Recent Releases, No. 40 (CD reviews)

By Karl W. Nehring

Debussy: Early and Late Piano Pieces
Debussy: Danse Bohémienne, L4; Mazurka, L75; Deux Arabesques, L74 I. Andantino, II. Allegretto Scherzando; Rêverie, L76; Valse Romantique, L79; Ballade Slave 'Ballade', L78; Suite Bergamasque, L82 I. Prélude, II. Menuet, Iii. Clair de Lune, IV. Passepied; Tarantelle Styrienne 'Danse', L77; Nocturne, L89; Images 'Images Oubliées', L94 I. Lent: Mélancolique Et Doux, II. Sarabande, III. Quelques Aspects de 'Nous N'irons Plus Au Bois' Parce Qu'il Fait Un Temps Insupportable; Pièce Pour Piano 'Morceau de Concours', L117; Hommage À Haydn, L123; Debussy: The Little Nigar 'Cake-Walk', L122; Pièce Pour L'uvre Du Vêtement Du Blessé 'Page D'album', L141; Élégie, L146; Les Soirs Illuminés Par L'ardeur Du Charbon, L150. Steven Osborne, piano. Hyperion CDA68390.

The previous recording by Scottish pianist Steven Osborne (b. 1971) reviewed in Classical Candor featured his interpretations of piano music by the Russian-American composer Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943), a review that can be found here:

https://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2022/08/piano-potpourri-no-9-cd-mini-reviews.html

In this more recent Hyperion release, however, we find him tackling music of much different character and color, that of the French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918). Whereas Rachmaninoff, even though he was the younger of the two, is generally regarded as more of a throwback – a Romantic composer, heart-on-sleeve, a grand melodist in the style of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other Russian masters, whose keyboard music tended toward the splashy, flashy, lots-of-notes style (I exaggerate, of course, for purposes of contrast – he was also capable of great tenderness and delicacy, as an audition of Osborne’s recording will readily confirm), Debussy is generally regarded as a musical revolutionary who helped introduce new ways of thinking about harmony that have influenced musicians such as Bartok, Messiaen, Bill Evans, Miles Davis, and countless more from the realms of classical, jazz, film, and even pop and rock music. He is often called an “Impressionist,” although he hated the label. (Interestingly enough, as you listen to his music for either keyboard or orchestra – or even his chamber music – the last thing you might think of would be the music of Bach, Bach was the composer whom Debussy held in then highest regard, calling him “the God of music.”)

For this recording, Osborne has chosen to take a different approach from what we often find in recordings of Debussy’s works for piano. Rather than highlighting a major set of his works, such as the Etudes or Preludes, Osborne has instead – as the album title indicates – pulled together a program comprising compositions from throughout the French master’s career. The first selection, Danse Bohémienne (1880) is the first known piece for piano that Debussy ever wrote; the final selection, Les Soirs Illuminés Par L'ardeur Du Charbon (“On evenings lit with the glow of coals”) (1917) was composed near the end of his life as Debussy found himself depressed by both the war and his health – he was dying of cancer. Highlights of Osborne’s performance include his delicate shadings in Rêverie, which truly do suggest a sense of dreamlike wakefulness (or is it wakeful dreaminess?), his deft and colorful Suite Bergamasque, and his masterly playing of the selection from the Images. As usual with Hyperion, the recorded sound of the piano is excellent: rich and full-bodied, not too close but not too distant. What’s more, the informative liner notes and attractive cover art are nice bonus features of this highly recommendable release.  

Hellbound Train: An Anthology
Steve Tibbetts, guitars/percussion/dobro/piano; Marc Anderson, congas/percussion/gongs/steel drum/handpan; with Jim Anton/Eric Anderson/Bob Hughes, bass; Michelle Kinney, cello/drones; Marcus Wise, table; Tim Weinhold, vase/bongos; Mike Olson, synthesizer; Claudia Schmidt/Rhea Valentine, voice. ECM 2656/57 455 7480.

American guitarist Steve Tibbetts (b. 1954) has been making imaginative music with his guitar for more than four decades, many of them accompanied by percussionist Marc Anderson (b. 1955), who has recorded some excellent albums of his own (especially Time Fish and Ruby – the latter can be found digitally on Amazon, the former is harder to locate, alas). After releasing two self-produced albums on his own Frammis label, Tibbetts came to the attention of Manfred Eicher, the now-legendary head of ECM records. The next thing they knew, Steve and Marc found themselves in a recording studio in Oslo, wondering what in the heck they were actually going to record. What emerged from those sessions was Northern Song, an acoustic album of quiet beauty that was a marked contrast to the more brash, assertive approach of the earlier albums. It remains to this day one of the most treasured recordings in my collection, a spiritual touchstone in the manner of music such as Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pärt or the Adagio from Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8.

Tibbetts went on to record seven more albums for ECM, including this two-disc compilation that includes tracks from his previous seven ECM releases: Northern Song (1982), Safe Journey (1984), Exploded View (1986), Big Map Idea (1989), The Fall of Us All (1994), A Man About a Horse (2002), Natural Causes (2010), and Life Of (2018). All seven of these albums are excellent, each with a different personality. I enjoy them all but if I were forced to pick my favorites (besides Northern Song, which I have already mentioned), they would be Exploded View, for its imaginative drumming and percussion by Marc Anderson; The Fall of Us All, for its sheer intensity and drive; and Life Of, an introspective acoustic oasis, something of a Northern Song for the new century.

Hellbound Train features 28 tracks spread over two CDs. CD I, which leans toward the more electric, high-energy side of things, contains 11 tracks: four from The Fall of Us All, five from A Man About a Horse, and one each from Exploded View and Safe Journey. CD II leans more to the acoustic side, containing 17 tracks: three from Natural Causes, three from Safe Journey, five from Big Map Idea, four from Life Of, and two from Northern Song. As an overview of Tibbetts’s body of work for ECM, it certainly serves its purpose. My hope, ECM’s hope, and probably Steve’s hope – although he has always struck as someone more concerned about his recordings’ sounds and souls than their sales – is that if you hear things that strike your fancy on Hellbound Train, then you will be want to pick up some of his other ECM recordings. They’re all excellent, each in a different way, all in superb ECM sound.

KWN