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Après un rêve (Belle Époque: Nights at the Piano)

Emmanuel Despax

Classical - Released June 16, 2023 | Signum Records

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It is hard to figure out what pianist Emmanuel Despax had in mind for the concept of this album. Its various titles offer three ideas: Après un rêve comes from the title of a Fauré song Despax transcribes for his program opener, plus there is "Belle Époque: Nights at the Piano." None of these is of much use; few pieces other than the Fauré are particularly dreamy, and the largest piece, Poulenc's Soirées de Nazelles, is from the nervous 1930s and nowhere near the Belle Époque in time or mood. As for "Nights at the Piano," that fits the Poulenc nicely but not the concluding Gaspard de la Nuit of Ravel, which is an imposing virtuoso concert work carrying none of the connotations of "Nights at the Piano." Really, Despax excels in none of these three ways but rather in a fourth: he hits on an intriguing mix of familiar standards and unusual works. Among the latter group are the Soirées de Nazelles, which Poulenc disclaimed and, perhaps for that reason, have been seldom heard. They are delightful pieces that bear titles describing qualities, like the numbers of a Baroque French suite, but actually seem to have been devised by Poulenc to describe members of a group of his friends, like Elgar's Enigma Variations. The result is a work that distills the hint of improvisation that pervades some of Poulenc's keyboard music and songs, and Despax gives it the right lively, spontaneous feel. The Nocturne, Op. 165, of Cécile Chaminade and the keyboard version of Henri Duparc's Aux étoiles are also nice finds. As for the more heavily trodden works, Debussy's Clair de lune is pleasantly moody, although no one would select this album for the rote Gaspard de la Nuit or the rather un-macabre Danse Macabre, Op. 40, of Saint-Saëns. For Poulenc lovers, however, this is an important find. © James Manheim /TiVo
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Sohy: Compositrice de la Belle Epoque

Orchestre National Avignon-Provence

Classical - Released August 26, 2022 | La Boîte à Pépites

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The rediscovery of female composers proceeded more slowly in France than in Britain or the U.S., but that seems to be changing with the establishment of the La Boîte à Pépites label; it will devote itself to multivolume excavations of music by women. Charlotte Sohy: Compositrice de la Belle Époque is the label's debut release, covering the works of a composer who was all but unknown until just a few years before the album appeared in 2022. It is well worth the effort of all involved, and it is notable that the three-volume set appeared on classical best-seller charts in the autumn of 2022. One volume is devoted to keyboard music, one to chamber music -- including works with voice -- and one to orchestral music, again including orchestral songs. There's much to explore here, but a preliminary impression would be that Sohy's instrumental music is more distinctive than her vocal music, although there are some talented vocal soloists here; sample the work of the fabulously named Aude Extrémo in the Deux poèmes chantés, Op. 17. In Sohy's music there are traces of her teacher, Vincent d'Indy, of Ernest Chausson, of Gabriel Fauré in the earlier works, but in the best of them, there is an economical wit that is entirely distinctive. Try the Deuxième Quatuor, Op. 33 ("String Quartet No. 2"), which, after a very nervous "Badinierie scherzo," concludes with an entirely unexpected and quite weighty fugue. There is not a work in the set that couldn't hold its own on a program of French music, and the various performers are enthusiastic in their contributions. Those interested are urged to seek out the physical release, which includes detailed information on each work as well as some interesting cartoon illustrations. This is a pathbreaking release, likely to be followed by many more on its label. © James Manheim /TiVo
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Anyone with a Heart

Iiro Rantala

Jazz - Released February 28, 2014 | ACT Music

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Belle époque

Annelien van Wauwe

Classical - Released August 1, 2019 | PentaTone

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Belgian clarinettist Annelien Van Wauwe revives the golden glow of a bygone age on her Pentatone debut album "Belle époque", together with the Orchestre National de Lille and its music director Alexandre Bloch. The programme is built around treasures of French turn-of-the-century music such as Debussy’s Première Rhapsodie, Pierné’s Canzonetta and Widor’s Introduction et Rondo (the latter two in arrangements by Jelle Tassyns). "Belle époque" also offers works that display a spiritual kinship to the age, such as Brahms’s First Clarinet Sonata, arranged by Luciano Berio, and a world-premiere recording of Paris-based contemporary composer Manfred Trojahn (Rhapsodie pour clarinette et orchestre). Annelien van Wauwe is a former BBC New Generation Artist and winner of the renowned Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award 2018. © Pentatone
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Miss Broadway

