Pierre Bartholomée

Influenced by Bruch and R. Strauss, then d’Indy, Debussy and Ravel, Joseph Jongen has been the main Belgian late-romantic symphonist. He left an important list of orchestral works (see also CYP1634 and CYP3610). This CD allows us to discover two jewels: all the songs (“melodies”) orchestrated by Jongen, with among others the splendid collection of Les Fêtes rouges (1918), composed on poems by the great Flemish writer Franz Hellens, inspired by the darkest days of WW1; on the other hand, the radiant Triptych for orchestra, a summary of the art of the Belgian master, composed in the last years before WW2 for the centenary of the concert society of the Brussels Royal Conservatory of Music. Crossed by French breezes and enlightened by a clearly recognizable personality, these attractive works place the great master back in his "sunset" time and style, now that we are able, maybe, to appreciate more deeply the artistic course of the Late Romantics.

Villa-Lobos was a composer of astonishingly prolific creativity, though most of his works are little-known and his discography is meagre. An autodidact, he developed a personal system of composition, inspired by Brazilian folk music (cf. Chôros VII which mixes winds and strings in a direct evocation of the streets of Rio), contemporary European music, and Bach (in the Bachiana brasileira nr. 1 which employs the special sound of an orchestra of cellos). The focal point of this record, Chôros XII, described by the composer as "strong, big and robust as an old elephant" is a monumental work that develops a structure based on variation form. Villa-Lobos displays an consummate art of orchestration. The publication Les indispensables du disque compact classique (Fayard) refers to this recording as "to be marked by a white stone: we had no idea these musicians from Liège could pick up Brazilian rhythms so naturally. A success" - one that is updated for the greater pleasure of listeners.

Published by Suvini Zerboni (Milano), Aquarius-Memorial is the most important work of Henri Pousseur at the end of the 90's, and a homage to his friend composer, the late Karel Goevaerts, who hold before him the chair of contemporary music teacher at the prestigious Leuven University. The work is written for piano and a great chamber orchestra. This CD, exclusively packaged by Graziella Borghesi, reflects the work's first performance in Leuven, by authoritative interpreters showing an intimate knowledge of Pousseur's language: the well-known American composer and pianist Frederic Rzewski, the exquisite Beethoven Academy (Antwerp) and the composer and conductor Pierre Bartholomée.

Imbued by popular balls, jazz, football and rock’n roll, Jean-Marie Rens entered the world of "serious music" thanks a great teacher – Jean-Claude Baertsoen –, with an exceptionally open mind. The lessons by Quinet, Messiaen, Takemitsu and, above all, by Boulez will indeed enrich a very personal ground. Rens’ current briliant pedagogical career is focused on analysis, and brought him from the Lille University (France) to the Royal Conservatories of Brussels and Liege. It did not prevent him from keeping a strong contact with "basic" pedagogy – he masterly leads the Academy of Music in Saint-Gilles (Brussels). This career gives him many opportunities to have an in-depth reflection upon his apparently irreconcilable "idols" and concerns – Boulez, Webern, Bartók, Ligeti, rhythm, jazz, popular music… –, this all with the most disconcerting facility. In his language, color, rhythm, time, space, structures are handled with the greatest mastery, finely mixing instinctive approach and reflected strategy. That is precisely what expresses Pierre Bartholomée in his remarkable notes for this recording ; it is also what express the excellent performers gathered in this cd-programme, all linked by a sincere admiration for this winning young composer.

Henri Pousseur is generally seen as the main champion of new music in Belgium during the past century. His work, nevertheless, is often misunderstood and, above all, often judged without any knowledge. Still extremely active as a composer, he has the serene resolution of those who build an « œuvre », and do not fear posterity’s judgments. Better known outside his own country, he deserves a bow for the coherence of his artistic journey across the second half of the 20th Century – no doubt one of the most impressive in the cultural history of Belgium in that era. Together with the first complete publication of his theoretical writings in French, here is a new CD with two essential works for great ensembles (1967 and 1981), conducted by their first performer, a faithful artistic mate: Pierre Bartholomée. Bartholomée finds here back, for a new recording, the Musiques Nouvelles ensemble which he established more than forty years ago. The illuminating notes by Robert Wangermée, tracing with objectivity, but also with tenderness, Pousseur’s career, will accompany a listening which will surprise many by the audacious, refined and seductive modern style.

Jacques Leduc is an outstanding figure in Belgian music. President of the Belgian Author's Rights Society (SABAM), teacher at the Conversatory of Brussels, rector of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, this dynamic man is also a distinguished composer with a dense, compact and rhythmical musical language. Tight counterpoint, structural rigour, classical forms serve - an apparent paradox - as much to cast a veil of modest concealment as to express tremulous and genuine sensitivity. The Lièhe Philharmonic Orchestra and its conductor Pierre Bartholomée tackle these demanding but jubilant works with infectious pleasure.

Henri Pousseur Was, With Bério, Boulez, Maderna, Nono And Stockhausen, One Of The Dominant Figure Of The Darmstadt School. He Has Dedicated His Life - Which Has Been Enriched By Encounters With Notable People Such As Michel Butor - To Experimentation And To Musical Teaching, And Has Developed A Language That Forms A Bridge Between Pas And Future. His Childhood Love Of Dichterliebe Inspired Him To Compose A Vast Paraphrase, As Coherent As It Is Charming, That Explores The Innermost Secrets Of Schumann's Masterpiece. The Total Commitment Of The Vast Resources Involved - Soloists, Chorus, Orchestra - Makes This Recording An Event.