Quatuor Ellipsos - Symphonic Stories - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Maurice Durufle (1902-1986) was a French composer, organist, and teacher renowned for his meticulous craftsmanship and deeply spiritual music. A student of Charles Tournemire and Louis Vierne, Durufle inherited the rich French symphonic organ tradition, which he blended with Gregorian chant and impressionist harmony to create a unique and transcendent style.Durufle's complete organ music is limited in quantity but monumental in quality. His small output includes only six published organ works, yet each piece reveals an extraordinary depth of expression and technical mastery. Chief among them is the Suite, Op.5 (1932), which consists of three movements Prelude, Sicilienne, and Toccata. The Toccata, while virtuosic and brilliant, is famously considered one of the most difficult in the repertoire and is sometimes omitted in performance due to it's formidable demands.The Prelude, Adagio et Choral varie sur le thème du InchVeni CreatorInch, Op.4, exemplifies his affinity for Gregorian chant, a hallmark of his style. The Fugue sur le thème du Carillon des Heures de la Cathedrale de Soissons, Op.12, demonstrates Durufle's love for musical architecture and his capacity for blending modern harmonic language with traditional forms. The Meditation, a posthumously published piece, reveals a more intimate and reflective side of his writing, while the Scherzo, Op.2, composed during his student years, shows early signs of his technical prowess and inventive use of the organ's color palette.Durufle's organ works, though few, have become central to the instrument's repertoire. Their combination of liturgical solemnity, compositional rigor, and sensuous beauty ensure that they continue to resonate with performers and audiences alike. They stand as a testament to a perfectionist who preferred quality over quantity, and whose music remains timeless.Played by Roberto Marini at the magnif

Seven years after their album, Debussy et le jazz, the artists of the Quatuor Debussy have conceived the idea of celebrating Ravel in three quite different ways. They have recorded a transcription by Alain Brunier of the French composer's famous Quartet, Ma mère l'Oye (the Mother Goose suite), as well as inviting vibraphone virtuoso Franck Tortiller to join in the fun by combining the original score of Le Tombeau de Couperin with jazz improvisations - an approach that Ravel, from all we know of him, would have greatly relished.

Pianist David Kadouch has lost count of the number of times he has had to talk about, or hear about, the love triangle between Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, and Johannes Brahms; or Beethoven's Immortal Beloved. It's time to talk about other love stories that had just as much influence on the way these composers created their music. On this album, you will hear seven composers who, in their daily lives, could not be themselves. The music they have composed is a veritable refuge where the notes free themselves from words to reveal the essence of their feelings.