This program brings together English songs from the end of the Renaissance, composed by Robert Jones, John Dowland, Tobias Hume and Alfonso Ferrabosco II. The corpus is based primarily on The Second Booke of Songs and Ayres by Robert Jones (1601), The Second Booke of Songs or Ayres by John Dowland (1600), and The First Part of Ayres by Tobias Hume (1605), as well as on instrumental pieces from Ferrabosco II's Lessons for 1, 2 and 3 Viols.

The recording compares different vocal accompaniment practices from the Elizabethan era, combining voice, viola da gamba and Renaissance lute. In particular, he explores the use of lyra-violet in tablature, specific tuning systems such as First Tuning, and the coexistence of monodic and polyphonic functions of the viola da gamba in the English vocal repertoire of the early 17th century.

The album is performed by Ensemble Près de Votre Oreille, bringing together Anaïs Bertrand (mezzo-soprano), Nicolas Brooymans (bass), Thibaut Roussel (Renaissance lute) and Robin Pharo (viola da gamba and direction). It was recorded in June 2018 at the Elizabethan Theater of Château d'Hardelot, with a pitch at 400 Hz and a mesotonic temperament to the sixth of a comma.

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The first part of a triptych, this recording combines violin and organ around two sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, the Sonata in C minor BWV 1017 and the Sonata in G major BWV 1019, framed by contemporary works by Jean-Pierre Deleuze. The program combines Prelude, Interlude and Postlude composed for this project, according to a structured alternation with the movements of Bach's sonatas.

The project is based on a historical and musical reading of the Sonatas for violin and keyboard BWV 1014—1019, performed here on the organ in accordance with the original name Sechs Trios für Clavier und die Violine appearing on the handwritten copy by Johann Christoph Altnickol. Writing in a trio, with two mandatory upper parts and an independent bass, finds a particular sound balance with the violin on the organ.

The recording brings together Frédéric d'Ursel on violin and Cindy Castillo on the organ Wilhelm Korfmacher/Thomas (1841), recorded at the Saint-Sébastien Church in Stavelot in July 2022. Jean-Pierre Deleuze's works dialogue with those of Bach based on formal, contrapuntal and motivational references, in particular around the B-A-C-H motif and the chorale Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ.

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This first volume devoted to the organ works of Georg Böhm (1661—1733) brings together a program centered on the preludes, fugues, chorals and partitas of the composer, a major figure in the North German organ at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. The program includes Praeludia and Fugues in C, D minor and A minor, as well as partitas and variations on Lutheran chorals such as Ach wie nichtig, ach wie flüchtig, Freu dich sehr, meine Seele, Wer nur den lieben Gott läst walten or Herr Jesus Christ, dich zu uns wend.

The recording was made at the Saint-Jean Protestant Church in Wissembourg on the organ built by Dominique Thomas in 2015. The program highlights Böhm's contrapuntal writing, his use of the stylus phantasticus, as well as the alternation between manualiter and pedaliter pieces. The works selected illustrate the characteristic forms of his organ production: free preludes, fugues, various chorals and partitas structured in several versus.

Christophe Guida interprets the entire program. Organist and improviser, he is a professor at Notre-Dame de Vincennes and teaches organ and harpsichord at the CRD in Chartres. This recording is part of an effort to restore the organ repertoire of Georg Böhm, a composer whose influence on the young Johann Sebastian Bach is documented by several historical sources, in particular during his stay in Lüneburg.

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First volume in the series Homelands, this recording offers a panorama of choral music inspired by popular songs from Central Europe, reinterpreted by composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. The program brings together works by Zoltán Kodály, Béla Bartók, Antonín Dvořák (arranged by Leoš Janáček), Arnold Schönberg, and Johannes Brahms, bringing together popular traditions and scholarly writing. All the pieces explore the transformation of folk materials into elaborate choral forms, for mixed chorus, with or without piano accompaniment.

The Cythera Ensemble, a European chamber choir founded and directed by Mihály Zeke, brings together singers from several countries in a group of varying numbers. The choir is accompanied on the piano by Marie Vermeulin, on a Steinway from 1896. The recorded works cover a broad stylistic spectrum: choral paintings inspired by the Mátra region at Kodály, Hungarian and Slovak folk songs at Bartók, Moravian duets by Dvořák reworked by Janáček, German folk songs revisited by Schönberg, and Volkslieder and vocal quartets by Brahms.

