These
Impressions parisiennes
from the
Quatuor Van Kuijk
, French, despite its Dutch name, don't have a deeper method in the programming; the group members freely conceded that they simply wanted to arrange some of their favorites. This works. When most of the works were composed, such arrangements, while growing rarer, certainly wouldn't have been beyond the pale. Indeed, only one of the arrangements is by the group itself; that of
Debussy
's
Petite Suite
, a work already much arranged, is by the quartet's violist,
Emmanuel François
, and it makes the music sound for all the world like it was written for a string quartet. The listener will enjoy hearing the French favorites on the program in a new light. Perhaps the biggest news here, though, is the group of five pieces by pianist and composer
Baptiste Trotignon
, collectively titled
Ces Messieurs
. Individually, they are called "Francis," "Maurice," "Erik," "Claude," and "Gabriel" (referring to
Poulenc
,
Ravel
Satie
, and
Fauré
).
Trotignon
is better known for jazz than for classical concert music, but these are quite subtle in evoking the general flavor of the referred-to composers. The result is a fresh take on some French classics, with good, intimate studio sound from
Orchid Classics
. ~ James Manheim