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French composers and wind instruments, for some reason, get on like a house on fire. Where the instrumental sonata is concerned this dates back to the early decades of the 20th century, where Poulenc and Saint-Saëns saw fit to write a sonata for each of the principal instruments within the family. Both composers produced particularly fine works for clarinet.
The tradition goes back farther than you or I might think though, as revealed by Sabine Meyer and Oleg Maisenberg on this superb disc. Francois Devienne it is who provides the other sonata - and he was a contemporary of Berlioz. While it is perhaps the least consistently inspired material on the disc, Meyer and her accompanist bring freshness to the writing, and especially depth of feeling to the keenly felt minor key adagio. Each movement shows itself more than capable of appealing melodic material, exploited by the pair to its fullest capacity.
Yet it's in the clarinet sonatas by the two aforementioned composers where this recording really takes off. The Saint-Saëns is notable for the graceful, lyrical theme of its opening Allegretto, and Meyer phrases this beautifully, with immaculate breath control. The dark clouds that come to the surface briefly in the Lento are impressively grand in the hands of Maisenberg, and for those who think of Saint-Saëns as an essentially fluffy composer this will come as a reality check. Even more poignant is the seamless transition to the return of the principal theme toward the close.
The spiky Poulenc offers an ideal contrast, yet even here there are moments of reflection in the Romanza, a homage to fellow composer Arthur Honegger. Meyer's pianissimo playing is exquisite here, yet when the finale bursts out of the blocks Maisenberg's crisp accompaniment secured sharply pointed detail. The recording helps, too, the engineers placing us close to the pair and allowing for a wide dynamic variation.
A companion to the Poulenc is found in an arrangement for clarinet and piano of Milhaud's exuberant Scaramouche. This swings with a rhythmic lilt clearly to the enjoyment of both, and Meyer's florid theme in the first of the three movements is irresistible, her extravert delivery of the Brazileira picking up on Milhaud's syncopations.
A wonderful disc, then - without doubt one of the finest chamber music releases of this year, with artistry and musicality in abundance.
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