DE LHOYER: Duo Concertant No3 Op31: RAMEAU: Nouvelles Suites de Pieces de Clavecin- Suite en La RCT5 No 4 Les Trois Mains and No7 Gavotte et Six Doubles (1728): FAURE: Suite Dolly Op56: DEBUSSY: Suite Bergamasque L75 No3 – Clair De Lune: PETIT: Toccata.
Duo Palissandre
Paraty Records
The duo Palissandre, Vanessa Dartier, and Yann Dufresne here offer very varied French recital from the Baroque to the present day , opening with Antoine de Lhoyer’s three movement Duo Concertant No3 from 1728, a veritable rarity , which is a shame because it is early Classical in style , and does not deserve to be as rarely heard as it is. Right from the outset the opening Allegro Agitato is full of animation and superb playing and a beautifully clear recording too. There are numerous very swift runs throughout this interesting movement, and at no point does any of it sound difficult to the players, even though it is very virtuosic in places and not for any duos that have a less than wonderful technique. The Romance that follows is a little more relaxed with moments of emotive writing intermingled with the very straight – laced Classical sound that one might expect. The final movement’s Rondo is a real race from its opening, and even hurls along at a very fast pace that would trip up many players, but not the Duo Palissandre, who make a wonderful job of this excellent piece. We jump back some years to the Baroque - filled music of Rameau, originally for keyboard and here in a fine arrangement for two guitars, and managing to sound utterly natural in this new guise. Originally in seven movements we get the fourth and seventh movements here and they are elegant and finely performed in what sounds a perfectly natural arrangement. Gabriel Faure’s Dolly Op56 is in six complex movements and begins with perhaps one of his most famous pieces the Berceuse, which has often had another life as a lullaby for children in many different guises. Having arranged this suite myself for 2 guitars some years ago (Published by Les Productions D’Oz) I can only say that everything is beautifully played and the inherent difficulties in some of this music is never noticeable. The humorous Mi – a – ou that follows has lots of character, and jumping sections that mimic the cat’s movements. The harmonic complexities of Le Jardin De Dolly, and Faure’s particular way with seemingly unrelated chords where he follows one after the other , making them sound natural in spite of their normally distant relationship, is beautifully brought out here. Kitty Valse is another lovely piece with the animated ‘Kitty’ jumping and dancing around in a most beguiling way, that Faure treats superbly well, and the Duo play excellently. Tendresse is the slowest movement, and is full of heavily emotional moments and a lovely and needed contrast to the humorous movements surrounding it. The final Les Pas Espagnol is very Spanish in style and a wonderful conclusion to the suite that our duo makes a great show of, and really captures the essence of. The sole movement from Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque, the wonderful Clair de Lune is beautifully done, and the duo absolutely captures the essence of this emotional movement. I would now like to hear the rest of the suite played by this duo. The final work, the Toccata of Raymond Petit pays homage to the likes of Gershwin and Stravinsky in its sound world and was originally dedicated to Presti – Lagoya who recorded it many moons ago. It is modern but fun throughout, and quite a different interpretation to Presti – Lagoya, not that that is a criticism, but it sounds quite different in many places.
So all considered this is a beautifully made recording, full of superb pieces, exquisitely played and recorded, and this duo therefore is one to really watch out for, and this recording is absolutely one to go and search out; you won’t regret it!
Chris Dumigan