They State Their Cases With Passion

Chronology can be a burden in an arts culture that places overweening emphasis on originality. Had Saint-Saens written these warmly Brahmsian, beautifully shaped works 20 years sooner, they might be repertory staples. Coming as they did in the early 20th century, amid the Impressionist revolution in French music, they were condescendingly greeted as sentimental dinosaurs, and difficult to boot.

Isserlis makes the difficulties disappear, revealing instead ponderable substance, active form and gorgeous tunes--the slow movement blossoming from the concerto’s dark and sternly ordered opening is sheer sun-ripened joy. Bell is a pristinely lyrical partner in the big, vaguely programmatic duo “The Muse and the Poet,” and Eschenbach supports both pieces--and the slight, elegant Romance, originally composed 40 years before the other works--with supple accompaniment, itself shot through with pertinently developed woodwind solos.

The huge duo sonata reminds us that Saint-Saens was also a leading keyboard virtuoso, and Devoyan articulates its strenuous points with a passionate clarity perfectly meshed with Isserlis’ eloquently focused convictions.

*

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).