Jaques Bergier

The Swiss composer Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (18651950) is best remembered for his development of Eurhythmics, which teaches the appreciation of music through movement. But Jaques-Dalcroze, who studied with Delibes and Fauré in Paris and with Bruckner and Fuchs in Vienna, was a considerable composer in his own right, with operas, cantatas and orchestral works among his substantial output. His 20 Caprices and Rhythmic Studies constitute an important but hitherto unknown set of character-studies, combining a relaxed lyricism with technical challenges of considerable subtlety for the player. This release is the second of a project of three each performed by a different pianist presenting an unsuspected side of Jaques-Dalcrozes musical activity.

La Veillée was very dear to its author’s heart. Indeed, it started off as a nightmare and developed into a fairytale…Called upon one evening by the Société de chant du Conservatoire to stand in at the last minute for the conductor of a concert for which he obviously did not know the score, young Emile obliged the following day, feeling extremely ner­vous, according to his sister Hélène, but thankfully to everyone’s satisfaction. There followed a letter of heartfelt gratitude, adding that the Société commit­ted itself to playing the next work of its saviour, who was “so delighted that he set to work with great joy.”

The Swiss composer Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865–1950) is best remembered for his development of Eurhythmics, which teaches the appreciation of music through movement.

The Swiss composer Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865–1950) is best remembered for his development of Eurhythmics, which teaches the appreciation of music through movement. But Jaques-Dalcroze, who studied with Delibes and Fauré in Paris and with Bruckner and Fuchs in Vienna, was a composer of considerable stature in his own right, with operas, cantatas and orchestral works among his substantial output. These piano works, all written in the 1890s, are generally lighter in style, showing the influence of Schumann and the salons of Paris.

The Swiss composer Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865–1950) is best remembered for his development of Eurhythmics, which teaches the appreciation of music through movement. The buoyant miniatures recorded here document his fascination with dance, including a flirtation with jazz and ragtime, although the apparent innocence of the music conceals a striking degree of metrical and rhythmic complexity, cast in a style not so far from Debussy and Fauré – and animated by the blithe spirit of Chabrier.

The Swiss composer Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (18651950) is best remembered for his development of Eurhythmics, which teaches the appreciation of music through movement. But Jaques-Dalcroze, who studied with Delibes and Fauré in Paris and with Bruckner and Fuchs in Vienna, was a considerable composer in his own right, with operas, cantatas and orchestral works among his substantial output. These piano works, all written in the 1890s, are generally lighter in style, showing the influence of Schumann and the salons of Paris.

The Swiss composer Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (18651950) is best remembered for his development of Eurhythmics, which teaches the appreciation of music through movement. But Jaques-Dalcroze, who studied with Delibes and Fauré in Paris and with Bruckner and Fuchs in Vienna, was a considerable composer in his own right, with operas, cantatas and orchestral works among his substantial output.

The Swiss composer Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865–1950) is best remembered for his development of Eurhythmics, which teaches the appreciation of music through movement. The buoyant miniatures recorded on this fourth album of his piano music document his fascination with dance, but nonetheless display a degree of variety: some are winsome and charming, others vigorous and folk-like, and occasionally they suggest echoes of some of his French contemporaries, not least Chabrier, Debussy, Fauré and Ravel.