In his review of 'Forgotten Sounds', Christopher Dingle is charmed by the beautiful performance of Loeffler’s ‘lost’ Octet and thinks it’s a compelling rediscovery
Forgotten Sounds
Debussy: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune; Loeffler: Octet; Timbres oubliés
Graeme Steele Johnson (clarinet), Stelle Chen (violin), Matthew Lipman (viola) et al
Delos DE3603 45:17 mins
Clip: Loeffler (rev. Johnson) - Octet: I. Allegro moderato
Like his contemporary Dukas, Charles Martin Loeffler was deeply self-critical, publishing only a relatively small portion of his works.
Fortunately, he was less prone to throwing scores on the fire and, thanks to the patient detective work of clarinettist Graeme Steele Johnson, Loeffler’s marvellous 1897 Octet can finally take its rightful place in the repertoire.
Written for two clarinets, harp, string quartet and double bass, this three-movement work reflects the composer’s cosmopolitan trajectory.
Born near Berlin in 1861, he lived in Alsace, Ukraine, Hungary and Switzerland, trained in Berlin, then Paris, before settling in the US in 1881.
The Octet at times gives the impression of Loeffler as being an unexpected, utterly charming, combination of late Brahms and early Ravel.
As ever with unfamiliar music, the instinct is to note the resonances, the opening movement starting in central Europe before taking on decidedly French hues, though with elements of the progressive Russians who inspired them.
However, this is no post-modern mish-mash of national styles; the lyrical flow and textural interplay is entirely natural and compelling.
Captured in sumptuous sound, it is also sublimely played, the gorgeous entwining of pairs of clarinets and violins at the heart of the Adagio molto meltingly beautiful while the rustic fun of the final movement’s Allegro alla Zingara is delightful.
Loeffler’s Timbres oubliés, which gives the album its title, makes an endearing coda, while Steele Johnson’s striking arrangement of Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune makes a seductive curtain raiser. Christopher Dingle