Belle Epoque

Disco - Released February 25, 1976 | Shadybrook Records

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Belle Epoque

French Affair

Pop - Released July 18, 2008 | Score Music

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Belle Époque - French Music for Wind

Orsino Ensemble

Chamber Music - Released April 1, 2021 | Chandos

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Under the leadership of its Artistic Director, Adam Walker, the Orsino Ensemble is a chamber group of flexible formation with five outstanding wind players at its core. Each is a leader in his or her field, the group’s members committed to showcasing the depth and versatility of the wind chamber repertoire. They expand and reduce the Ensemble’s format as needed across their different programmes. This flexible approach is clearly demonstrated on this their début recording for Chandos, programming works for solo instrument through to the full wind quintet and piano needed for Albert Roussel’s Divertissement. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries bore witness to significant advances in the design and manufacture of wind instruments, much of the development driven by French makers. At the same time, the rapidly expanding Paris Conservatoire supported not only performance study, but also a vast output of original compositions by their teaching staff for the student body. The varied programme on this album captures the spirit of the age – a Belle Époque indeed! © Chandos
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Belle Époque

Peirani & Parisien Duo Art

Contemporary Jazz - Released March 11, 2014 | ACT Music

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La Belle Époque: The Songs of Reynaldo Hahn

Susan Graham, Roger Vignoles

Art Songs, Mélodies & Lieder - Released January 1, 1991 | Sony Classical

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La Belle Époque

Audiomachine

Soundtracks - Released May 11, 2018 | Audiomachine

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COUCOU

Mathieu Bérubé

French Music - Released November 12, 2021 | Ad Litteram

Je vois les couleurs

7 Jaws

Hip-Hop/Rap - Released May 7, 2021 | Parlophone (France)

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Chant dans la nuit: Flute Music in the Belle Époque

Filippo Mazzoli

Chamber Music - Released May 15, 2020 | Dynamic

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L'organiste "belle époque" et l'héritage franckiste

Kurt Lueders

Classical - Released May 19, 2014 | Aeolus

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Belle Epoque - French Works for String Quartet

Galatea Quartet

Classical - Released March 17, 2014 | Sony Classical

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Paul Delmet Complete Songs: L'âme amoureuse de la Belle Époque (Semaine 7)

Enguerrand Dubroca

Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released December 13, 2021 | Salis & Cats, editions.

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Vintage Belle Epoque No. 62 - EP: Dixieland Jubilee

Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band

Dixieland - Released July 30, 1957 | Vintage Music

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Belle Époque

Daniel Hope

Classical - Released February 7, 2020 | Deutsche Grammophon (DG)

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The Belle Époque, the era lasting from the end of the Franco-Prussian War to the beginning of World War I (1871-1914), was a diverse period; the name is indicative at best of general tendencies such as peace and prosperity, along with darker trends. Violinist Daniel Hope's Belle Époque album contains music from various countries in a wide range of styles, and it's not quite a concept album. However, it does hang together in interesting ways. Hope's program mixes orchestral pieces and chamber music; this could easily have happened in a late 19th century concert, which might have thrown in some solo piano music as well. His selections from both the salon and the learned studio, pieces like Fritz Kreisler's Liebesleid, bump up against Webern's Four Pieces, Op. 7, with most of the music somewhere in between. What's fascinating is that the light and heavy works seem to have things to say to each other. It helps that Hope unearths some less familiar items and recruits enthusiastic collaborators. The Concerto for violin, piano, and string quartet of Chausson (here played with a string orchestra) is an unusual and moody work, and there are such novelties as Schoenberg's totally tonal Notturno for violin, harp, and string orchestra. Several pieces make use of Jane Berthe's harp, an instrument that doesn't always get its due in 19th century programming. The chamber music disc is full of attractive and rarely played items, such as Alexander Zemlinsky's Serenade and George Enescu's Impromptu concertant, and if the Webern seems to come out of nowhere, an audience of the early 20th century might not have heard it that way. Both enjoyable and innovative, like so much of Hope's work.© TiVo
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La Belle Epoque (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Various Artists

Film Soundtracks - Released November 6, 2019 | Masterworks

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Tigerdrottningen

Kent

Pop - Released January 1, 2014 | Universal Music AB