moved in and out of fashion, and his sympathies for Nazi Germany perhaps have distanced him from wider interest and recognition. The piece is an effective collage of post-impressionist nuance. A convincing musical defense of Debussy's language and style.
Clarinet, flute and especially oboe lines often take centre stage in this ever changing collage. Quite what or who this Legend is about is not immediately clear, but it is likely that Schmitt had something in mind. The composer seems to have had an interest in the magical and fantastic. A member of Les Apaches, an elite cultural society that included Ravel and Stravinsky, Schmitt composed in the predominant style of his time. His work has moved in and out of fashion, and his sympathies for Nazi Germany perhaps have distanced him from wider interest and recognition. The piece is an effective collage of post-impressionist nuance. A convincing musical defense of Debussy's language and style.