Caplet; Ibert; Salzedo Harp Works

An enchanting and diverting harp recital that can leave you breathless

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: André Caplet, Carlos (Léon) Salzedo, Jacques (François Antoine) Ibert

Genre:

Instrumental

Label: Channel Classics

Media Format: Hybrid SACD

Media Runtime: 76

Mastering:

Stereo
DDD

Catalogue Number: CCSSA28908

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
(3) Morceaux Carlos (Léon) Salzedo, Composer
Carlos (Léon) Salzedo, Composer
Lavinia Meijer, Harp
(2) Divertissements André Caplet, Composer
André Caplet, Composer
Lavinia Meijer, Harp
(6) Pièces Jacques (François Antoine) Ibert, Composer
Jacques (François Antoine) Ibert, Composer
Lavinia Meijer, Harp
I have a confession to make. When my son was small, he often had trouble falling asleep at night. My lullaby-singing proved an ineffective soporific, so I experimented with more musical alternatives. In the end, it was a disc of harp music that did the trick. Initially, I was relieved, but soon began to worry about possible long-term effects. Would he have to wonder, in his adulthood, why the strains of Salzedo rendered him senseless?

I’d forgotten about the Pavlovian can of worms I’d opened up until I slipped this CD into the player. As I sat mesmerised by the elegance and élan of Lavinia Meijer’s interpretations, I suddenly remembered and a wave of guilt swept over me. Her music-making should make one sit up and listen, not drift off. Indeed, it’s the delicate moments of this programme that left me breathless. In Meijer’s hands, Salzedo’s “Jeux d’eau”, Op 29, is a masterpiece, its fragile tones as evanescent as sea spray. Salzedo’s Op 30 Variations offer a wider emotional range, and although Yolanda Kondonassis plays with greater brilliance and bravado on a Telarc recital, I find Meijer’s performance the more emotionally engaging. Channel Classics also provides airier sound, particularly in SACD format.

The Caplet Divertissements are atmospheric gems – mercurial in the French one, brooding in the Spanish. And Ibert’s six evocative and exquisite miniatures give Meijer further opportunity to enchant, particularly in the Fauré-like melancholy of the Ballade. A bewitching recital from first note to last.

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