Piano Classics
De Severac: En languedoc; Cerdana; Baigneuses au soleil
$19.99
Details
- Composer
- Deodat De Severac
- Artist
- Serena Valluzzi
- Format
- CD
- Discs
- 1
- Label
- Piano Classics
- Released
- Mar 07, 2025
- Catalog #
- PCL10276
- UPC
- 5029365102766
About
'His music tastes good': this was Debussy's tribute to the art of Deodat de Severac (1872-1921). Goodness and love are words that recur frequently when speaking of Severac, so much so that the pianist Blanche Selva - his teacher and biographer - wrote: 'The soul of Severac's music is love, because true love, in reality, is an aspiration, a cry, a caress of goodness.' Born in Apulia, a graduate of the conservatoire in Bari, Serena Valluzzi now gives recitals across Europe, while engaged as professor of piano at the conservatoire in Foggia. This album of Deodat de Severac marks her debut on Piano Classics, and is distinguished with the sensitive musicianship which won her prizes at the Busoni International Piano Competition and elsewhere. Descended from an ancient Languedoc family, related on his mother's side to the Aragons of Spain, Severac received his first music lessons from his painter father. He studied and worked further afield, becoming a friend and assistant to Isaac Albeniz, but his heart and his musical language remained rooted in his native Languedoc. Thus he was inspired to write en Languedoc, premiered by his friend (and Ravel's) Riccardo Vines in 1905. Impressionism meets folkloric colour and melody in the five movements of en Languedoc, evoking a lakeside reverie, a horseback gallop, a village feast and a profound elegy. This 'Coin de cimetiere au printemps' (Cemetery Corner in Spring) is one of his most inspired works: his friend Alfred Cortot admired it's 'resignation and ardour, tenderness and bitterness', with 'a long, slow melody that expands in all it's religious fervour and inconsolable melancholy.' Cerdana is another vividly picturesque five-movement suite, cousin to the likes of Albeniz's Iberia and Granados' Goyescas, deserving recognition alongside them as a major cycle of Franco-Spanish impressionism from the early 20th century. Serena Valluzzi completes this illuminating introduction to the art of Deodat de Severac with a teasingly allusive portrait in sound of bathers in the sun, 'Baigneuses au soleil', from 1908. - Deodat de Severac was a French composer whose work represents a bridge between the impressionist styles of Debussy and Ravel and the traditional music of southern France. Born in the Languedoc region, Severac's music is deeply rooted in the cultural and musical heritage of the French countryside, particularly the Occitan tradition. His piano music, while often categorized alongside the impressionists, is distinguished by it's rich evocation of regional landscapes and folk elements, making it uniquely vibrant and evocative. - This new recording presents the beautiful Baigneuses au Soleil, the suite en Languedoc, and the suite Cerdana. These compositions are marked by a lyrical sensitivity and a deep connection to nature, often eschewing the complex harmonic language of his contemporaries in favor of a more direct, folk-inspired style. - Despite his relatively small output, Severac's piano music is celebrated for it's warmth and ability to transport listeners to the idyllic landscapes that inspired him. His work remains an important, if somewhat underappreciated, contribution to early 20th-century French music, offering a refreshing contrast to the urban-centric themes prevalent in much of the music of his time. - Played with great sensitivity and feeling for colors by young Italian pianist Serena Valluzzi, winner of the Premio Alkan and prize winner of the Busoni and Casagrande competitions.
Tracklist 11 tracks
-
1 Baigneuses au soleil, "Souvenir de Banyuls-sur-mer" 07:20
- Track
- 1
- Title
- Baigneuses au soleil, "Souvenir de Banyuls-sur-mer"
- Duration
- 07:20
- Composer
- Déodat de Sévérac
- Performer
- Serena Valluzzi
-
2 No. 1. En Tartane (L'arrivee en Cerdagne) 07:16
- Track
- 2
- Title
- No. 1. En Tartane (L'arrivee en Cerdagne)
- Duration
- 07:16
- Composer
- Déodat de Sévérac
- Performer
- Serena Valluzzi
-
3 No. 2. Les fetes (Souvenir de Puigcerda) 07:05
- Track
- 3
- Title
- No. 2. Les fetes (Souvenir de Puigcerda)
- Duration
- 07:05
- Composer
- Déodat de Sévérac
- Performer
- Serena Valluzzi
-
4 No. 3. Menetriers et glaneuses (Souvenir d'un pelerinage a Font-Romeu) 06:06
- Track
- 4
- Title
- No. 3. Menetriers et glaneuses (Souvenir d'un pelerinage a Font-Romeu)
- Duration
- 06:06
- Composer
- Déodat de Sévérac
- Performer
- Serena Valluzzi
-
5 No. 4. Les muletiers devant le Christ de Llivia (Complainte) 07:59
- Track
- 5
- Title
- No. 4. Les muletiers devant le Christ de Llivia (Complainte)
- Duration
- 07:59
- Composer
- Déodat de Sévérac
- Performer
- Serena Valluzzi
-
6 No. 5. Le retour des muletiers 05:15
- Track
- 6
- Title
- No. 5. Le retour des muletiers
- Duration
- 05:15
- Composer
- Déodat de Sévérac
- Performer
- Serena Valluzzi
-
7 I. Vers le mas en fête 08:54
- Track
- 7
- Title
- I. Vers le mas en fête
- Duration
- 08:54
- Composer
- Déodat de Sévérac
- Performer
- Serena Valluzzi
-
8 II. Sur l'étang, le soir 05:44
- Track
- 8
- Title
- II. Sur l'étang, le soir
- Duration
- 05:44
- Composer
- Déodat de Sévérac
- Performer
- Serena Valluzzi
-
9 III. À cheval, dans la prairie 04:07
- Track
- 9
- Title
- III. À cheval, dans la prairie
- Duration
- 04:07
- Composer
- Déodat de Sévérac
- Performer
- Serena Valluzzi
-
10 IV. Coin de cimetière, au printemps 07:56
- Track
- 10
- Title
- IV. Coin de cimetière, au printemps
- Duration
- 07:56
- Composer
- Déodat de Sévérac
- Performer
- Serena Valluzzi
-
11 V. Le jour de la foire, au mas 06:48
- Track
- 11
- Title
- V. Le jour de la foire, au mas
- Duration
- 06:48
- Composer
- Déodat de Sévérac
- Performer
- Serena Valluzzi