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Ravel Chamber Music
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Encapsulating the full range of Ravel's instrumental style this disc ranges from the orchestral Tombeau de Couperin to the Valses Nobles et Sentimentales for solo piano. Ravel's seminal String Quartet in F represents some of his finest music, and the Introduction and Allegro is a masterpiece of instrumentation, sensual and colourful with the harp at its core.Dedicated to the memories of Ravel's friends lost in World War I, Le Tombeau de Couperin expresses deeply-felt emotion with grace and poise, beautifully performed by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. The bittersweet harmonies of the 'Forlane' and a nostalgic 'Menuet' are flanked by the optimistic vivacity of the 'Prélude' and a high-spirited and virtuosic 'Rigaudon'.The medium of string quartet drew from Ravel some of his most profound music; without an obvious contrast in instrumental timbre, Ravel had to find new ways of creating colouristic effects, which are brought out perfectly by The Lindsays. Gordon Fergus Thompson conveys Ravel's treatment of the piano's sonorities in the Valses, while the Prometheus Ensemble provides a definitive interpretation of the delicately sensual Introduction and Allegro. Only $11.98 - Click here to buy now! |