Conceived as a pentalogy, the collection Homelands is interested in the links between cultural identity, collective memory and musical writing. This first volume, centered on a journey from Hungary to Germany, highlights how composers used the choral voice to place popular traditions in artistic continuity, between oral transmission and written musical heritage.

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The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross by Joseph Haydn is presented here in a version combining La Chapelle Rhenane and the Quartet 1781. The work alternates instrumental introductions, sonatas and interventions by the Evangelist, following the liturgical structure designed by Haydn at the end of the 18th century. The instrumental ensemble restores the musical continuity between orchestral meditation and sung lyrics.

The vocal parts are provided by Hélène Walter (soprano), Salomé Haller (mezzo-soprano), Benoît Haller (tenor) and Pierre-Yves Cras (bass baritone). The interventions of the Evangelist and the vocal soloists are inserted between the seven sonatas, each corresponding to a word of Christ, from the Introduzione to the final earthquake.

The instrumental production brings together Guillaume Humbrecht (first violin), Koji Yoda (second violin), Satryo Aryobimo Yudomartono (viola) and Jérôme Vidaller (cello). This interpretation compares Haydn's expressive writing and the spiritual dimension of the work, in a structured reading that is faithful to the original form.

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This program explores the artistic and intellectual relationship between John Cage and Erik Satie, a relationship that has developed over several decades. As early as 1948, Cage played a central role in the rediscovery and dissemination of Satie's work in the United States, in particular through a series of concerts organized at Black Mountain College, devoted exclusively to her music. During his stays in Paris in 1949, Cage studied Satie's manuscripts, met several of his close collaborators and discovered in particular the Vexations, a work that he introduced to the American public during a marathon performance organized in New York in 1963.

The disc presents several works emblematic of this artistic filiation. Socrates by Erik Satie, composed between 1917 and 1918 on texts by Plato translated by Victor Cousin, is proposed in the arrangement for two pianos made by John Cage between 1944 and 1969. This adaptation work is part of Cage's collaboration with choreographer Merce Cunningham. The program also includes Experiences No. 1, composed in 1945, which testifies to Satie's aesthetic influence on Cage's musical language, as well as Three Dances for two prepared pianos, a major work from the prepared piano period.

The recording features pianists Anne de Fornel and Jay Gottlieb. Anne de Fornel is a French-American pianist and musicologist, doctor in musicology, specialist in John Cage and author of a reference monograph published in 2019. Jay Gottlieb, an American pianist who studied at Juilliard and Harvard in particular, worked with many major composers of the 20th century and performed at major international festivals. The recording was made in March 2019 at the Auditorium of the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris, on Steinway model D pianos, under the artistic direction and sound recording of Cyrille Métivier.

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This recording brings together for the first time the four sonatas by Johannes Brahms for cello and piano, including the two original cello sonatas (op. 38 and op. 99) as well as the transcriptions made by the composer himself or by the performers of the violin sonatas op. 78 and op. 108. The ensemble covers a period of more than twenty years of creation, from the composer's youth to full maturity, and highlights the continuity of his chamber music writing, marked by a strong lyrical dimension and a constant reference to vocality.

The Sonata op. 38 in E minor, composed between 1862 and 1865, is characterized by introspective writing and a marked use of counterpoint, especially in the final movement inspired by Bach's The Art of Fugue. The Sonata op. 78, originally written for violin and piano, is presented here in its transposed version for cello and piano in D major, using material from Lied Regenlied op. 59 no. 3. The Sonata op. 99 in F major, composed in 1886 on the shores of Lake Thun, developed a denser and more passionate style, while the Sonata op. 108 in D minor, transcribed for cello, marked the culmination of Brahms's instrumental language through its formal and expressive breadth.

Marie-Claude Bantigny interprets these works on the cello, an instrument whose range and tone reinforce the vocal and introspective dimension of these sonatas. She is accompanied on the piano by Karolos Zouganelis. The recording was made in February 2020 at the Prayssas auditorium. The two performers offer a continuous reading of this corpus, comparing the different periods of Brahms's creation and emphasizing the profound unity of his writing for string instruments and keyboards.

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Birds of a Feather brings together flautist Anne Cartel and pianist Marie Vermeulin for a program devoted to performances of birds' songs in French music, from the end of the 19th century to contemporary creation. The record explores the filiation that connects Claude Debussy to Olivier Messiaen, then to several composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, considering the bird both as a source of poetic inspiration and as a structuring musical material.

