Richard Dubugnon - Arcanes Symphoniques

The Guardian 80

Gubisch/Dolié/ONF/Petitgirard/Waldman/Gabel
(Naxos)

In some ways the orchestral music of Swiss composer Richard Dubugnon, who is 50 next year, wouldn’t seem out of place in the Vienna of a century ago: joy in the orchestra’s swooning sonic possibilities is everywhere evident in the three works recorded here. First there’s the glitter and grand gestures of five of the Arcanes Symphoniques, the deck of tarot-inspired pieces that occupied Dubugnon on and off throughout his 30s. But the real novelties are the premiere recordings, taken live in concert, of two heady settings of even headier texts by novelist Stéphane Héaume. Triptyque (1999) pits a baritone, the resonant Thomas Dolié, against lean but vivid textures, astringent harpsichord and eerie celesta cutting through wind and brass. Le Songe Salinas (2003), a nocturnal “opera for one singer” using full orchestra alongside North African instruments, is persuasively delivered by mezzo Nora Gubisch and the Orchestre National de France, conducted by Fabien Gabel.