L’Invitation au voyage Lalo: Violin Concertos Nos 1 & 4 ‘Concerto Russe’; plus works by Duparc, Saint-Saëns and Musorgsky Dmitry Smirnov (violin); Kammer-orchester Basel/Heinz Holliger Prospero PROSP0071 78:23 mins
There are two journeys outlined in this album. The first is a straightforward expedition from the France of Lalo’s classically-inclined Violin Concerto No. 1, through Saint-Saëns’s habanera-infused Spain, to Russia. The second undertakes an intriguing journey into the hinterland of Lalo’s fourth concerto with its indebtedness to Russian folk songs found in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Op. 24 collection. Smirnov splices the concerto with his own arrangements of two of them – ‘The Bells Ring Out in Novgorod’ fielding an esoteric ensemble consisting of violin, basset horn, celeste, harp and cellos. Bookending the programme are Duparc’s Baudelaire setting in the composer’s own orchestration (the violin assuming the vocal part); and Smirnov’s darkly-hued reimagining of Musorgsky’s Svetik Savishna. Cheering on the project, meanwhile, is conductor Heinz Holliger who matches the violinist’s unfailing thoughtfulness note for note.
The Duparc proves a languid upbeat, luxuriating in Smirnov’s richly-seductive depth of tone (bolstered by his use of gut strings). Probingly nuanced and alert to every mercurial mood swing, the F major Concerto is often informed by the intimacy of chamber music, partly because Smirnov’s undoubted virtuosity is never attention-seeking – indeed in the Saint-Saëns there are moments that could be less understated. Violinist and conductor conjure an intensely soulful ‘chants russes’ slow movement for the Op. 29 Concerto, while Holliger imbues the lengthy introduction to the finale with potent drama. But at only half a minute, the second folksong arrangement and brief Musorgsky are blink-and-you-miss-them postludes that nevertheless gild Lalo’s Russian musings with sophisticated charm.
Paul Riley