Naji Hakim: Phèdre, Caprice en Rondeau, Diptyque, Concerto for Piano

Albumbeschreibung

The Lebanese-French composer Naji Hakim was Olivier Messiaen's successor as organist at the Church of Sainte-Trinité in Paris, and some of his music is influenced by Messiaen. The sober setting of two scenes from Racine's tragedy Phèdre at the beginning of this Signum release, confidently interpreted by soprano Rima Tawil, follows in this vein. But the rest of the program has a different mood. Sample the Concerto for piano, heard here in a string quintet version. It's a sparkling Baroque-style concerto, in three movements, filtered through Hakim's French sensibilities and through his own light playing. The two short flute pieces in the middle of the program make even more direct reference to the Baroque, with quotations from Rameau and (probably) Pergolesi, but have a lightness that may bring to mind the vastly underrated Jean Françaix; they are modern despite the wealth of Baroque references. The light work of pianist Claire Foison here, with the Quatuor de la Chapelle Royale and double bassist Renaud Bary, is ideal. A recommended modern take on French neoclassicism.

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