Artamis Troubloe

This is somewhat intriguing. First, Paul Paray is of course known as a great conductor. As so many conductors, he was also a composer, and his music follows the pattern of so many composer conductors (with the notable exception of Markevitch): rather conservative in style, but well crafted and excellently scored. Paray's musical language is also unmistakably French - think d'Indy, Franck and, more than anything, Roussel (with a moderate influx of more modern composers in the string symphony) - and some of his music, the two "full" symphonies and his (stirring) Joan of Arc Mass, have already received some exposure on disc. Along, then, comes the record company Grotto, which I had never heard of, employing the Assumption Grotto Orchestra, which I had never heard of either, led by Eduard Perrone (yes, a new name as well), apparently endeavoring to record Paray's complete works. I have to admit that I was somewhat surprised that the performances are as excellent as they are, but they are indeed first-rate, and the recording is very good as well.Neither of the works on this disc is on the level of the symphonies or Joan of Arc Mass, though. The ballet Artémis troublée is a ballet in five movements from 1922. The character of the music is light and colorful, with some snappy numbers and fine melodies (the opening movement is probably the most memorable). Stylistically it resembles Roussel's the Spider's Feast and Bacchus and Ariane, though Paray's style is somewhat mellower. Although not quite on the level of the Roussel ballets in terms of level of inspiration it is an enjoyable work, well worth a listen. The Symphony for Strings is an arrangement for string orchestra of an earlier string quartet. The harmonic language is somewhat tougher and craggier than in the ballet (or for that matter any other Paray work I have heard), suggesting influences from - in addition to Roussel - Honegger. Again, the opening movement is by far the most memorable, and some of the later material might verge on outstaying its welcome. Nevertheless, it is a fine work and certainly worth investigating for fans of twentieth century French music.As mentioned the performances are really good, as is the recorded sound. For those unfamiliar with Paray the composer I would of course recommend the Joan of Arc mass as the first stop, but I am not sure where to turn to - I have not heard the Grotto version, but the performances on the disc at hand sure makes a promising case for investigating it; the performance I know, under James Paul on Reference, is certainly serviceable to good, but not perfect. In any case, although the disc at hand contains no masterpieces it merits a rather firm recommendation.