Piano music by Emmanuel Chabrier

The over-modestly titled Pièces pittoresques are really his Preludes, ten varied sound poems which search the soul and come up with not angst nor rage, but a unique combination of joy, vulnerability,... — BBC Music Magazine, March 2006, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 30th Jan 2006
Catalogue No: CDA67515
Label: Hyperion
Length: 75 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

April 2006

Editor's Choice

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Chabrier: Impromptu

Work length7:11

$1.50

$1.85

Angela Hewitt (piano)

Chabrier: Ronde Champêtre

Work length3:55

$1.00

$1.25

Angela Hewitt (piano)

Chabrier: Pièces pittoresques (10)

Work length42:20

$10.00

$12.50

Angela Hewitt (piano)

I. Paysage

Track length5:49

$1.00

$1.25

II. Mélancolie

Track length2:39

$1.00

$1.25

III. Tourbillon

Track length1:31

$1.00

$1.25

IV. Sous-bois

Track length4:30

$1.00

$1.25

V. Mauresque

Track length3:21

$1.00

$1.25

VI. Idylle

Track length3:51

$1.00

$1.25

VII. Danse villageoise

Track length4:36

$1.00

$1.25

VIII. Improvisation

Track length5:20

$1.00

$1.25

IX. Menuet pompeux

Track length6:10

$1.00

$1.25

X. Scherzo-valse

Track length4:33

$1.00

$1.25

Chabrier: Aubade

Work length4:45

$1.00

$1.25

Angela Hewitt (piano)

Chabrier: Ballabile

Work length1:33

$1.00

$1.25

Angela Hewitt (piano)

Chabrier: Caprice

Work length2:44

$1.00

$1.25

Angela Hewitt (piano)

Chabrier: Feuillet d'album

Work length2:13

$1.00

$1.25

Angela Hewitt (piano)

Chabrier: Habanera

Work length4:35

$1.00

$1.25

Angela Hewitt (piano)

Chabrier: Bourrée Fantasque

Work length6:38

$1.00

$1.25

Angela Hewitt (piano)

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Fresh from her distinguished three-disc survey of Couperin, Angela Hewitt turns her attention to the piano music of Emmanuel Chabrier. An important influence for subsequent generations of French composersmost notably Ravel, who acknowledged his debt to the older composerChabriers music was appreciated more by his fellow artists than by the public. His best worksnotwithstanding the popularity of his evergreen orchestral rhapsody Espanadeserve to be better known. Chabrier was a sensitive soul, prone to weep on hearing a single chord of Wagner, yet he cultivated a gaiety and sense of joy that is clearly heard in his music. As one biographer wrote: With Chabrier, burlesque went hand in hand with the sentimental; the picturesque was allied to the emotional. Chabriers passion for painting was unmatched by any other composer, and he was friends with important artists of the day, including Manet, Monet, Sisley, Cezanne and Renoir. He had many of their paintings on his walls, and Manets celebrated A Bar at the Folies-Bergrereproduced on the front cover of this recordinghung above his piano. Chabriers most important works are for the piano. The ten contrasting and evocative Pices pittoresques form the centrepiece of this recording, and were described by Poulenc as being as important for French music as the preludes of Debussy. The remaining works are charming and varied character pieces. All are played with style and affection by Angela Hewitt, who with her renowned warmth and communicative flair makes a very special case for this music.

Reviews

March 2006

The over-modestly titled Pièces pittoresques are really his Preludes, ten varied sound poems which search the soul and come up with not angst nor rage, but a unique combination of joy, vulnerability, and an excitable nature that verges on impatience. Hewitt... is at her best here, teasing out the yearning harmonies and shy cadences with a persuasive rubato.

2010

Chabrier's name lives on primarily through España and Marche joyeuse. His tiny output for piano is far too rarely encountered in the concert hall or on recordings, yet he is a delightful, self-contained original. From his total of a mere 26 titles, Angela Hewitt plays 18 on this little gem of a disc. It sounds as though the piano was recorded in some deserted fin de siècle spa hotel – and so it proves, for Hewitt's richly coloured Fazioli was captured in 'Das Kulturzentrum Grand Hotel, Dobbiaco, Italy'.
In fact, whenever there is an exposed soft passage in the upper treble in this programme, the same atmospheric effect engages the ear momentarily; in the more robust items, it is hardly noticeable. As to Hewitt's performances, they are as affectionate, warm, lyrical and charming as one could wish, underlining but not exaggerating Chabrier's deliciously predictable unpredictability.

April 2006

…Hewitt's performances… are as affectionate, warm, lyrical and charming as one could wish, underlining but not exaggerating Chabrier's deliciously predictable unpredictability.

Piano music by Emmanuel Chabrier

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