Belgian teacher and composer Marcel Poot (1901-1988) grew up in an artistic environment, with his father being the director of the Royal Flemish Theatre. He went on to study at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels (of which he became director from 1949 to 1966) as well as the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp. He was also a jury member for various composition competitions including the Queen Elisabeth Competition from 1963 to 1981, a member of the Royal Flemish Academy for Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts, and a member of the Union of Belgian Composers. Along with his Seven Symphonies he also composed many concertos for various instruments, chamber music, piano works, vocal music as well as incidental works and music for radio plays. So why is his name so unfamiliar and recordings of his output so scarce?

Could it simply be that despite being a 20th century composer he avoided following any new "schools" and despised "systems" (12-tone for example) and was even quoted as saying: "anything termed a system leads to fruitlessness." Or that his first forays in composition were influenced by jazz and film music (there are jazzy "burlesque" elements within the final movement of the First Symphony for example), and therefore impressed on critics of the time that he was not to be taken seriously. Whatever the reasons they were certainly unfounded and premature at the time, based on the quality of symphonic writing pooled together here from various recordings spanning over 35 years, from the 1960s mono recording of Symphony No. 2 to the most recent in 1996, some of which were previously available on the Marco Polo label.

The French jazz touch of Ravel can be felt here and there, as well as the sardonic wit from Francis Poulenc's songs for example, but the further you move up the opus numbers, the more you realize how serious, crafty and complex Marcel Poot's music really is. The faster outer movements generally have a propulsive momentum to them characterized by constant movement of parts and interplay within the orchestration. And the inner slow movements range from sombre and atmospheric to eerily disquieting. Bits of Stravinsky and traces of Richard Strauss lurk in the background of some passages, but the distinctiveness of this composer's style is what makes listening to these rarely heard symphonies a worthwhile and rewarding experience. If you've never heard the music of Marcel Poot, or had no prior knowledge of this versatile composer, this 2-Disc release which covers all of his symphonies may very well be a pleasant surprise to anyone deeply invested in 20th century orchestral music.