Chamber Music

Chronique

Though composer Florentine Mulsant's works are all quite unique and individual, she does a great deal to tip her hat to composers and visual artists of the past. Chamber music represents a large portion of her output to date, and this album showcases four of these works. The Concert Sonata for solo violin is a very "visual" piece of music, and the descriptions offered by the composer in the liner notes help immensely in trying to understand what she is trying to portray. The use of scordatura is reminiscent of Bartók, and the musical forms used in the movements are taken directly from the Baroque. The Piano Trio, Op. 23, was written in tribute to Robert Schumann incorporates some of his compositional nuance, and the Sonata for Solo Cello makes use of Bach's (and many since) incorporation of a person's name into the musical notes of a piece. Mulsant's intricate counterpoint, creative use of chromaticism, and frequent use of Baroque techniques make it clear where much of her inspiration is drawn from. Music of this level demands the utmost caliber of performance. The artists heard on this album deliver; intonation is extremely accurate, ensemble in the trio is tight, and recorded sound quality is quite nice. Most importantly, perhaps, is that the musicians seem to help Mulsant make her music understandable and easy to follow.

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