Printemps, Nocturnes, Rapsodie, etc : Lan Shui / Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Delangle(Sax)Mashurova(Hp)(Hybrid)

The works on this recording were written at various periods in Claude Debussys life, and reflect different aspects of him: from a young man stylistically unsure of himself to the confident matre, from a jobbing composer struggling to fulfill sometimes incongruous commissions to a man worn down by illness and outer events. The disc opens with Printemps a work originally for choir, piano and orchestra written in 1887 during Debussys stay in Italy as a winner of the Prix de Rome, but only published 25 years later in an orchestration made by Henri Bsser under the composers supervision. Three of the works that follow were commissions the Rapsodie from a lady saxophonist, the Marche cossaise from an American general of Scottish descent and the Deux Dances from the instrument-maker Pleyel wanting to market a new model for a chromatic harp. Chronologically the last work on the programme, Berceuse hroique is Debussy's contribution to a tribute to the king of Belgium at the beginning of the Great War. Having rejected the idea of writing a heroic march in the safety of his own home he instead opted for a lullaby for piano, which he orchestrated the following year. The closing work on the disc, however, is Nocturnes, for which Debussy borrowed the title from a series of atmospheric paintings by James Whistler. Made up of three equally atmospheric movements, it is today one of Debussys best-loved compositions for orchestra. Nocturnes also forms the end of a trilogy of Debussy albums from the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Lan Shui. Critical acclaim for the team range from superb (BBC Music Magazine, about La mer) and unquestionably world-class (Klassik-Heute.de, about the orchestra) to a magnificent disc the French magazine Classicas verdict on the three ballet scores Jeux, Khamma and La Bote joujoux.