Poulenc: Concerto pour deux pianos et orchestre / Concert Champêtre / Suite Française

"Of prime interest here are the instruments: Immerseel and his fellow pianist, Claire Chevallier, play on Erard concert grands dating from 1896 and 1902. Katerina Chrobokova eschews Wanda Landowska's heavy-sounding 1912 Pleyel harpsichord in favour of a modern copy of a 1749 French instrument that sounds like a continuo rather than a soloistic voice...Poulenc's wistful melodic nostalgia, sensual timbres and quirky wit guarantee illicit pleasure."
(The Sunday Times)

"The dryest of kettle drums introduces a piquant "Concerto". The Mozartian accents are delivered with pithy wit, while Immerseel and Claire Chevalier play on flirty Erards. "Suite Française" sees the orchestra raid a stylistic dressing-up box, with shades of Berlioz and Bizet. "Concert Champêtre" has an urban tartness that belies its coy title." The Independent on Sunday, 26th June 2011

"the Erard's mellow French polish does add a warm halo of colour to the central Larghetto, and by no means dampens the joie de vivre of the final. The orchestral playing is finely moulded to the pianos' spectrum of sonority so that after the initial shock of hearing something out of the ordinary, the performance yields up much in finesse, fluency and fun." Gramophone Magazine, August 2011

"The Concerto for Two Pianos is part music hall romp, part Mozartian pastiche: Immerseel and Claire Chevallier play it for all its worth. The Suite Française for nine instruments is Poulenc's touching tribute to 17th-century dance: a sensitive performance from Anima Eterna Brugge" Financial Times, 2nd July 2011 ****

After exploring the universe of Ravel, Anima Eterna continues its voyage of discovery through twentieth-century French music with Francis Poulenc.

In Jos van Immerseel's view, Poulenc is one of the most significant personalities of the twentieth century, coupling immense erudition with surprising spontaneity. Not to mention the fact that Poulenc was also a particularly brilliant pianist.

The works presented in this recording are steeped in the French traditions of the sixteenth century (Suite Française for orchestra after Claude Gervaise) and the eighteenth (Concert champêtre for harpsichord (or piano) and orchestra). In the Concerto for two pianos, Poulenc breaks totally with the traditional concerto genre, liberating the form and the thematic development. Above all, the piece expresses the sheer pleasure of playing!