Vincent d'Indy: Wallenstein etc. (Hyperion Audio CD)

Lawrence Power (viola)

BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Thierry Fischer

Vincent d’Indy is one of many great nineteenth-century composers whose reputation has suffered through the vagaries of fashion. Yet his fine body of works shows an imaginatively eclectic engagement with the musical trends of his age and a significant orchestral ability greater than that of his revered teacher César Franck. This disc from Thierry Fischer and The BBC National Orchestral of Wales presents a fascinating selection of d’Indy’s orchestral works.

Wallenstein, an early and substantial programmatic work, reflects d’Indy’s love of Germany and its culture. Based on a poetic drama by Schiller about doomed love in the Thirty Years’ War, it consists of three interlinked symphonic orvertures, employing cyclic themes and other Wagnerian techniques. The superbly poetic symphonic poem Saugefleurie is also a programmatic work. Although the influence of Wagner is again apparent, the music is characteristically French in its sonorous refinement and clear luminous orchestration. Two charming and brilliantly conceived single-movement works for solo viola and orchestra showcase the talents of Hyperion artist Lawrence Power.