Impressions Parisiennes

Description

After their recording dedicated to the "great" French quartets (Debussy, Ravel, ALPHA295), the Quatuor Van Kuijk takes a step aside and revisits treasures by Fauré, Debussy, Satie, Ravel, and Poulenc originally written for piano or voice. The imprint of the string quartet subtly emerges in this program reinterpreting Debussy's Petite Suite for piano four hands, Ravel's famous Pavane pour une infante défunte, and the well-known melodies of Poulenc, Fauré, and Satie. Alongside these transcriptions thoughtfully crafted by Emmanuel François, the quartet's violist, Jean-Christophe Masson, and Gildas Guillon, the quartet invited jazz pianist and composer Baptiste Trotignon to create a work that would resonate freely with the transcribed composers. Behind the first names of these gentlemen, a whole universe is recreated, without nostalgia or pastiche. The Van Kuijk weave themselves into these miniatures and present a program full of lightness and sensuality.