Quatuor Zahir – L’Heure bleue (Boulanger, Debussy, Finzi, Poulenc, Ravel, Waksman) (2024) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Quatuor Zahir – L’Heure bleue (Boulanger, Debussy, Finzi, Poulenc, Ravel, Waksman) (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:06:02 minutes | 971 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Aparté

The four saxophonists of the Quatuor Zahir set the scene for this second recording, which brings together the emblematic composers of twentieth-century France and their masterpieces. Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte and Trois Chansons, Nadia Boulanger’s Trois Pièces, Poulenc’s Chemins de l’amour, Charles d’Orléans’s Trois Chansons, Debussy’s Petite Suite and Rêverie all take on the warm timbres of their instruments in these arrangements for saxophone quartet, revealing new colours. They are echoed by two premières, Graciane Finzi’s Petite Suite and Fabien Waksman’s Les Lunes galantes, conceived as a fifth movement to Debussy’s Petite Suite. Here the Quatuor Zahir is reaffirming its commitment to creation, its virtuosity too, but above all the singularity of its unique musical identity.Without any hesitation, we had to award a Qobuzissime to L’Heure bleue, the second album by Quatuor Zahir. Because in the classical world, the saxophone quartet is still too rare a format on both record and on stage. Because the impressionist works of Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc, and Boulanger dazzle us, as do the creations of Fabien Waksman and Graciane Finzi. Because of the refinement and sophistication of these arrangements. Because of the impeccable sound recording—always a highlight of the Aparté label. Because of the beauty of the title, “L’Heure Bleue,” which sums up the driving idea behind this powerful record. “This ephemeral moment at the crossroads of day and night—such could be the dream setting for this new opus. An invitation to a dreamlike journey,” explain the members of the quartet—Guillaume Berceau, Etienne Boussard, Florent Louman, and Joakim Cielsa. Five years after their debut, the quartet took the time to construct this recital piece by piece, with the patience of goldsmiths or those who have a taste for beauty and precision of gesture. Like a landscape with changing colors and moods—from the lively (Debussy’s “Quant j’ai ouy le tabourin”) and languorous (Ravel’s “Pavane pour une infante défunte”), to the playfulness of the last of Boulanger’s Trois Pièces—in L’Heure bleue we find the gentle reminiscence of a forgotten or fantasized era. Whether the works interpreted here are in their original form or arranged, it becomes almost impossible to distinguish between the two categories, as each track is so immediately appealing. The Zahirs interweave their sublime timbres with consummate artistry, with all the interpretations becoming essentials. – Pierre Lamy

Tracklist:

01. Quatuor Zahir – Debussy: Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans, L. 99 (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Florent Louman): I. Dieu ! qu’il la fait bon regarder ! (02:04)
02. Quatuor Zahir – Debussy: Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans, L. 99 (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Florent Louman): II. Quant j’ai ouy le tabourin (01:38)
03. Quatuor Zahir – Debussy: Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans, L. 99 (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Florent Louman): III. Yver, vous n’estes qu’un vilain (01:50)
04. Quatuor Zahir – Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte, M. 19 (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Guillaume Berceau) (05:12)
05. Quatuor Zahir – Debussy: Petite Suite, L. 71a (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Alexandros Markeas): I. En bateau (03:59)
06. Quatuor Zahir – Debussy: Petite Suite, L. 71a (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Alexandros Markeas): II. Cortège (03:19)
07. Quatuor Zahir – Waksman: Les Lunes galantes (03:55)
08. Quatuor Zahir – Debussy: Petite Suite, L. 71a (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Alexandros Markeas): III. Menuet (03:10)
09. Quatuor Zahir – Debussy: Petite Suite, L. 71a (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Alexandros Markeas): IV. Ballet (03:12)
10. Quatuor Zahir – Ravel: À la manière de Borodine, M. 63/1 (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Guillaume Berceau) (01:51)
11. Quatuor Zahir – Finzi: Une Petite Suite: I. Stabilité mouvante (01:58)
12. Quatuor Zahir – Finzi: Une Petite Suite: II. Et passe le temps… (03:01)
13. Quatuor Zahir – Finzi: Une Petite Suite: III. Hiver (01:55)
14. Quatuor Zahir – Finzi: Une Petite Suite: IV. Chiacchierata (03:16)
15. Quatuor Zahir – Debussy: Rêverie, L. 76 (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Vincent David) (04:22)
16. Quatuor Zahir – Boulanger: Trois Pièces (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Guillaume Berceau): I. Modéré (03:04)
17. Quatuor Zahir – Boulanger: Trois Pièces (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Guillaume Berceau): II. Sans vitesse et à l’aise (01:32)
18. Quatuor Zahir – Boulanger: Trois Pièces (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Guillaume Berceau): III. Vite et nerveusement rythmé (03:03)
19. Quatuor Zahir – Debussy: Clair de lune, L. 82a (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Guillaume Berceau) (04:16)
20. Quatuor Zahir – Ravel: Trois Chansons, M. 69 (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Guillaume Berceau): I. Nicolette (01:42)
21. Quatuor Zahir – Ravel: Trois Chansons, M. 69 (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Guillaume Berceau): II. Trois beaux oiseaux du paradis (02:37)
22. Quatuor Zahir – Ravel: Trois Chansons, M. 69 (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Guillaume Berceau): III. Ronde (01:34)
23. Quatuor Zahir – Poulenc: Les Chemins de l’amour, FP 106-Ia (Arr. for Saxophone Quartet by Guillaume Berceau) (03:21)

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