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Track(s) taken from CDA67606

Trois Nocturnes caractéristiques, Op 45

composer
dedicated to Mademoiselle Eudoxie Cordel

Philip Martin (piano)
Recording details: October 2006
All Saints' Church, East Finchley, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Martin Compton
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: January 2008
Total duration: 12 minutes 32 seconds

Cover artwork: The Reluctant Pianist (detail) by William A Breakspeare (1855-1914)
Reproduced by courtesy of Fine Art Photographs, London
 

Reviews

‘Philip Martin proves a strong Herz advocate, displaying a genuine affection for the music and all the requisite flair for the abundant trills, roulades, scales … and repeated left-hand jumps’ (International Record Review)

‘Hyperion continues its invaluable exploration of the piano's highways and byways with this richly enjoyable programme from Philip Martin, focusing on the scintillating output of Viennese child prodigy Henri Herz … the salonesque, radiant charms of the La Cenerentola variations … come tripping off the page in this affectionately sparkling performance from Philip Martin, whose warmly engaging style is a constant source of pleasure throughout’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘Philip Martin sounds like he is enjoying himself, and his technique is fully up to the tasks at hand’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Herz may not be a great composer, yet his stuff certainly is fun to digest in small doses, especially when you consider Philip Martin's appropriately light and colorful touch, supple finger work, and marvelous sense of dramatic timing … collectors who dote on the rare Romantics need no prodding to acquire this excellently engineered release’ (Classics Today)

‘Martin, fresh from his laudable eight-disc survey of Gottschalk's piano music, tackles these well-programmed works with sensuousness and vitality, capturing the ornately flamboyant allure of the music with great affection’ (Musical Criticism.com)
Herz—described on the cover as ‘Pianiste de S. M. le Roi de France’—offers this blindingly obvious note at the head of the score of the Trois Nocturnes caractéristiques Op 45: ‘To play these Nocturnes in the manner intended by the composer, one must endeavor to make the piano sing and to draw from it a sweet and melodious sound’.

La dolcezza is a Bellini-like aria in A flat major (its central section modulating to B major) and at the very least worthy of revival as an encore. La melanconia, in G minor and marked Moderato parlante, has a similar wistful vocal quality which Herz rounds off with a gentle flurry of arpeggios and a final sighing chord in the major. La semplicità, to be played con certa espressione parlante and dolce semplice innocentemente, employs the same device of a simple, single-note melody with flowing accompaniment, rather in the manner of a nocturne by John Field. All three are well within the reach of the amateur and, one assumes, of their dedicatee, the wonderfully named Mademoiselle Eudoxie Cordel.

from notes by Jeremy Nicholas © 2008

Herz—qualifié sur la couverture de «Pianiste de S.M. le Roi de France»—propose cette lapalissade en en-tête de la partition de ses Trois Nocturnes caractéristiques, op. 45: «Pour jouer ces Nocturnes de la manière voulue par le compositeur, il faut s’efforcer de faire chanter le piano et d’en retirer un son doux et mélodieux».

La dolcezza, une aria à la Bellini en la bémol majeur (la section centrale modulant vers si majeur), mérite d’être ressuscitée, au moins comme bis. Marquée Moderato parlante et affichant la même nostalgie vocale, La melanconia en sol mineur se clôt sur une douce rafale d’arpèges et sur un ultime accord soupirant en majeur. La semplicità, à jouer con certa espressione parlante et dolce semplice innocentemente, utilise elle aussi une mélodie simple (une note) avec un accompagnement fluide, un peu à la manière d’un nocturne de John Field. Ces trois morceaux sont tout à fait accessibles aux amateurs et, peut-on supposer, à leur dédicataire, la si joliment nommée Mademoiselle Eudoxie Cordel.

extrait des notes rédigées par Jeremy Nicholas © 2008
Français: Hypérion

Herz—auf dem Umschlag als „Pianiste de S. M. le Roi de France“ tituliert—schickt den Trois Nocturnes caractéristiques op. 45 oberhalb des Notentextes folgende völlig überflüssige Anweisungen voraus: „Um diese Nocturnes nach den Vorstellungen des Komponisten zu spielen, sollte man sich bemühen, das Klavier singen zu lassen und ihm einen süßen und melodischen Klang zu entlocken.“

La dolcezza ist eine Arie nach Art von Bellini in As-Dur (im Mittelteil nach H-Dur modulierend) und wäre es wert, wenigstens als Zugabe aus der Versenkung geholt zu werden. La melanconia in g-Moll und mit der Bezeichnung Moderato parlante hat einen ähnlich wehmütigen Liedcharakter, den Herz mit einem zarten Schauer von Arpeggien und einem seufzenden Schlussakkord in Dur abrundet. La semplicità, zu spielen con certa espressione parlante und dolce semplice innocentemente, bedient sich des gleichen Schemas einer schlichten, einstimmigen Melodie mit fließenden Begleitfiguren, eher wie ein Nocturne von John Field. Alle drei Stücke sind auch von einem Laien zu bewältigen und, wie man annehmen kann, auch von der Widmungsträgerin mit dem wundervollen Namen Mademoiselle Eudoxie Cordel.

aus dem Begleittext von Jeremy Nicholas © 2008
Deutsch: Ludwig Madlener

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