Les Tuches Quatre

Behind Brahms the titan, ambitious heir to Beethoven and Schumann, stands one of the greatest composers for the choir, an accomplice observer of Viennese customs. Love songs with a dance rhythm, the Liebeslieder Walzer express in turn desire, nostalgia, sorrow and amusement in the dialogue of hearts. To this emblematic collection, Léo Warynski joins several jewels of Brahmsian vocal art, where the colors of his Metaboles shine, accompanied here by pianists Yoan Héreau and Edoardo Torbianelli who complete the program with a selection of waltzes and Hungarian dances.

François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles offer us a double-sided portrait of Saint-Saëns here. On one side, some of the most fascinating symphonic poems of French Romanticism are revealed in all the shimmering timbres of the period. On the other, we rediscover a composer who enjoyed a good laugh (The Carnival of the Animals also returns to its original colours!), when he was not involved in the early days of the cinema, with the very first music ever composed for a film!

Les Kapsber’girls, an ensemble of four singers and instrumentalists directed by the lutenist Albane Imbs, has already released its debut album (Che fai tù?, released on Muso) which received several awards. The group now joins Alpha for several recordings, starting with Vous avez dit Brunettes? – ‘brunettes’ being the name of the chansons that lovers crooned in each others’ ears by the Bassin d’Apollon or among the groves of the Petit Trianon at Versailles Palace, undeniably light in character yet powerfully authentic. Seventeenth-century France was home to a host of artists whose talent served the nobility and the bourgeoisie, who were extremely partial to these airs. Performing them as vocal solos or duets with lute or viol, Les Kapsber’girls bring back to life, more than three centuries later, these works published by Ballard & Fils, printers to the Sun King, alongside such little-known composers as Julie Pinel and Giuseppe Saggione.

This edition contains all 1962 collaborations by Joe Pass and pianist Les McCann, who would continue working together the following year. Their 1962 output consists of their participation on Richard “Groove” Holmes LP "Somethin' Special" and on McCann's own album "On Time". Both records appear here in their entirety, as well as two tracks from the second LP that were not included on the original album. As a bonus, the complete LP "Back in Town!". Issued under the name of singer/guitarist Bumble Bee Slim (born Amos Easton), it consisted of two sessions, one featuring Pass, and the other featuring McCann.

In their very first recording together, pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin and the Violons du Roy present Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s piano concertos No. 22 and No. 24 that are replete with passionate outbursts, startling contrasts, rich orchestration and overt emotional fervor. Charles Richard-Hamelin, Silver medalist and winner of the Krystian Zimerman award at the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2015, impresses with his extremely refined playing and the Violons du Roy, under the direction of Jonathan Cohen, offer grandiose performances imbued with dignity and grace.