夢のあとに ～ ベル・エポック期のピアノの夜

エマニュエル・デスパックス、
ファツィオリ・ピアノで聴く美しき夜の音楽!

ファツィオリ・ピアノで聴く美しき夜の音楽。英国王立音楽カレッジで名教師ルース・ナイにピアノを学び、クラウディオ・アラウの孫弟子にあたるファツィオリ・プレイヤー、エマニュエル・デスパックス。ロマン派とポスト・ロマン派作品の優れたパフォーマーとして高い評価を築いているデスパックスの最新作は、夜をテーマにしたフランス近代のピアノ作品集!フランスのベル・エポック期のレパートリーへの賛歌である本作は、サン=サーンス、ドビュッシー、ラヴェルの有名作品に、デスパックス編曲によるフォーレの《夢のあとに》、そしてシャミナードやプーランク、デュパルクらの演奏機会の少ない名作を組み合わせ、夜と夢の美しさを描いています。また本作は彼の祖父である詩人ジャック・シャルパントローに捧げられており、ブックレット(英語・フランス語)には彼の詩の一部と、彼が尊敬していた他の詩人の作品が掲載され、音楽を補完しています。
東京エムプラス

It is hard to figure out what pianist Emmanuel Despax had in mind for the concept of this album. Its various titles offer three ideas: Apres un reve comes from the title of a Faure song Despax transcribes for his program opener, plus there is "Belle Epoque: Nights at the Piano." None of these is of much use; few pieces other than the Faure are particularly dreamy, and the largest piece, Poulencs Soirees de Nazelles, is from the nervous 1930s and nowhere near the Belle Epoque in time or mood. As for "Nights at the Piano," that fits the Poulenc nicely but not the concluding Gaspard de la Nuit of Ravel, which is an imposing virtuoso concert work carrying none of the connotations of "Nights at the Piano." Really, Despax excels in none of these three ways but rather in a fourth: he hits on an intriguing mix of familiar standards and unusual works. Among the latter group are the Soirees de Nazelles, which Poulenc disclaimed and, perhaps for that reason, have been seldom heard. They are delightful pieces that bear titles describing qualities, like the numbers of a Baroque French suite, but actually seem to have been devised by Poulenc to describe members of a group of his friends, like Elgars Enigma Variations. The result is a work that distills the hint of improvisation that pervades some of Poulencs keyboard music and songs, and Despax gives it the right lively, spontaneous feel. The Nocturne, Op. 165, of Cecile Chaminade and the keyboard version of Henri Duparcs Aux etoiles are also nice finds. As for the more heavily trodden works, Debussys Clair de lune is pleasantly moody, although no one would select this album for the rote Gaspard de la Nuit or the rather un-macabre Danse Macabre, Op. 40, of Saint-Saens. For Poulenc lovers, however, this is an important find. ~ James Manheim