Composer: Joseph Jongen
Performer: Ivan Ilić
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Chandos
Catalogue: CHAN20264
Release: 2023
Size: 1.17 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
13 Preludes, Op. 69
01. No. 1, Inquiétude
02. No. 2, Nostalgique
03. No. 3, Pour danser
04. No. 4, Tourments
05. No. 5, Eau tranquille
06. No. 6, Appassionato
07. No. 7, Il était une fois
08. No. 8, Interlude
09. No. 9, Angoisse
10. No. 10, Giovinezza
11. No. 11, Papillons noirs
12. No. 12, Tendresse
13. No. 13, Airs de fête
24 Petits Préludes dans tous les tons, Op. 116
14. No. 1, Préambule
15. No. 2, Andantino
16. No. 3, Confidence
17. No. 4, Aria
18. No. 5, Canon
19. No. 6, Grave
20. No. 7, Allegro commodo
21. No. 8, Fughetta
22. No. 9, Étude pour la petite Cécile à l’occasion de sa 3e année
23. No. 10, Tristesse
24. No. 11, Pastorale
25. No. 12, Passacaglietta
26. No. 13, Rigaudon
27. No. 14, Sarabande
28. No. 15, Valse mignonne
29. No. 16, Molto espressivo
30. No. 17, Les Touches noires
31. No. 18, Petit ruisseau
32. No. 19, Bravura
33. No. 20, –
34. No. 21, Leggiero
35. No. 22, Scarlattiana
36. No. 23, Toccata-fanfare
37. No. 24, Pour conclure
Born in Liege, Belgium, in 1873, Joseph Jongen showed an outstanding precocity for music from a very early age, and was admitted to the Liege Conservatoire at the extraordinarily young age of seven. He won a First Prize for fugue in 1895 and honours diplomas in piano and organ the next year. In 1897, he won the Belgian Prix de Rome, which allowed him to travel to Italy, Germany, and France, where he experienced the music of Brahms and Richard Strauss, Faure, Debussy, and Ravel, all of which would exert an influence on the young composer. Although he composed in numerous genres, including the symphony and concerto, as well as chamber music, instrumental pieces, and choral works, it is his output for the organ for which he is now best known. The Serbian-American pianist Ivan Ilic helps to redress the balance with this new recording of two of Jongen’s substantial sets of Preludes for piano. The 13 Preludes, Op. 69 are expansive in nature and extremely poetic – each bears an evocative title. They are dedicated to emile Bosquet who gave their premiere, in 1923. The 24 Petits Preludes dans tous les tons were begun in 1940 and (like Bach’s preludes and fugues) circle through each and every key, major and minor. Arranged in twelve pairs, the minor key following the major on the same tonic note, these works reflect Jongen’s affinity for (and mastery of) their free form, as well as demonstrating his mature compositional style.