Henriette Renié

The French instrument maker Sébastien Érard was significantly involved in the modern harp’s development. In 1810, he patented the fully chromatic double-action harp. Thanks to the instrument’s seven pedals and a sophisticated mechanism, it was now possible to change the string lengths and raise each note up to two semitones. This enabled the harpist to play in all keys without retuning the instrument. Composers such as Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler and Claude Debussy took advantage of these new possibilities and established the harp as an orchestra instrument. In his “Treatise upon Modern Instrumentation and Orchestration” (published in 1844), Hector Berlioz claimed that the harp should never be placed behind the orchestra.

Emmanuel Ceysson - Belle Epoque (2015) {Naïve V 5419}
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© 2015 Naïve | V 5419
Classical / Concerto / Harp

Following Emmanuel Ceysson’s successful Naïve debut 'Opéra Fantaisie', 'Belle Epoque' features works for harp and orchestra composed in France in the early 20th century, probably the 'golden age' of that brilliant instrument. The result is an exhilarating recording of concertos by Saint-Saëns, Henriette Renié, Dubois and Pierné. With his powerful, virtuoso playing, Emmanuel Ceysson, the ‘enfant terrible’ of the harp, sweeps away all the clichés associated with his instrument. His infectious enthusiasm and boundless energy reveals the harp in all its sparkling splendour, in a world where poetry vies with temperament.

Usually reserved to the sacred, the harp and its crystalline sound evoke the invisible and on which French composers from the 20th Century will draw inspiration. This recording pays homage to them and shows the many different facets of the harp, with a programme broadcasting the various aspects of the fantastic.