Forgotten Sounds
Debussy: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune; Loeffler: Octet; Timbres oubliés
Graeme Steele Johnson (clarinet), Stella Chen (violin), Matthew Lipman (viola) et al
Delos DE3603 45:17 mins
Like his contemporary Dukas, Charles Martin Loeffler was deeply self-critical, publishing only a relatively small portion of his works. Fortunately, he was less prone to throwing scores on the fire and, thanks to the patient detective work of clarinettist Graeme Steele Johnson, Loeffler’s marvellous 1897 Octet can finally take its rightful place in the repertoire. Written for two clarinets, harp, string quartet and double bass, this three-movement work reflects the composer’s cosmopolitan trajectory. Born near Berlin in 1861, he lived in Alsace, Ukraine, Hungary and Switzerland, trained in Berlin, then Paris, before settling in the US in 1881.
The Octet at times…