In the early 20th century,
Florent Schmitt was one of the most admired of French composers, and his atmospheric music was highly influential, even impressing
Igor Stravinsky. But as the decades passed, such lushly orchestrated works as the ballet La Tragédie de Salomé, the tone poem Le Palais hanté, and Psaume XLVII seemed passé to the rising modernist generation, and
Schmitt's reputation as a conservative was increasingly at odds with the avant-garde. This 2011 super audio recording by
Yan Pascal Tortelier is one of several releases of
Schmitt's music that have represented a resurgence of interest since the 1990s, and the lavish performances and high-quality sound make a strong case for these works. La Tragédie de Salomé is the best known, and the
São Paulo Symphony Orchestra delivers it with suave melodic lines and scintillating colors. Inspired by
Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Haunted Palace," Le Palais hanté is similar to the ballet in its evocative impressionism, and its rich harmonies make this an especially luxuriant piece. The Psalm is set in four movements of expansive scope, and the moods range from the martial choral declamation of the opening to the languid dreaminess of soprano
Susan Bullock's solo, which is a strangely secular treatment of a sacred text. Chandos has provided sumptuous reproduction, so this album is a delight for audiophiles and fans of post-Romantic music.