The French Music Exploration thread

[Papy Oli]

Aya Hamada is a fine, Juilliard graduate harpsichordist. She is my FB friend, and a friend of Rousset.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nT9E9_2rbKIenE3bzgUJxzc9IshZFDuIk

Thank you, I have saved the playlist.

[Papy Oli]

Oh no, don't bump. If Olivier starts methodically going through French composers I'll have to follow along again, and I'm not sure I have the time. 

Not planning to be methodical about it, just as and when...

I need something for my early weekend mornings now that the Aussie Rules is dormant for 5+ months 

[Papy Oli]

By all means, I urge you to listen to it and form your own opinion of it. You might even love it at first sight, in which case more power to you!   

I have bookmarked Colin Davis' version on Idagio, we'll see.

[Jo498]

Berlioz' R & J is irritating for me as well. I have strong doubts that it "works" as a whole but it has several of the best Berliozian and romantic orchestral movements, above all the love scene and the "Mab scherzo" but I think the sections "Romeo seul" and "Ball at Capulets" are also very good, about as good as anything in Berlioz' purely instrumental works. It's one of the few cases where I think that the older practice of an instrumental "symphonic" suite was beneficial (although I think the first time I encountered such excerpts it was taken from a complete recording, unless Ozawa actually recorded both such a suite and the whole thing for DG)

[Papy Oli]

Aya Hamada is a fine, Juilliard graduate harpsichordist. She is my FB friend, and a friend of Rousset.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nT9E9_2rbKIenE3bzgUJxzc9IshZFDuIk

Oh I am liking this a lot (about 4 tracks in only for now). The harpsichord sounds gorgeous. Qobuz sells the FLAC album. I just might succumb.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Oh I am liking this a lot (about 4 tracks in only for now). The harpsichord sounds gorgeous. Qobuz sells the FLAC album. I just might succumb.

Her rhythm. Thank you for listening to the album. She and Rousset have a solid musical/professional relationship. I think she used to be his student one time.

[Roy Bland]

https://xn--lesamisdelamusiquefranaise-dkc.com/?page_id=14

[Mandryka]

Has anyone here explored the Messiaen preludes?

[ritter]

Has anyone here explored the Messiaen preludes?

Not really explored in depth, but I listened to them years ago, and found them enjoyable. Kinda post-Debussy meets proto-Messiaen.

This CD that couples the Messiaen Préludes (and a late piece  for piano quintet) with music by Kaija Saariaho, played by Gloria Cheng and the Calder Quartet makes a strong case for the music (and the juxtaposition of both composers). I actually might listen to it tonight. 

[Florestan]

With respect to vocal music, this box is a highly recommended treasure trove.

[BWV 1080]

Has anyone here explored the Messiaen preludes?

Tend to avoid pre-war Messiaen as greatly prefer his later works.  Do you know the Études de rythme?

[Mandryka]

Yes @BWV 1080 especially modes de valeurs et d'intensités, I like this weird combination of stasis and movement. I got interested in the preludes because of a comment Messiaen made about them which caught my imagination - je suis arrivé à interposer des disques de couleurs, à entrelacer les arcs en ciel. I like the idea of intertwining rainbows!

Thanks @ritter for pointing out that recording, which I listened to last night. I thought some of them were pretty strange and thought provoking e.g. Instants défunts.

(I've started to explore Messiaen because I want to make sense of spectralism. Oh - there's a weekend Saariaho festival in London in a couple of weeks - weekend of the coronation.)

[Maestro267]

I didn't know Messiaen was spectralism?

[Mandryka]

I didn't know Messiaen was spectralism?

At the very least I can say this: his interest in how attack and duration influence the listener's  perception of time was a significant source of inspiration for Grisey and Dufourt. As was his way of using sound-colours to help him decide how the music should evolve, rather than systems of pitches, intensities, durations etc.

[Roy Bland]

https://classiqueenprovence.fr/

[Roasted Swan]

First listen today to this disc;



tremendous disc/music/performances/recording..........

[Papy Oli]

First listen today to this disc;



tremendous disc/music/performances/recording..........

Queued this one this morning after your post in the "Blown away" thread. Thank you for heads-up, @Roasted Swan .

[pjme]

Seems interesting : https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/15366006221144333

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore the life and work of Pierre Sancan (1916–2008), an exemplary piano teacher who, like many masters in the apprenticeship tradition, is chiefly remembered today by his pupils alone. An all-round musician, Sancan had early success as a composer when he won the Prix de Rome in 1943, and enjoyed a flourishing career in solo and ensemble piano performance. His applied studio practices were based on the French school but extended beyond it by drawing on Russian approaches to technique, a study of anatomy, and the influence of jazz improvisation. However, at the height of his creative career, hailed as 'one of the biggest names in French music today', Sancan became professor of piano at the Paris Conservatoire, increasingly devoting his expertise and energies to the musical lives of his pupils and influencing generations of pianists and piano teachers around the world. In this study, Sancan's musical career is examined through archival material including institutional documents, interviews and personal memorabilia, alongside an interview and survey study with former pupils including Jean-Philippe Collard and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet.

[Roy Bland]

http://www.bruzanemediabase.com/eng