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Guy Vandromme - Bruno Duplant: l'infini des possibles
ByAccording to Michael Pisaro-Liu's sleevenotes, Duplant's score consists primarily of lowercase letters which stand for the "white keys" of the piano. Full stops and spaces are placed in the letter stream to give a suggestion of phrasing. Occasionally, these letters are affected by accents, uppercase shifts, cedilles and apostrophes, with each of these marks open to interpretation. A line of letters should last about one minute; each etude consists of a single page of eight lines. While the order of the letters is fixed, their combinations and repetitions are determined by the performer. The performer is asked to play "soberly, slowly and with a sweet melancholy."
All of which gives a pianist plenty of leeway to interpret the pieces in their own way, including use of pedals, pauses between notes, which octave to use, and countless other considerations. No wonder the album is entitled l'infini des possibles (infinity of possibilities). That is doubtless why Vandromme recorded the pieces at his home studio, in Messelbroek, Belgium (on a Steinway C-Grand piano from 1896). It took him from March until May 2021yes, months to record two hours of music.
The results of Vandromme's labours do not hint at the trials, tribulations, trial and error which he must have gone through in those months. The end products certainly fit the instruction to play soberly, slowly and with a sweet melody. From start to finish, the music is tranquil and relaxing, with a natural, unforced flow to it. There is enough variety to engage listeners throughout the album's two hours without any of the music sounding like filler. Duplant and Vandromme deserve equal praise for the final result,
Track Listing
etude no. 1; etude no. 2; etude no.3; etude no. 4; etude no. 5; etude no. 6; etude no. 7; etude no. 8; etude no. 9; etude no. 10; etude no, 11; etude no. 12.
Personnel
Guy Vandromme
pianoAlbum information
Title: l'infini des possibles | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Elsewhere
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