The program includes the Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun by Claude Debussy in the transcription for flute and piano by Gustave Samazeuilh, Le Merle noir et Sigle by Olivier Messiaen, as well as works by François-Bernard Mâche, Michaël Levinas, Michaël Levinas, Tristan Murail, Philippe Hurel, and Sigle by Olivier Messiaen, as well as works by François-Bernard Mâche, Michaël Levinas, Michaël Levinas, Tristan Murail, Philippe Hurel, and Marc Monnet. Some pieces use bird songs recorded and integrated into the instrumental writing, in particular Sopiana by François-Bernard Mâche for flute, piano and fixed sounds. Several works are being recorded here for the first time.

The recording brings together various aesthetics, ranging from the direct transcription of the bird song to its spectral or symbolic treatment. It is part of an approach of dialogue between nature and musical creation, by exploring more than a century of French music. Birds of a Feather thus offers a coherent overview of the repertoire for flute and piano inspired by the avian world, performed by two musicians who have long been involved in contemporary creation.

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In 2011, David Achenberg entrusted his first two string quartets to the Tana Quartet. These works gave rise to a close collaboration that quickly led to the commission of a third quartet, conceived as the natural culmination of a coherent ensemble. The first three pieces constitute a triptych based on common musical material, divided from different formal and expressive perspectives.

The fourth quartet, also commissioned by the Tana Quartet, introduced electronics by adding magnetic tape. His microtonal language favors writing that is often close to silence, sometimes interrupted by more abrupt breaks. This work extends the sound reflection initiated in previous quartets while opening a new listening space through the integration of the electroacoustic medium.

This recording brings together all of David Achenberg's string quartets, performed by the Tana Quartet, an ensemble involved in their genesis from the very beginning. It was made in March 2018 at the Igloo Studio in Brussels. The artistic direction is provided by the Tana Quartet, with sound recording, editing and mastering carried out by Daniel Léon. The texts are written by David Achenberg and Antoine Maisonhaute.

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Sunbathing brings together five pieces for soloist and electronics composed by Blaise Ubaldini between 2010 and 2021. The program explores the relationship between acoustic sound and electronic processing through sound transmission, mirror, and reflection devices. Each work involves a solo instrument or the voice, in direct interaction with electronics, designed as an extension, duplication or transformation of musical material.

The record includes Impasse for bass clarinet and electronics, Isaac Newton in a spaceship for bass flute and electronics, La Livri for piano and electronics, Ferocious Purposes for Paetzold flute double bass in F and electronics, and Sunbathing for voice and electronics, and Sunbathing for voice and electronics based on a poem by Kamau Daaood. The works address notions of memory, inner voice, remembrance, and spectral presence, drawing on literary, philosophical, and musical references, from Rameau to Antonin Artaud and Isaac Newton.

The performers gathered for this recording are Liz Pearse (vocals), Shanna Pranaitis (flutes), Layla Ramezan (piano), Martin Adámek (bass clarinet) and Jan Van Hoecke (Paetzold recorder). The album was recorded at Espace Consonance in Saxon (Switzerland) in August 2021. The artistic direction and sound recording were provided by Vincent Mons. The record is produced by Paraty, with a booklet written by the composer.

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This recording brings together harpsichord works by Louis Couperin (1626—1661) and François Couperin (1668—1733), major figures of the Couperin dynasty. The program combines character pieces, dances and preludes, illustrating two distinct generations of French harpsichord music. Louis Couperin, active in Paris and a musician in the King's Chamber, leaves a work transmitted mainly by manuscripts. François Couperin, organist at Saint-Gervais and at the Royal Chapel, developed a structured and codified style of writing, which he precisely fixed in his play books.

The program is performed by Benoît Babel on harpsichord. The instrument used is a copy made in 2006 by Guillaume Rebinguet-Sudre of an anonymous French harpsichord dated 1667, preserved at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. This harpsichord uses the dimensions, the brass string layout and the internal structure of the original instrument. Two slightly differentiated chords, based on an adapted mesotonic temperament, were used in order to respect the specific sonic characteristics of each composer.

The recording was made in April 2021 at the Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption church in Metz-le-Comte (Nièvre, France). The decoration of the soundboard and the harpsichord lid were designed by Florence Humeau. Sound recording, editing, mixing and mastering were provided by Arthur Delzescaux.

