Vincent d’Indy (1851- 1931) has more than once been called the French Frederick Delius. Like Delius, d’Indy composed in a distinct style of Romanticism that avoided nearly all the schools of new music that appeared around the turn of the 20th century. Poeme des rivages, Suite Symphonique en 4 tableaux (1920) is a picturesque cruise around the western Mediterranean, with various stops at the Bay of Biscay, the Adriatic coast, Majorca, and the like, with the orchestra allowed to display a full range of colors and moods ala Arnold Bax and, as mentioned, Frederick Delius. Diptyque mediterraneen (1925) employs many of the same brush strokes. However, passages in “Soleil matinal”, the first movement, will remind the listener more of Ottorino Respighi than anyone else. This is extremely beautiful–and beguiling–music, well recorded, smartly conducted, and very warmly performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Monte Carlo. If you enjoy late Romantic music, you should hear this.
