Classical Music

In his music, Camille Saint-Saëns constantly aimed for clarity and balance, qualities he considered to be the essence of French style. The form of his wonderfully balanced String Quartet no. 1 in e, op. 112, is difficult and demanding. Past the age of sixty when he finally attempted composing a string quartet, the result was a masterpiece. The String Quartet no. 2 in G, op. 153, is more modest in its proportions. Known primarily as interpreters of choice in French post-Romantic repertoire, the echoes of praise in the press exemplify the best of the Joachim Quartet across all styles and all ages.

Arthur Honegger’s seven-part La Danse des Morts, the music of which he composed to words by the French dramatist and poet Paul Claudel who he’d previously collaborated with for the oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher, forms a sort of huge “ascension”: the first four parts provide the human basis, God replies in Part Five, followed by Faith in the Cross and the Lord’s promise to the children of Israel (Affirmation). Two earlier orchestral works, the Pastorale d’eté (1920) and the Nocturne (1936), complete the disc. Henri Vachey conducts Le jeune orchestre symphonique de Douai.

After great popularity in Italy, the mandolin came into favor in the Paris salons c. 1760, when the ‘galant’ style was at its height and the virtuoso qualities of the Neapolitan mandolin players were greatly appreciated by the members of high society who frequented the salons. Christian Schneider teaches at the Schola Cantorum in Paris and works at the Opéra, with the Ensemble Intercontemporain and for Radio France, as well as appearing with many international orchestras. Sylvie Pécot-Douatte has aimed to revive and focus attention on French keyboard music of the late 18th c.