A major figure in musical modernity, Claude Debussy profoundly renewed the language of the piano, inventing a sound syntax based on resonance, color and suggestion. Refusing any reductive label, he saw music not as an imitation of nature, but as the expression of its mysterious connections with the imaginary.

The Preludes for piano, combined in two books, constitute one of the peaks of this aesthetic. In contrast to the narrative discourse, Debussy deploys a series of fleeting evocations, sound images in which sky, water, mist, landscapes, exoticism and humor mingle. The titles, placed at the end of each piece, act as poetic postscripts, leaving the interpreter and the listener free to dream.

In this recording, Ivan Ilić highlights the richness and audacity of this piano writing — rare harmonies, flexible rhythms, modal colors, sound transpositions of nature — revealing a Debussy who is at once visionary, sensual and deeply free, and deeply free, whose art continues to open unsuspected horizons.

‍

In this album devoted to the major works of Chopin's last creative period, Nicolas Stavy explores a universe where form is expanding, where genres intersect, and where piano writing reaches an unprecedented expressive and architectural density.

Great visionary frescoes — Sonata in B minor, 4th Ballad, Polonaise-Fantasy — to the suspended spaces of the Prelude op. 45 And Nocturnes op. 62, unfolds a profoundly innovative Chopin, nourished by Bach as much as by the Beethovenian heritage, integrating chromatism, imitation and stylized improvisation into musical thought of sovereign freedom.

Through his sense of proportion, color and narrative spirit, Nicolas Stavy reveals a mature Chopin, both lyrical and visionary, where sound poetry is combined with exceptional formal rigor.

‍

The result of a long partnership with the work of Johann Sebastian Bach, this recording of sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord brings together Emmanuelle Guigues and Bruno Procopio around a project that is both mature and deeply inspired.

This record is part of a pivotal moment in their respective careers. For Bruno Procopio, he extends an in-depth work on Bach, marked in particular by the recording of the complete works of Bach. Harpsichord partitas. For Emmanuelle Guigues, it follows a project devoted to sonata transcriptions, recently carried out alongside Hugo Reyne and Pierre Hantaï.

While this shared experience naturally feeds their reading, the real trigger for the recording was the encounter with two exceptional historical instruments: a Viola by Salomon (1741, private collection) and the Couchet-Blanchet-Taskin harpsichord from the Kenneth Gilbert collection. Made available to them for this project, these instruments have decisively guided the musical approach.

Through their tone, their balance and their ability to dialogue, they give this repertoire a singular resonance, allowing an intimate and lively conversation to emerge at the heart of Bach's music.

‍

‍

This record occupies a founding place in the history of Paraty Label: it is Opus 1, recorded in 2006, at the same time the label was created. The conditions were both simple and demanding — a chapel with striking acoustics, an exceptional harpsichord loaned by Pierre Hantaï, and above all the determination to create an independent record label. From this adventure came a recording marked by raw energy and total commitment, testimony to a founding momentum, carried by the temerity and enthusiasm of young people.

Together with the French Suites and the English Suites, the six Harpsichord Partitas by Johann Sebastian Bach form the major trilogy of major keyboard suites. Published by Bach himself between 1726 and 1731 in Leipzig, they constitute his Opus 1, gathered under the title of Clavier-Übung. These works combine architectural rigor, a sense of dance and freedom of speech, making the keyboard a true storytelling instrument.

This is how two Opus 1 answers each other: that of Bach and that of Paraty Label. A symbolic dialogue, fully accepted as an inaugural gesture, where Bach's music accompanies the birth of an independent artistic project, guided by rigor and curiosity.

‍

‍

After graduating from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, Bruno Procopio already maintained a deep relationship with the Partitas of Johann Sebastian Bach, works that he defended with early conviction. Driven by this strong artistic vision, he chose to transform this musical project into a collective adventure, giving birth to Paraty Label, designed as a space for artistic freedom and commitment to the service of music.