Bruno Fontaine – Erik Satie {Deluxe Edition} (2015) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Bruno Fontaine – Erik Satie {Deluxe Edition} (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:45:28 minutes | 1,39 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: Qobuz | Booklet, Front Cover | © Aparté

Bruno Fontaine’s boldness should be applauded. There is no shortage of identikit Satie piano recitals that present an anaemic, straight-laced portrait of this most idiosyncratic of composers. At first sight, Fontaine’s new disc is no different. He obeys the legal requirement for Satie piano recitals to include the Gymnopédies and throws in the Gnossiennes as additional indemnity.

The performances, though, challenge the safe conformity, the curious predictability that smooths the edges in so many Satie recitals. Where the melody of the second Gymnopédie or the first Gnossienne says it should be loud, it is loud. All that should be startling about this is that he is prepared to emphasise rather than temper such moments. There is an improvisatory, mercurial air about much of the playing that is truly refreshing, especially in works such as the Avant-dernières pensées or the Sonatine bureaucratique. Sudden jolts in dynamic or tempo are not (or, at least, should not be) problematic in Satie, even when, as here, the piano has a tendency towards harshness. Less convincing, though, are passages where the pulse becomes erratic like a sailor staggering around on dry land for the first time in months. A frustrating distortion in an original vision.

Tracklist:
01 – Gymnopédie No. 1
02 – Gymnopédie No. 2
03 – Gymnopédie No. 3
04 – I. Airs à faire fuir, D’une manière très particulière
05 – II. Airs à faire fuir, Modestement
06 – III. Airs à faire fuir, S’inviter
07 – IV. Danse de travers, En y regardant à deux fois
08 – V. Danse de travers, Passer
09 – VI. Danse de travers, Encore
10 – Choral No. 1 (Lent)
11 – Choral No. 2 (Avec étonnement)
12 – Choral No. 3 (Lent)
13 – Choral No. 4
14 – Choral No. 5
15 – Choral No. 6
16 – Choral No. 7
17 – Choral No. 8
18 – Choral No. 9
19 – Choral No. 10
20 – Choral No. 11
21 – Choral No. 12
22 – I. Idylle
23 – II. Aubade
24 – III. Méditation
25 – Nocturne No. 1 (Doux et calme)
26 – Nocturne No. 2 (Simplement)
27 – Nocturne No. 3 (Un peu mouvementé)
28 – Nocturne No. 4
29 – Nocturne No. 5
30 – Gnossiennes No. 1
31 – Gnossiennes No. 2
32 – Gnossiennes No. 3
33 – Gnossiennes No. 4
34 – Gnossiennes No. 5
35 – Gnossiennes No. 6
36 – Gnossiennes No. 7
37 – I. Allegro
38 – II. Andante
39 – III. Vivache
40 – Ogive n°1 (Bonus Track)
41 – Ogive n°2 (Bonus Track)
42 – Ogive n°3 (Bonus Track)
43 – Ogive n°4 (Bonus Track)
44 – Rêverie du pauvre (Bonus Track)
45 – Honfleur-Arcueil (Bonus Track)
46 – Vexations (Bonus Track)