Who is insensitive to the night? A shadow that suspends time and changes appearances. Sleep, dreams, anguish or inspiration, the night opens doors to which it alone holds the key. Its silence, to be neither seen nor heard, exalts the senses; it is through shadows that brightness comes to a climax.
With this new programme, violinist Marianne Piketty and her ensemble Le Concert Idéal explore several reactions to this nocturnal illumination: from the evenings and mornings of Lili Boulanger to the ghosts, spirits and daybreaks of Vivaldi, from the dreams and poems of Ysaÿe to the creation of Bajo la estrella by the young composer Alex Nante (who has also arranged Lili Boulanger’s compositions for this recording). A journey revealing how, despite the places, times and characters, night never ceases to exert the same mystery…
“Ancient doors have opened, I go inside under the star” (Jacobo Fijman)
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« This work for violin and string ensemble is dedicated to Marianne Piketty. It is part of a series of pieces I wrote around the allegory of night. The silent atmosphere and the exercise of a certain austerity in the writing are linked to the spiritual detachment that the nocturnal state can suggest. This crossing of the desert, very present in several spiritual traditions, considers the spiritual night as the matrix of a new day.
The phrase ‘bajo la estrella’ (‘under the star’) comes from a poem in the collection Estrella de la mañana by the Argentine writer Jacobo Fijman (1898-1970). His work is a moving testimony to the night. Fijman remains, like so many other mystics, on the threshold between darkness and light, in the heartrending proximity between madness and sanctity. »
Alex Nante
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« Hyper string sensitivity » (Pierre Gervasoni, Le Monde 2022) – 2022 disc selection
« Irresistible momentum, colours, impressions, sensations, a high sharpness of play, phrasing clarity, dynamics, drama and feelings » (Jérôme Gillet, Froggy’s Delight 2022)
« The chamber ensemble’s intimate colour is a soft setting for the mystery of the night » (Joséphine Laffaille, ComposHer 2022)
« Marianne Piketty and her ensemble Le Concert Idéal, thought an agreed commitment, reach a most accomplished unity of inspiration, letting the audience at the core of undeniable musical richness. » (Jean-Jacques Millot, Opus HD 2022)