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Back to Bach is the first album by the Trytone Collective, an ensemble founded in 2016 by the pianist and arranger Lucie de Saint Vincent. The project is based on works by Johann Sebastian Bach used as starting material for arrangement, composition and improvisation. The pieces take as sources cantatas arias, excerpts from the Saint John Passion, from the Missa Brevis in A minor, as well as two preludes for keyboard, transformed and developed in a contemporary musical language integrating elements of jazz and ancient music.

The arrangements are mainly made by Lucie de Saint Vincent, with a specific contribution from Pascal Mabit for a piece. The work consists in extracting elements of Bach's songwriting — harmonic progressions, melodic lines, counterpoint — in order to form the basis for new musical forms. The pieces alternate written sections, passages inspired by Bach's style and spaces for improvisation, while maintaining an explicit reference to the original works identified by their BWV numbers.

The Trytone Collective brings together Lucie Chartin (soprano), Lucie de Saint Vincent (piano, arrangements), Joao Driessen (soprano and tenor saxophones), Mihail Ivanov (double bass) and Joan Terol Amigó (drums). The album was recorded in November 2019 at E-Sound Studios in the Netherlands, with Jonas Leopold and Thomas Cochrane recording the sound, mixed by Jonas Leopold and mastered by Pieter de Wagter. Back to Bach is part of an approach aimed at combining baroque, classical and jazz practices within the same collective project.

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INTUITIONS brings together original works by Johann Sebastian Bach and transcriptions for violin and organ, performed by Stéphanie Paulet and Élisabeth Geiger. The program combines sonatas, sinfonias, chorals, a partita for solo violin and a trio sonata, combining solo pieces, chamber music works and pages originally intended for keyboard or organ. Some transcriptions and adaptations are part of a reflection on the circulation of works by Bach and on the historical practice of transcription, which is central to his musical universe.

The project is based on a process of rereading and instrumental experimentation. The violin is integrated as an additional organ voice, fully participating in counterpoint and chamber music dialogue. The choices of registration and distribution of lines make it possible to explore different layers of Bachian writing, in particular in the Inventions and Sinfonias, the Sonata BWV 1021 and the Partita in B minor BWV 1002, some sections of which are the object of a new space between the two instruments. An Intermediate Current was imagined by Élisabeth Geiger using the material of the Partita.

The recording was made at the Charolles organ, built by the Blumenroeder factory and designed in collaboration with François Ménissier, in a concerted perspective adapted to the Baroque repertoire and to dialogue with a melodic instrument. The program also refers to Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, for whom Johann Sebastian Bach composed several of the works presented. Historical texts, in particular those by Johann Friedrich Agricola, shed light on the practice of implicit harmonization and confirm the coherence of this approach between violin and organ.

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This recording brings together the complete six suites for solo cello by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by cellist Maitane Sebastián. These works, composed at a period when Bach was already a violist, organist, organist, improviser and recognized composer, are part of a context where his liturgical functions did not elicit specific instrumental commissions. The Suites explore the polyphonic possibilities of a monodic instrument and are based on architectural and contrapuntal writing.

The interpretation follows scrupulously the manuscript by Anna Magdalena Bach, chosen as the main source. This work aims at a stripped-down approach to the musical text, without artifics, in order to restore the original flow of each Suite. The six works are envisaged as six distinct worlds, differentiated by their characters, tones and structures, while forming a coherent whole based on the internal diversity of Bach's language.

The recording was made at the chapel of the Domaine d'Aguerria, in Mauleon (Zuberoa). Suites 1 to 5 are performed on a copy of Joseph Guarneri senior cello made by Frédéric Chaudière, while Suite No. 6 is played on an anonymous 18th century French piccolo cello restored by Yair Hod Fainas. Several bows are used depending on the Suite. Sound recording is provided by Jérémie Garat, with editing and mastering done by Cyrille Métivier, Dimitri Soudoplatoff and Julien Costa. The booklet notes are written by Maitane Sebastián.

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Aquarelles brings together French and Belgian works from the 20th century for horn and piano, performed by Alexandre Collard on horn and Nicolas Rotez on piano. The program combines original scores and transcripts, comparing Claude Debussy, Jean Françaix, Eugène Bozza and Jane Vignery. The recording was made at the Cité de la Musique et de la Danse in GrandSoissons in May 2020.

The disc opens in particular with a transcription of Les Ariettes ées by Claude Debussy, whose poems by Paul Verlaine are entrusted to the singing line of the horn. This choice gives the album its title and is a central focus of the program. Jean Françaix's works, such as the Divertimento and the Octave Canon, illustrate a repertoire frequently associated with wind instruments, while Eugène Bozza is represented by several pieces evoking natural landscapes, including En Forêt and En Irlande.

