Jos Van Immerseel

It may not be apparent from the CD packaging or graphics visible to the online customer, but this is a historically oriented performance of these Poulenc favorites, helmed by Belgian keyboardist and conductor Jos van Immerseel. If you're wondering what that might involve for a composer of the early 20th century, the pianos are the main thing: the Concerto for two pianos and orchestra in D minor is played on a pair of Erard pianos from 1896 and 1905. These have a lighter tone than a Steinway grand, and they seem to fit together in the concerto's passagework in a more agile way, at least as executed by Claire Chevallier and van Immerseel himself. The chamber orchestra Anima Eterna Brugge also here includes instruments, mostly winds, that are subtly different from their modern versions. The result is a set of transparent but rhythmically rather plain performances that certainly stand out from the common run of Poulenc recordings. Perhaps the modern instruments are missed most in the two-piano concerto, where the music seems to lack rhythmic energy. The highlight may be the comparatively uncommon Suite française of 1935, an extreme manifestation of the neo-Renaissance trend in inter-war French music. The piece has a certain Renaissance faire quality, but it's executed with flair here, and the slightly antique instruments emphasize its exotic quality. Also appealing is the Concert champêtre for harpsichord and orchestra. Curiously, van Immerseel chooses to give soloist Katerina Chroboková a copy of an 18th-century French harpsichord rather than the modern Pleyel harpsichord for which the work was expressly composed and which was played by its champion, Wanda Landowska. His reasoning on this, spelled out in the booklet, is not entirely convincing, but the musical results work well simply because one of the key sources of the work's charm, the unlikely balances between the harpsichord and the large, brass-heavy orchestra, comes through effectively here. With excellent acoustics, this is a recording that is well worth hearing for Poulenc fans and will stir conversation among them. © TiVo

One of the greatest orchestrators of the 20th century was Maurice Ravel, and his subtle handling of evocative tone colors and atmospheric orchestral textures widely influenced composers of concert and film music. But most modern performances of Ravel's music don't give an accurate impression of the sounds he heard, and it is somewhat surprising to find that French instruments of the early 20th century, handmade by independent craftsmen and small-scale manufacturers, had more distinctive timbres than the mass-produced instruments used in performances today. Most noticeable are the piquant and pungent colors of the woodwinds, and Ravel's delicate scoring for them in Ma mère l'oye presents their sonorities to best advantage. His orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition also reveals these unique qualities in his transparent scoring, as well as the temperamental sounds of brass instruments, which had more varied characteristics than their modern equivalents. This fascinating album by Anima Eterna Brugge, conducted by Jos van Immerseel, demonstrates the great value of playing Ravel on authentic period instruments, and shows that he worked with a sonic palette that is far more nuanced and colorful than is usually heard. Listeners who enjoy investigations into historical practices should defintely hear this disc, and they will appreciate the extraordinary depth and detail in the reproduction. Highly recommended. © TiVo

A leading authority on the fortepiano, Jos Van Immerseel has devised a programme focusing on the music Beethoven composed for a Viennese piano with a range of five octaves. This includes the finest keyboard music from Beethoven’s early Viennese period, more specifically works written between 1795 and 1804. For this recording, the Flemish pianist has used the composer’s extant autograph manuscripts or the first editions published shortly after composition, as well as the latest critical edition by Jonathan Del Mar (Kassel: Bärenreiter-Verlag, 2017-18). The writings of Carl Czerny, one of Beethoven’s most important ‘pupils’, were also a significant source of information. With his customary attention to the instrumentarium, Jos Van Immerseel has opted for a five-octave Viennese grand fortepiano by Christopher Clarke, a masterly replica, built in 1988, of an instrument by Walter, whom Beethoven himself selected in 1802 from among the sixty or so Viennese piano makers of the time. © Alpha Classics

Most modern performances of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana employ a full-scale symphony orchestra, replete with a large string section that tends to homogenize the overall sound and obscure details of the orchestration. This rendition by Jos van Immerseel and Anima Eterna Brugge offers surprisingly transparent sonorities, produced by emphasizing the winds, pianos, and percussion, reducing the number of strings, and exposing the inventive instrumental combinations that Orff intended to be heard. To further the effort at authenticity, Immerseel also uses vintage German instruments of the 1930s, which would have been desired by Orff, though they became difficult to find after WWII and have been supplanted in most recordings by less distinctive modern instruments. Do these historically informed decisions make a difference in the way Carmina Burana sounds and affects listeners? It is certainly cleaner in sound and crisper in accentuation, and the leaner textures make the diction of Collegium Vocale Gent and Scholum Cantorum Cantate Domino perfectly audible. Expressively, this is an exciting interpretation, full of energy and rhythmic propulsion, and whatever view one takes of Carmina Burana's inherent musical value, this recording is an excellent presentation that makes the case for following authentic period practices, even in a 20th century work. © TiVo

Jos Van Immerseel is celebrating his 70th birthday with three important releases that will punctuate the end of the year at Alpha: a symphonic programme (Janacek, Dvorak), a chamber music programme (Schubert) and a set grouping the rereleases of his recordings of French music. These anthologies will once again demonstrate everything the pianofortist brings to the interpretation of the symphonic and chamber repertoires. With his musicians and companions from Anima Eterna, he has created a veritable musical troupe, in turn students, orchestral players, soloists... Together, they carefully select the most appropriate instrument to interpret a given piece, prepared to wait several months if necessary for the instrument to be ready before programming it. And together, they seek the sound and style corresponding to their ideal. The autumn of 2015 will therefore be placed under the magic of Jos’s fortepiano, the original colours of the brass section in Janacek’s Sinfonietta, the magnificent voices of Thomas Bauer and his schoolmates...