Inspired by Duccio’s polyptych, Swiss composer Frank Martin decided to write a work in six ‘tableaux’ based on the Passion of Christ.

In ‘Polyptyque’, a concerto for violin and two small orchestras rooted in the music of Bach, Martin sets out to transpose musically the scenes of the Crucifixion.

This work is the starting point for the new recording by Marianne Piketty and the Concert Idéal.

It is interspersed with works by Vivaldi, Bach, Lotti and Victoria, like so many tableaux responding to Martin’s work.

By opening up a dialogue between ancient and modern, sacred and secular, Marianne Piketty explores the continuum of human emotions, reminding us that they are at once universal and ephemeral, and yet a source of beauty and plenitude.