Jane Vignery's Sonata op. 7 occupies a major place in this program. This work in three movements, inspired by impressionism, completes a journey devoted to the richness of the repertoire for horn and piano in the 20th century. The album was supported by Adami, FCM and Spedidam, and was released by the Paraty label in 2020.

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Tangos en Aleph is a project led by the Black Flowers Association, dedicated to Porteño tango as it developed in the cities of the Río de la Plata. The program is based on the idea of tango rooted in popular Argentine daily life, faithful to its codes and musical identity. The title refers to the short story Aleph by Jorge Luis Borges, evoking a sphere where all points in the universe meet without merging, a concept used here as a symbolic framework for the musical project.

The repertoire includes works by major composers of tango and its contemporary extensions, including Astor Piazzolla, Julián Plaza, Aníbal Troilo, Mariano Mores, Horacio Salgán and Andrés Linetzky. The original arrangements and compositions are made by Andrea Marsili, who is also the artistic and musical director of the project. The program integrates a transversal approach to tango, considered as music in dialogue with other aesthetics and traditions.

The interpretation is provided by the ensemble Fleurs Noires & Invites, bringing together musicians, singers and dancers. The project combines traditional tango instruments, voices and stage devices, in a collective design. The recording was made in July 2021 at the Edgar Varèse Conservatory in Gennevilliers. The production is provided by the Association Fleurs Noires and the Paraty label, with sound recording and mixing by Jean-Baptiste Brunhes and mastering by Christophe Hauer.

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Tre Donne Belle presents a program of Italian polyphonic songs between the end of the Renaissance and the beginning of the Baroque, centered on the forms of Villanella, Canzonetta, Madrigal, and Lauda. The repertoire includes anonymous works and composers active mainly in northeastern Italy in the 16th and early 17th centuries, including Claudio Monteverdi, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Luca Marenzio, Costanzo Festa, Costanzo Festa, Costanzo Festa, Adriano Festa, Adriano Banchieri, Adriano Banchieri, Giovanni Domenico da Nola and Giovan Leonardo Primavera. The entire program is organized according to a narrative progression based on the gaze, the eyes, light, sleep and memory.

The program is performed by Alla Francesca, with Vivabiancaluna Biffi (singing, viola d'Arco, program design), Christel Boiron (singing) and Brigitte Lesne (singing, gothic harp). The approach is based on working in equal voices, with alternating vocal registers between female singers, in accordance with a practice attested at the time. Some pieces are performed a cappella, others are occasionally accompanied by the viola d'Arco or the Gothic harp. Two pieces are offered in purely instrumental form.

Conceived from 2019 and in constant evolution before its recording, Tre Donne Belle is based on a careful reading of musical sources printed between 1541 and 1594. The adaptations respect the original polyphonic and contrapuntal structures, while integrating a historically documented practice of vocal flexibility. The recording was made in June 2021 at the Temple de Villefavard in Limousin, under the artistic direction of Frédéric Briant and Alla Francesca, with booklet texts written by Vivabiancaluna Biffi.

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This recording is designed as a solo piano recital ranging from Franz Schubert to the 21st century, focusing on the genre of transcription. The program connects voice, poetry and piano through works from the vocal repertoire, adapted for solo piano. It is the result of several years of collaboration with the lyrical world, whose musical and stage experiences have nourished the interpretative approach. The program brings together works by Schubert, Schumann, Siloti, Siloti, Reger, Ravel, Poulenc, Rachmaninov and Jean-Baptiste Robin.

Piano transcription is part of a tradition developed in the 19th century, in particular by Franz Liszt, who made piano transcription a genre in its own right through numerous paraphrases and arrangements. Initially intended to promote vocal and symphonic works as part of salon concerts, this practice allowed composers and pianists such as Rachmaninov, Siloti or Reger to bring their own reading to already famous pages. Some of these transcriptions have acquired a lasting place in the piano repertoire, regardless of their original versions.

The program also includes three contemporary transcriptions made for this recording: Tic-Tac by Jean-Baptiste Robin, Les Chemins de l'Amour by Francis Poulenc and Le Rêve op. 38 No. 5 by Sergei Rachmaninov. Tic-Tac, originally composed for soprano and piano, is presented here in a version for solo piano. This work represents the 21st century within the program and extends the dialogue between the lyrical universe and piano writing carried by the pianist Alissa Zoubritski.

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