Pascal Gallet

The second half of the 19th century was an erawhen musicians valued the evocation of the fantastic and the expression of passion above all else. They did not hesitate to manipulate and reshape musical frameworks through a wide variety of expressive techniques such as rubato (modifying rhythms and varying pulsation), portamento (expressively sliding between notes), arpeggiation, adding appoggiaturas and trills, and improvising musical transitions. For the recording of Vienna 1840, Pascal Valois set out to rediscover these manners of expression as they existed in the Germanic Romantic period. For this same reason, he used a replica of an 1830 Viennese guitar by luthier Johann Georg Stauffer (1778–1853).

In the music of Erik Satie, the sublime and the ridiculous reside in such tantalizingly close proximity that it's useless to try to separate them–which may, after all, be the point. For example, what can one say about 'Three Pieces in the Form of a Pear' other than there are really seven of them and regardless what fruit they may sound or look like they comprise a set of dances as disarming as any in piano literature? Fortunately, the case is well made in the performances of Pascal Rogé and Jean-Philippe Collard, who bring just the right balance of lightness and weight, wit, and beauty and plainness to the music.

Maretimo Records presents Pascal Dubois - City Sounds - Cosmopolitan Lounge Music. Join this cool cosmopolitan lounge trip with top class chillhouse music by Pascal Dubois.

Constellations, the 5th opus in the Solo series of the Orchestre national d’Île-de-France, invites you to discover the viola repertoire from the 19th century to the present day. Conveyed with sensitivity and panache by violist Guillaume Leroy, joined by Victor Metral and Aurélien Pascal, this album brings together six previously unreleased works by some of today’s leading composers, set against pieces from the Romantic and modern repertoire. From Schumann to Connesson, not forgetting Lutoslawski, Pépin, Vieuxtemps and Tanguy, let yourself be guided through this galaxy of poetic and powerful works.

This disc makes for a satisfying programme. I agree with its title, too, for although reference books often call Honegger Swiss he was born in Le Havre, became a pupil of d'Indy in Paris, was one of Les Six and died in the French capital. His Cello Concerto is a small work both in style and content, pastorally Gallic in feeling and with a bouncy second section and finale to its single-movement form. This is unfamiliar repertory, well written for the cello, that earns its place in the catalogue.

Since the latter half of the 80 s, Pascal Rogé, who has been actively involved in Poulenc's works, has collaborated with Duboscq of Soprano, a Kashu Maille from Bariton, to record his sophisticated songs composed for poems under Apollinaire. An album that allows you to get drunk with delicate accompaniment and unquoted beautiful voices.