Astrologie Lunaire

Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire and Berio's Folk Songs, classics of the twentieth century repertoire, inhabit entirely different aesthetic spheres, but their pairing is apt; the earthiness of Folk Songs is an ideal foil to Pierrot's strange otherworldliness. Hearing them together is revelatory because the juxtaposition accentuates the strength and individuality of each, and somehow they just seem to fit musically. This recording is also unique in separating the three sections of Pierrot with jazz interludes played by pianist Maria Baptist. They are not conventionally "jazzy" and have an intelligence and complexity reminiscent of Ligeti's Etudes. Konstantia Gourzi, who conceived of this pairing and the jazz interpolations, conducts the ensemble opus21musikplus. The variety and subtlety of tonal and expressive colors (and dialects, too) mezzo-soprano Stella Doufexis brings to the Berio are exactly what the work demands, but it has rarely been heard with such vividness. Doufexis' interpretations are nuanced and psychologically insightful; her performances are among the finest recorded versions of both works. Neos' sound is immaculate, immediate, and intimate. Highly recommended. ―Stephen Eddins, Rovi

Eugène Godecharle was director of music at the church of Saint-Géry in Brussels before his appointment as first violinist in the court orchestra. He was not only an outstanding violinist and violist, but seems also to have mastered the pedal harp; he subsequently made brilliant use of the tonal and technical possibilities that the newly invented pedal mechanism had enabled. His Sei Quartetti Op. IV are notable for their musical and tonal diversity as well as for the particular textures that Godecharle employed in their composition. In these harp quartets, recorded here for the first time, Société Lunaire explores a particularly fascinating sound world; their energetic allegros as well as melancholy and galant movements enrich the chamber music repertoire of the second half of the 18th century in a most elegant and charming manner.

Pierrot lunaire, premiered in Berlin in 1912, is a series of twenty-one short melodramas for voice and five instruments on German translations of poems by Albert Giraud. Here the composer first introduces Sprechgesang (speech-song), a technique that revolutionised declamation. Schoenberg wanted the piece to be ironic, at once tender and grotesque, in the manner of cabaret songs. Patricia Kopatchinskaja, the violinist who is also an occasional actress, had long dreamt of playing and reciting this unique work. It was a pain in her arm preventing her from playing the violin that one day propelled her into the role of narrator: ‘All my life I have felt that I was Pierrot.

Deux anciennes disciplines se retrouvent dans un guide unique faisant autorité, toute première traduction d'un texte classique chinois. De nos jours, le Feng Shui (l'art du positionnement) et l'astrologie chinoise (la science des prédictions) ont conquis l'imagination populaire, mais dans la foulée, ces disciplines classiques ont été édulcorées au point parfois de ne plus être reconnaissables. Aujourd'hui, un véritable érudit de la langue, de la littérature et de la philosophie chinoises les a restaurées dans ce remarquable ouvrage, …

L'auteure enseigne comment établir sa carte du ciel et localiser les planètes qui dominent son signe pour comprendre comment la position de celles-ci influence sa vie sentimentale, professionnelle et son avenir. Des conseils permettent d'interpréter les événements de la vie quotidienne et les comportements de son entourage. …