Infill Planes

The genre of the mélodie accompanied Fauré like a kind of personal journal. This music voluptuously – and sometimes vehemently – encompasses the meanderings of the soul: dreams, nostalgia, reflections or mirages . . . Stéphane Degout and Alain Planès take advantage of the iridescent tones of an 1892 Pleyel in their interpretation of some of his finest song cycles, including the testamentary L’Horizon chimérique.

Could Alain Planès let the centenary of Satie’s death go by without paying tribute to this composer whom he admires above all others? On a 1928 Pleyel, he offers us a panoramic survey of this often droll, caustic music, which stubbornly resists classification. Marc Mauillon (in the songs) and François Pinel (in the pieces for piano four hands) accompany him in his exploration of the finest compositions of the ‘Maître d’Arcueil’. An exceptional CD, with a booklet ‘personally’ illustrated by both the composer and the performer themselves.

His Debussy and Chopin recordings for harmonia mundi already offer ample evidence that Alain Planès is highly adept at selecting a period instrument best suited for the repertoire.

Could Alain Planès let the centenary of Satie’s death go by without paying tribute to this composer whom he admires above all others? On a 1928 Pleyel, he offers us a panoramic survey of this often droll, caustic music, which stubbornly resists classification. Marc Mauillon (in the songs) and François Pinel (in the pieces for piano four hands) accompany him in his exploration of the finest compositions of the ‘Maître d’Arcueil’. An exceptional CD, with a booklet ‘personally’ illustrated by both the composer and the performer themselves.

Could Alain Planès let the centenary of Satie’s death go by without paying tribute to this composer whom he admires above all others? On a 1928 Pleyel, he offers us a panoramic survey of this often droll, caustic music, which stubbornly resists classification. Marc Mauillon (in the songs) and François Pinel (in the pieces for piano four hands) accompany him in his exploration of the finest compositions of the ‘Maître d’Arcueil’. An exceptional CD, with a booklet ‘personally’ illustrated by both the composer and the performer themselves.

The legend of the beautiful Maguelone has gone through centuries before Johannes Brahms set it to music in his eponymous Lieder cycle, based on Ludwig Tieck's novel. Stephane Degout has decided to pay tribute to the French origins of this epic romantic tale in a new project with Alain Planes, Marielou Jacquard and Roger Germser. An exceptional concert that blends Brahms' music with an exquisite reading crafted as close as possible to the legendary source, captured by b*records at the Theatre de l'Athenee Louis-Jouvet.