Aquarelles Alexandre Collard & Nicolas Royez

• Jean Françaix (1912 - 1997): Divertimento:
• 1 Divertimento: I. Introduzione 01:41
• 2 Divertimento: II. Aria di Cantabile 02:35
• 3 Divertimento: III. Canzonetta 03:15
• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): Ariettes oubliées, L. 60:
• 4 Ariettes oubliées, L. 60: C'est l'extase 02:34
• 5 Ariettes oubliées, L. 60: Il pleure dans mon cœur 02:22
• 6 Ariettes oubliées, L. 60: L'Ombre des arbres 02:42
• 7 Ariettes oubliées, L. 60: Paysages belges - Chevaux De Bois 02:51
• 8 Ariettes oubliées, L. 60: Aquarelles I - Green 02:25
• 9 Ariettes oubliées, L. 60: Aquarelles II - Spleen 02:29
• Jane Vignery (1913 - 1974): Sonate, Op. 7:
• 10 Sonate, Op. 7: I. Allegro 08:04
• 11 Sonate, Op. 7: II. Lento ma non troppo 07:07
• 12 Sonate, Op. 7: III. Allegro ben moderato 03:11
• Eugène Bozza (1905 - 1991):
• 13 En Forêt 06:39
• 14 En Irlande 05:03
• 15 Chant lointain 03:48
• 16 Sur les cimes 07:40
• 17 Entretiens 09:21
• Jean Françaix:
• 18 Canon à l'Octave 01:06
• Total Runtime 01:14:53

Info for Aquarelles

French music of the 20th century is resplendent with colors. The rich mixture of sounds of piano and horn wonderfully bring out this quality in the repertory that we wished to not only showcase but to enrich - we especially desired to place our particular sonority in the service of the music of Claude Debussy, one of the major composers of that time. For this, we decided to make a transcription of Debussy's Ariettes Oubliées that entrusts the original sung verses of Paul Verlaine to the poetic and melodic voice of the horn. The poet Verlaine also gave us the evocative title of our CD: Aquarelles. Particularly beloved by wind players, the works of Jean Françaix sparkle with rhythm and humor. Eugène Bozza, who composed prolifically especially for the horn, took full advantage of the pastoral nature of the instrument to paint bucolic and impetuous landscapes that delighted the two nature lovers that we are. As for Jane Vignery, a Belgian composer influenced by the impressionists, she left us a sonata that is heroic and adventurous yet playful - a true masterpiece!

Alexandre Collard, cor
Nicolas Royez,
piano

Alexandre Collard
First Prize winner at the Prague Spring International Music Competition in 2018 - along with the prize for best interpretation of the contemporary piece, the International Horn Society Prize, the Radio Free Europe Prize and a further nine awards, Second Prize winner at the Città di Porcia International Competition in 2013 and laureate of the Autumn Music Festival Competition (FMAJI) in 2011, Alexandre Collard has been among the elite musicians of his generation since his studies, first with Guy Mouy in Douai and then with André Cazalet at the Paris Conservatory.

A lover of the great symphonic repertory, Alexandre joined the Lille National Orchestra as solo horn at the age of 21, and has also played with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Philharmonique de Radio France and Dissonances, as well as performing solo concertos.

He is regularly invited to prestigious international chamber music festivals (Juventus, Deauville, Prague, Ticino etc.), and has played there together with artists such as Alena Baeva, Alissa Margulis, Graf Mourja, David Petrlik, Julian Steckel, Marie Hallynck and Jonas Vitaud.

His desire to explore the chamber music repertory led him to create the Ensemble Polygones together with his cellist wife, Natacha Colmez. This group mixes winds, strings and piano in a flexible, geometrically variable manner that allows them to interpret a great variety of works ranging from the very famous to lesser known treasures, contemporary pieces and spectacles for young audiences. The group has a particularly close collaboration with the composer Camille Pépin, and recently recorded a CD of her chamber music. He also plays sonata with the pianist Nicolas Royez, their first disc Aquarelles is to be released in autumn 2020.

Renowned pedagogue, he teaches in Douai, his hometown's conservatory.

Alexandre plays Paxman's 20M Centenary double horn.

This album contains no booklet.