On this CD:
1. Symphony No. 2 ("Prélude à la nouvelle journée")
Composed by Matthijs Vermeulen
Performed by The Hague Residentie Orchestra
Conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky
2. Symphony No. 6 ("Les Minutes heureuses")
Composed by Matthijs Vermeulen
Performed by The Hague Residentie Orchestra
Conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky
3. Symphony No. 7 ("Dithyrambes pour les temps à veni")
Composed by Matthijs Vermeulen
Performed by The Hague Residentie Orchestra
Conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky
Vermeulen: Symphonies Nos. 2, 6, 7, Music, Matthijs Vermeulen, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, The Hague Residentie Orchestra, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Orchestral & Symphonic, Symphonic, Symphony
Average customer rating: 
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Vermeulen: Symphonies Nos. 2, 6, 7
Manufacturer: Chandos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  General
| Symphonies
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
ASIN: B000068PVK Release Date: 2002-07-23 |
Tracks:
Customer Reviews:
About a great man of passion.......2006-03-12
A worthy revival of unjustly forgotten symphonies.......2003-12-13
The Second Symphony, 'Prelude a la nouvelle journée' was written in 1919 and 1920, during a time of revolutionary ferment. It was Vermeulen's attempt at writing music that would bring the energy of struggle and revolt to the concert hall, and is thus brightly coloured and full of dramatic material. Yet it also has long passages of calm; two-part melodic counterpoint being particularly common. Like all of the works on this disc, it plays without a break, though it can be separated into five sections: a fast, agressive opening, a ruminative slow movement that increases in tension until it reaches an impressively dynamic swagger, a brief and rhythmically tense third section followed by a second slow movement and a vigorous, energetic finale. This is a very fine work, and its neglect is most unfortunate--in its 25 minutes there is barely a bar out of place (despite its courageous use of many myriad motifs and lack of repetition).
The Sixth Symphony, 'Les Minutes heureuses', was written in response to the composer finally hearing the Second. Accordingly, it contains many of the same rhythmic impulses as that work, but it is much less thematically diverse--its twenty-five-minute, three-movement structure being largely based on a three-note motto theme. The first movement is moderate in pace, and maintains strong tension throughout; the second alternates between slow and fast--in this hearer's opinion, not entirely successfully--and the finale is a vigorous driving toccata based on a single rhythm, constantly urging itself onwards. This isn't quite as striking a work as the Second--the greater overall continuity is overshadowed by a generally lower level of tension--but nonetheless it is a not insignificant achievement.
The Seventh Symphony, 'Dithyrambes pour les temps à venir' was Vermeulen's last, and indeed he never heard it performed. Structurally, this is closer to the Second than the Sixth; it contains about forty episodes--almost all very melodically focused--played without a break in its seventeen-minute duration. Vermeuelen's striding march rhythms are once again in evidence here, increasingly so as the work accelerates to its vigorous conclusion.
These three symphonies thoroughly merit revival, particularly in good performances like these. Anyone interested in the byways of 20th century music will want to hear these works--Vermeulen had both a distinctive voice--one might perhaps place it somewhere in between, say, Ruggles, Langgaard, Varese, Schreker and Vaughan Williams--and the technical ability to bring it to life. Hopefully Chandos will expand this series to record all seven symphonies--all of which are only otherwise available on a Donemus Composers' Voice set in rather varied performances.
Music Review:
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