Ever imagined an entire programme devoted to marrying the sounds of the harp and the piano? Yes, of course there is quite a comprehensive repertoire for these two instruments, but, to be honest, not many of their works retain much significance. Years later, a young French composer, Régis Chesneau (born 1986), took an interest in this unusual instrumental pairing; working from three of his arrangements, the harpist Isabelle Courret – sometime soloist at La Scala in Milan – and the pianist Cyprien Katsaris have devised this surprising programme, a veritable journey through centuries.
This recital begins with two extracts from Suite No. 1 for Two Pianos, Op. 5 by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943), namely Nos. 2 and 3. In this recording, Isabelle Courret and Cyprien Katsaris alternate the playing of the two piano parts to exploit the scope provided by the harp. A piece well overdue for rediscovery, the impressive Concerto for Harp Op. 182 by Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) is one of the foundation stones for this instrument’s repertoire. It was composed in Leipzig in 1884, dedicated to Edmund Schuecker (1860-1911), an exact contemporary of Gustav Mahler. Isabelle Courret and Cyprien Katsaris continue their journey with two movements from Histoire du Tango by Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992). In this suite of four pieces written in 1986, originally for flute and guitar, Astor Piazzolla aspired to present to us his own account of the tango, from the “bordellos” of Argentina in the early 20th century through to modern concert halls.
There follow the three pieces by Régis Chesneau. Composed for Cyprien Katsaris and Isabelle Courret in 2015, the two neotonal Contemplations are both contrasting and complementary. Impreso (impression in Esperanto) is in the neoclassical style, recalling French music of the early 20th century. Arranged in five movements in simple numerical order (to avoid influencing the listener), Tableaux was written in 2016 at the request of Cyprien Katsaris, especially for this recording.
The programme for this recording ends with Isaac Albéniz’s Pavana-Capricho, played here in the composer’s own arrangement for piano with four hands. Published in 1884, this Pavana-Capricho is imbued with popular Spanish rhythms. © Pierre-Yves Lascar/Piano 21