Recording of the Week, François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles perform Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition

After award-winning recordings from previous years of pieces such as Mother Goose and Daphnis et Chloé, the period-instrument orchestra Les Siècles and their conductor François-Xavier Roth make a welcome return to the music of Ravel with their latest recording. I say Ravel, although the main work here is actually Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, orchestrated by Ravel from the Russian composer's original piano suite.

One of the ensemble's raisons d'être is to perform as far as possible on instruments appropriate to the time period of the composer in question, and it's striking how that can affect the overall sound. An excellent demonstration of this is the tuba solo to be found in Bydlo, the picture portraying "A Polish cart on enormous wheels, drawn by oxen". The solo is notorious for reaching the extreme high register of the instrument, much higher than the rest of the part. This is because the tuba that Ravel was writing for was a small instrument pitched in C (an octave higher than the contrabass tuba), with six valves instead of the usual four to enable it to reach the low register of the larger tubas.

This particular instrument is now quite rare, and so because of the solo's somewhat altitudinous nature, these days it is most often played either on the euphonium or baritone horn. Here, however, the tubist of Les Siècles, Sylvain Mino, uses the intended small C tuba, and to my ear at least it makes such a difference to the mood of the piece. Hearing it with the somewhat earthier tone of this smaller instrument brings to life so vividly the exhausted cries of the lumbering beasts of burden as they wearily but determinedly haul their cumbersome load.

Forgive me if I have perhaps gone into far too much detail about a tuba solo, but for me it is indicative of the subtle yet significant change that comes from using, for want of a better word, "authentic" instruments. Whether it be the melancholic sentiment of the horn solo in the second Promenade, or the subdued, dolorous saxophone and husky, veiled strings in The Old Castle, the choice of instruments produces a wealth of almost infinitesimally distinctive timbres that cumulatively bring a real freshness and revitalisation.

Ravel's treatment of Mussorgsky's composition is rightly held up as a textbook example of orchestration, and Roth makes sure that we hear every last nuance of such masterly efforts, from the relentless thud of the bass drum (again in Bydlo), to the terrifying string portamentos in Gnomus and the devastatingly sepulchral brass chords in Catacombae. Elsewhere he and the ensemble bring out the whole range of colours on offer, with plenty of ferocity in Baba Yaga, and a fast-paced Limoges wonderfully evocative of a busy French market. The final Great Gate of Kiev is suitably majestic, satisfyingly weighty but without being too plodding or drawn out.

No less impressive an aural feast is his ironic homage to/deconstruction of the Viennese waltz that is La Valse. It's a dazzling work littered with all sorts of tiny touches that whizz by, and every single one of them is captured beautifully here; from the double bass glissandos and flutter-tongued flute near the start to the silky strings and increasingly chaotic, disruptive contributions from the brass towards the end, it's magnificently balanced, with virtuosity on display from every section of the orchestra. It proves to be the perfect conclusion to another remarkable disc from Roth and Les Siècles.