20/06/1999 - Auch (France) - Jean-Christophe Revel (organ)
The Livre de Sonates ("Book of Sonatas") for organ groups several commissions from the Spanish Ensems 97 festival, the city of Auch and Radio France. Composed between 1997 and 1999, this is the fruit of a wonderful, lasting collaboration with the young French organist Jean-Christophe Revel. Each sonata is conceived in a single movement developing a single idea, in the manner of Domenico Scarlatti's sonatas or, better yet, Rameau's harpsichord pieces. L'Extravagant is a sort of mechanical fantasy mingled with obsessions and false naïveté. Le Don and La Nuit are the two most noctural sonatas of the cycle, the second, of the famous 15th century dance. Le Gourmet is dedicated to the great chef Maurice Coscuelluela and relates the tasting of a delicate dish and the intense - but always too brief! - satisfaction that it procures. Les Astres is the longuestand most imposing sonata of the Book, and contrasts with the apparent lightness of the other sonatas. This is the climax of this cycle. Finally, Jubiliation is a sort of toccata, sometimes quite diatonic (and tonic) with an ostinato on the C pedal on which the whole edifice is built.
Régis Campo, translated by John Tyler Tuttle
Recording
1 CD Mandala, MAN 4948
Concerto pour violon - Kinderball - Livre de Sonates - Rondo
Nieuw Ensemble d'Amsterdam, A. Gimeno, K. Abe, J.C. Revel, Proxima Centauri, M.-B. Charrier
