Sophistication aplenty from a young quartet with plenty to say
The Strad Issue: January 2025
Description: Sophistication aplenty from a young quartet with plenty to say
Musicians: Van Kuijk Quartet
Works: Debussy: Petite Suite. Trotignon: Ces Messieurs; works by Fauré, Poulenc, Ravel and Satie (all arr. François, Guillon and Masson)
Catalogue number: ALPHA 1067
If Impressions Parisiennes sounds like yet another album of the usual French quartet repertoire suspects, think again. The members of the Van Kuijk Quartet have enterprisingly put their transcription pencils to works originally for piano, or for voice and piano, by Poulenc, Ravel, Satie, Debussy and Fauré. They’ve then punctuated these new creations with Ces Messieurs, a brand new commission from their compatriot, jazz pianist and composer Baptiste Trotignon, whose five movements are named after, and freely inspired by, each of the above composers.
These performances are by turns poetic and nimbly dancing, with plenty of colour too – as witness Poulenc’s waltz song, ‘Les chemins d’amour’, in which the players’ chordal tone at one point mimics an accordion. There’s often a gorgeous duskiness to the players’ sound too, which is particularly magical in harmonics.
The musicians’ preparation involved listening to singers who have inspired them in the original repertoire (Véronique Gens and Sabine Devieilhe for instance), and it has paid dividends. And Messieurs? Both a fizzing, stylistically distinct piece sounding thoroughly of today and enjoyable for its loving references to its five towering muses. Captured in a close recording, this is addictively good.
CHARLOTTE GARDNER
No comments yet