COMPOSERS: Dupuy
LABELS: Dacapo
WORKS: Youth and Folly; Flute Concerto No. 1
PERFORMER: Ulrik Cold, Djina Mai-Mai, Peter Granlund; Toke Lund Christiansen (flute), Collegium Musicum Copenhagen/Michael Schonwandt
CATALOGUE NO: 8.224066/67
Expelled successively from Prussia, Sweden and Denmark for his scandalous love affairs and radical politics, the Swiss-born composer, violinist and singer Edouard Dupuy (c1770-1822) led a life almost as colourful as that of Mozart's Don Giovanni, in which role he captivated Copenhagen. Indeed, one can detect Mozart's influence in his 1806 Singspiel Ungdom og Galskab (Youth and Folly), which was something of a landmark in the development of the nascent Danish music drama, for all its archetypal comic plot. The Singspiel form (the work is recorded here without the spoken dialogue) allows for great variety, so that popular drinking songs sit side by side with conventional arias, all of which are characterised by a tunefulness and exuberance that, at best, bring to mind a Nordic Rossini. Theyb/'ec/e vivre is ably communicated in this idiomatic recording, directed with a light touch by Michael Sch0nwandt. The ensemble singing is tight and characterful, with Ulrik Cold memorable as the foolish despot Grandal. The opera is slight, but the good humour of this recording shows why it has remained so popular in its native Denmark. William Humphreys-Jones
Dupuy
Expelled successively from Prussia, Sweden and Denmark for his scandalous love affairs and radical politics, the Swiss-born composer, violinist and singer Edouard Dupuy (c1770-1822) led a life almost as colourful as that of Mozart's Don Giovanni, in which role he captivated Copenhagen. Indeed, one can detect Mozart's influence in his 1806 Singspiel Ungdom og Galskab (Youth and Folly), which was something of a landmark in the development of the nascent Danish music drama, for all its archetypal comic plot.
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:49 pm