Seattle Symphony Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot continued his celebration of the music of his native France with two pieces commemorating the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth, combined with a work of Fauré and the world premiere of a new, much anticipated opus by Benjamin Attahir.
Fauré’s suite assembled from his incidental music to Pelléas et Mélisande was a gentle beginning. Commissioned in 1898 by actress Mrs Patrick Campbell to compose incidental music for the English-language London premiere of Maurice Maeterlinck’s 1893 Symbolist play, the composer enlarged his previous orchestration by adding extra woodwinds and horns. Morlot created a lush atmosphere in each movement. In the Prélude, he emphasized the despondent mood of Mélisande as Golaud discovers her in the forest, with horn and clarinet solos hauntingly played, then portrayed her waiflike delicacy at her spinning wheel in the Fileuse.
The romantic Sicilienne remains the most recognizable excerpt from the score, charmingly rendered by solo flute and harp. The Death of Mélisande, performed at the composer’s funeral in 1924, ends the piece on a somber note, but Morlot guided his players with sensitivity and candor.
Morlot himself commissioned 35-year-old French composer Benjamin Attahir’s Hanoï Songs, a concerto for piano and harp inspired by Eastern, Middle Eastern and Western cultures, based on the composer’s own evocative poetic verses evoking Vietnam. The work’s eight colorfully orchestrated movements evolve from simple to denser melodies that leave the listener awash in waves of sound, often evoking the orchestrations of Ravel.
Written for pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the Seattle Symphony's Principal Harp, Valerie Muzzolini, the work’s technical demands are immense, especially for Thibaudet, who executed them with panache. He imparted a natural French quality in his suave sensuousness, combined with a virtuosity that left the audience breathless. Muzzolini, self-described as “the only French person in the orchestra”, matched the pianist’s Gallic magnetism in every way. The soloists meshed seamlessly, with touching sensitivity, and the atmosphere pulsated with creativity. Morlot seemed to luxuriate in the sumptuous colorations of the score, allowing the two soloists freedom to express the unique ambiance created by Attahir, whose extraordinary brilliance was evident throughout the piece.
In the second half, Muzzolini sparkled in Ravel’s beguiling Introduction et Allegro for flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet. The harpist, clearly born to the music, captured its subtleties and essence with virtuosity and meticulousness. One could not imagine it played better.
Ending the concert on a phantasmagorical note was Ravel’s complete Ma mère l'Oye (Mother Goose). Composed for piano duet between 1908 and 1910, and orchestrated by the composer in 1911, this fresh, engaging evocation of beloved fairy tales remains a treasured part of Ravel’s oeuvre. Morlot captured the magical atmosphere and childlike innocence reflecting Ravel’s love for children, producing shimmering, Impressionistic tones from the orchestra. Charles Perrault himself would have been entranced by the beautifully rendered sounds and special effects emanating from the orchestra’s images of a dreamy Sleeping Beauty, wistful Tom Thumb, fanciful Danse du Rouet, lively and ebullient Impératrice des Pagodes, and sweet Enchanted Garden, showing hints of Ravel’s charming later opera, L’Enfant et les sortilèges. The string solos were brilliantly and subtly played.
Morlot’s impeccable French flair and clear love for the music shone throughout, light and airy, lush and passionate, providing a rapturous finale to an evening that exuded French charm.
