Chausson’s occasionally recorded symphony had two powerful advocates in the 1950s and 60s, namely Charles Munch and Paul Paray, and their discs are considered classics. Though often discussed in terms of its similarity to Franck’s D minor (Franck had been Chausson’s mentor) I’ve always felt Chausson’s symphony had more in common with Paul Dukas’s more tonally expansive Symphony in C. Charles Dutoit and his Montreal orchestra revel in the full, luminous colors of the score (making the ear look forward to the early symphonies of Roussel), and paint a beautiful sound picture in moments like the first movement’s recapitulation. But as soon as one turns to the fairly recent Dallas Symphony recording on Dorian with the late Eduardo Mata it’s clear that the vital element of momentum is lacking. Mata moves things along much more fluidly and excitedly, with sharper rhythmic projection. The finale is particularly telling in this regard: Mata skillfully shapes the music and guides its progress purposfully forward, while it sounds more or less formless in Dutoit’s hands.
The Poéme for violin and orchestra benefits from Dutoit’s translucent textures, and Chantal Juillet offers some dreamily languid playing in quiet passages, but her tone is on the thin side and no match for the likes of Oistrakh (with Munch on RCA). Chausson’s Poéme de l’amour et de la mer began as a solo song and developed into a hybrid symphonic work of interlocking vocal and orchestra movements (an intermezzo forms the centerpiece). François Le Roux touchingly conveys the longing and heartbreak of the youth who has lost his love to the sea, and the orchestra provides a vivid impressionist backdrop. Unfortunately, he doesn’t quite escape a suggestion of interpretive blandness when compared to some of the great recordings of the past by female singers, Jessye Norman in particular. An interesting disc, then, featuring generally good performances which all have one thing in common: a slight tendency to dullness, absent from the best of the competition.
