Hi all, I'm finally on break now so I'll have some time to post here! Anyway, I’ve made many great musical discoveries this year, but I think the finest of all them has been the
Symphonie (1952) by Jean-Michel Damase (1928-2013). Its language is resolutely tonal, sharing some stylistic similarities with, say, Honegger, but possessing a compellingly individual voice. It’s a deeply uplifting and memorable work that begins ominously, but eventually the opening mysterious, chromatic theme is transformed into a radiant C major with the horn entrance around 8 minutes in. The final few minutes of the first movement have become one of my very favorite passages in music - a gloriously ecstatic musical "sunset" that lingers in the memory. The slow movement is haunting and soulful, and the finale is rhythmically energetic and ends with a triumphant reminiscence of the first movement. In short, this is a superbly life-affirming and memorable work that will make you want to shout from the rooftops! Despite the work’s greatness, it has only received one recording (on Dutton Epoch with the BBC Concert Orchestra under Martin Yates - fortunately a very fine performance) and is unknown to most listeners. It is pretty unfathomable to me that orchestras will continue to churn out their 1000th performances of Beethoven’s 5th and Tchaikovsky’s 4th yet completely neglect such a great work as this.
https://www.amazon.com/Damase-Piano-Concerto-Concertino-Symphonie/dp/B00M2D7MY0/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1546145042&sr=1-1&keywords=damase+symphonie