Hänssler HA 3718
Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande; Debussy: Khamma; Chabrier: Bourrée fantasque; Schubert: Wanderer Fantasy – Radio-Sinfonieorchester, Stuttgart, Heinz Holliger
When listening to the orchestral music of Charles Koechlin, one is immediately captivated by the intoxicating range of colours he was able to craft onto every score. Given his extraordinary sensitivity to instrumental textures, it is hardly surprising that he would, upon occasion, rework – or be asked to score – the music of others, giving those pieces new life with a splash of unexpected colour. Debussy’s late ballet Khamma was such a piece, orchestrated by Koechlin from the composer’s short score, as was Fauré’s Pelléas et Mélisande. In Franz Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy, the most symphonic of piano pieces, Koechlin produces an orchestral version, whereas Chabrier’s Bourrée fantasque is a delightful fantasy.