01. - 03.La mer. Trois esquisses symphoniques [24'51]
04. - 15. Preludes for piano from Book 1 and Book 2 (orchestrated by Colin Matthews): Book 1 - Nos. 3, 4, 7, 8, 11 and 12. Book 2 - Nos. 1, 2, 3, 6, 10 and 11. [42'33]
Halle Orchestra conducted by Mark Elder
Halle CDHLL 7513 (recorded July & August 2006; this CD issued 2008)
(digital download; flacs, booklet, cover and inlay scans)
Recording venue: BBC Studio 7, New Broadcasting House, Manchester
Recording engineer: Simon Eadon; Producer: Andrew Keener
I was prompted to revisit these recordings by Mark Elder's La mer having been chosen by the usually reliable Rob Cowan as his first choice for their Gramophone Collection feature in the September 2018 issue of the magazine. It rather passed me by when first heard but it does seem to be quite fine. However, for me it still doesn't displace the 1950's recording by Eduard van Beinum and the Concertgebouw Orchestra as my 'go to' recording. That recording with its unforgettable depiction of a wind-swept ocean was dismissed in short order by Cowan (along with all the other Concertgebouw recordings) However, you can find the van Beinum recording here on MIMIC (kindly posted by friend Davide).
Colin Matthews' stylish arrangements of the Debussy Preludes for orchestra (commissioned by the Halle) come across very well in Elder's interpretations; although I find Matthews' chosen.sequence a bit strange. Jun Markl's recording of the Preludes for Naxos has them in Debussy's original published order (but without the Postlude).
Download from MEGA.
The other half of the Preludes, together with Jeux will be here next week.