Jean-Marc Fessard - French Recital for Clarinet and Harp, Vol II (2023)

The second volume of French works for clarint and harp featuring works by Jean-Baptste Bedart, Paul Veronge de la Nux, Gabriel Pierne, Serge Lancen and Laurent Coulomb. Jean-Baptiste Bedart's (1758-1815) Duo Concertant for clarinet and harp is in three movemets and is his 56th composition, composed near the end of his life. The delight and agility of the harp, demonstrates the tardif style galant of this lovely piece of music, and reminds us of clarinet compositions by contemporary composers such as Francois Devienne Jean-Xavier Lefevre or Charles Duvernoy. Paul Veronge de la Nux's (1853-1928) Morceau de Concours is part of 72 'Solos de Concours' for clarinet comissioned by the Conservatoire de Paris between 1897-1997. De la Nux had the particularity of including the harp to enrich the score with clear attacks, the halo of its resonance and evanescence of its arpeggios, that enlighten this exercise -technical difficulty, which became the stone founder of the French Clarinet School. Canzonetta op.19 is a unique piece by Gabriel Pierne (1863-1937) for clarinet and piano, composed in 1888, is one of his most engaging and frequently played in the clarinet repertoire. The climbing arabesque of the clarinet and the rythm of the sicilienne that form the base of this short piece, confer to the Canzonetta all the charm and elegance of the French music related to the period of France's 3rd Republique. The tender fluidity of the harp reinforces the sense of enchantment of this jewel of a piece by Pierne, who composed among other pieces his Konzert Stuck for harp and orchestra dedicated to the famous Belgian harpist Alphonse Hasselmans. In the Duo Concertant, edited in 1988, Serge Lancen (1922-2005) conveys the synthesis of his diverse influences and delivers in this piece a painted fresco that covers mystery, orientalism with the form of theme amd variations where the clarinet is softened by the mellowness of the harp. Inspired by poems and spiritual literature, Laurent Coulomb's (b. 1977) compositions amount to more than 60 works. His composing unites musical discourse and emotion, developing a contemporary musical speech soliciting lyricism . Laurent Coulomb inspired several musicians and institutes with this new style of modern music. The ''Sonate en Duo'' dedicated to Rachel Talitman and Jean-Marc Fessard is a large sonata, structured in the traditional three movements (vif,lent,vif) proposing a kind of nostalgic poetic trip - spleen or Sehnsucht.