Chilean-born flutist Viviana
Guzmán and French guitarist
Jérémy Jouve present a rewarding disc, full of beautiful
music, performed with care and affection. The programme combines a few
transcriptions of classical pieces with new works that are attractive
and
merit attention.
We open with the gentlest and loveliest account of
Fauré’s
Pavane. The guitar provides the mysterious
harp-like arpeggios while the flute is exquisitely tender. This is
followed
by Ravel’s
Bolero, but the contrast is not too
brutal, for the
playing is sensual rather than aggressive. Two instruments cannot
provide
the rainbow of colours to which we are accustomed in the orchestral
version
but since the arrangement is short, only two and a half minutes, it is
not
missed much.
Pièce en forme de habanera is slender
and
elegant, softly swaying.
Borne’s
Fantaisie brillante sur Carmen is a
collection
of all the main tunes from the opera, put together with skill and
imagination. The arrangement is colourful and technically demanding
while
the performance is expressive and dazzling. The guitar does not play a
pure
accompanying function but has an equal role in the spotlight; this is
probably because the work was arranged by Jouve. Satie’s
Gnossienne, transcribed for guitar solo, is
cool and plaintive. It is
followed by a mellow, honey-toned
Gymnopédie.
The guitarist-composer Atanas Ourkouzonov based his
Sonatine
on original folk music. As the composer writes in the liner-note, this
piece was inspired by the traditional Bulgarian flute player Theodosii
Spassov. The flute sound is therefore close to the folk style, without
the smoothness of the “classical” flute. The guitar part is more
percussive than usual. The sonatine is modern, accessible and
attractive. The rhapsodic first movement starts dimly and carefully,
before launching into a series of dancing, swinging and singing
episodes. The music is rich in motifs and textures, ever-changing,
ever-fresh. The slow movement opens in mystery and sadness, and
gradually becomes passionate. This is a romance with a long, beautiful
melody. The finale frames a sequence of episodes, from quiet and mystic
to amorous and wistful in a jumpy, jagged manner. Overall, the sonata
is full of beauty that the performers bring out effectively. There is
no groundbreaking novelty here but there are many moments of
joy.
The excellent
Cavalcade by Matthias Duplessy for
guitar solo is inspired by flamenco and by the music of Barrios and
Gismonti. The main driving force here is the harmony. The colour is
blue-grey and the fast propulsive rhythm mesmerises. This music is very
demanding for the guitarist, and sometimes it is hard to believe that
only one guitar is playing. The performance by Jouve is technically
perfect and emotionally deep. The notes run like rain pounding a roof,
in what the composer describes as “
the evocation of a race
against the passing time”.
The last work on the disc is the
Traveling Sonata
by
Tunisia-born composer Roland Dyens. The sonata was created during the
composer’s journeys. Its three short movements
Bellinzona,
Motola and
Ankara are named after three
cities. The work is full
of folk elements, many of them oriental. The main ingredient here is
rhythm,
with a persistent and often aggressive beat. There isn’t much
diversity between the movements. The middle one starts slowly and
dreamily,
but its middle section sounds like the continuation of the first
movement,
and the third movement looks like a variation of the first. On a larger
scale this could become monotonous but since the movements are short,
this
uniformity is no problem, especially considering the wealth of
intriguing
sound effects.
The sound of the flute is silky. The guitar comes across as full,
spacious and not too hard. The connection between the two musicians is
excellent - a real dialogue. The recording quality is very good,
setting a
good balance between the two instruments and catching their voices
clearly.
The booklet tells the stories of the creation of the works.
This is a disc for repetitive listening. Every track is a joy. I am
sure I will return to it often.
Oleg Ledeniov
