Why don't we know about French composer Jean- Michel Damase who died in 2013 at the age of 85? Martin Yates' exploration of Damase's music for Dutton Epoch is a triumph, revealing an appealing composer in the vein of Poulenc and Honegger. Ashley Wass plays the alluring, jazz-inflected Second Piano Concerto and the Poulenc-indebted Concertino with sparkle and wit, and Anna Noakes the melodic and graceful Flute Concerto, perhaps bringing Jean Franaix to mind. Completing the disc is the Symphonie of 1952, with its lyrical first movement, modal slow movement and gripping finale featuring a radiant transformation of the theme from the first movement and a noble conclusion.

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Piano Concerto no.2 (1962) AW
i Allegro Allegro vivo
ii Andantino
iii Allegro ma non troppo

Flute Concerto (1992) AN
i Allegretto
ii Andante
iii Allegro

Concertino for piano and string orchestra (1991) AW
Allegro Andante Allegro Andante
Adagio
Allegro

Symphonie (1952)
i Moderato
ii Adagio
iii Allegro

World Premiere Recordings

Martin Yates (conductor)
BBC Concert Orchestra

AW Ashley Wass (piano)
AN Anna Noakes (flute)

Recorded: Abbey Road Studio no.1, London, 1-3 July 2013

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“Fusing the nobility of Fauré with the neo-classical impulse of Les Six, Michel Damase’s magical soundworlds cast a spell in these intensely devoted performances.” JH, Brief Notes, BBC Music Magazine

“… the performance [Symphonie] under Martin Yates is utterly convincing and is beautifully played by the BBC CO with totally committed musicanship ... The partnership of Yates and the orchestra in the three concertos is likewise wholly admirable.” “… first-choice disc for those who wish to explore exceptionally worthwhile French music of the last century unencumbered by dogma.” Robert Matthew-Walker, International Record Review, October 2014