Customer Reviews

Trio Violin Violincello & Piano

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(Disc is recent reissue of discontinued ASIN: B00000JF7Q, with new Breton cover art.)

Yet another member of César Franck's entourage was the Breton J.-G. Ropartz (1864-1955).

A little geo-cultural perspective (à son gré...): France is an isthmus, and while the Mediterranean coast and Latinate influence are well recognized, the northern Atlantic aspect is frequently forgotten. In particular, the large peninsula of Brittany [Bretagne] is utterly unique in France as it's part of the Celtic Fringe (which includes Ireland, Wales, and Scotland): this includes the native peoples who previously didn't even speak French in Brittany. (It may be remembered that prior to embarking for Tahiti, Gauguin toured Brittany--as if it were a foreign country: well, it practically was.) Gauguin and the Origins of Symbolism .

In any case, Ropartz was a native Breton and as such displays a distinctive artistic character: he may be considered a Neo-Impressionist like Signac Paul Signac, 1863-1935 . Certainly--like Signac--the Sea is a major motif in Ropartz' art, and much of his work is imbued with a maritime atmosphere of wave-like rhythms, swells, and misty ebbs and flows: the golden lamp of a lighthouse and the tolling of coastal bells are too suggested.

All of these motifs are considered in the piano Trio of 1918 (last year of the Great War), a work dedicated to Franckist Pierre de Bréville Joseph Canteloube, Pierre de Bréville: Music for Violin and Piano .

The cold northern coast and Ocean are included in the very web and woof of the Prélude, Marine et Chansons (1928) for flute, string trio, and harp--a very French combo.

Finally, this disc includes the fourth of Ropartz' six string Quartets, in the optimistic key of E (1935). See also, Joseph-Guy Ropartz: Quatuors No. 2 & No. 3 ; Ropartz String Quartets Volume 2 . This fine work has an affinity with fellow Franckist epigone Magnard's only Quartet Albéric Magnard, Gabriel Fauré: String Quartets ; Chausson: String Quartets; Roussel: String Quartets [United Kingdom] .

All highly recommended.
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