Charles Koechlin, Heinz Holliger, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart

Koechlin Offrande musicale op. 187, Les Bandar-log op. 176

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Koechlin's mastery in the treatment of the orchestra - the colors, mixtures, sounds and flavors, which he draws from the many instruments, are legendary. This CD presents two of his late works, including his expansive tribute to the Cantor of Leipzig - Offrande musicale sur le nom de Bach op. 187. This piece lay unperformed until 1973. The current recording is of the work's second performance, and incorporates textual corrections made from the original manuscripts. Even for Koechlin, it is an unusually intense work, lasting more than 50 minutes and requiring an orchestra of more than a hundred musicians. The actual scoring is surprisingly very chamber-like and transparent - Koechlin was the master of orchestral nuance.
Also included is the somewhat better-known tone poem, Les Bandar-log op. 176 - the centrepiece of his large orchestral cycle based on Kipling's Jungle Book. Conceived by Koechlin as a "satire" on the decline of musical and artistic standards, Bandar -log is best considered on its own terms, leaving the "program" behind. A gigantic fugue lies at the heart of Les Bandar-Log. "But…" to quote Koechlin, " the forest intervenes and transforms this fugue into real music....When the forest sings, there is genuine homage to polytonal language and even to atonality."