A Moveable Feast

‘If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.’ – Ernest Hemingway

The music on this disc has a very specific location and time at its heart. Paris in 1907. Fin-de-siecle Paris was absolutely the eye of the creative storm and most of the great musical minds from Europe and further afield either lived there or passed through. The Englishman Ralph Vaughan-Williams and Spaniard Manuel de Falla both came to study there and both were accepted in to Maurice Ravel’s close circle of friends (Vaughan-Williams as Ravel’s student). It is not certain if they ever met but both Vaughan-Williams and Falla were certainly acquainted with one another.

Stravinsky who was also in Paris at the time recalled the regular soirées at the home of Cipa and Ida Godebski where he first met Falla and Vaughan-Williams. Whilst Vaughan-Williams’s and Falla’s unique musical voices are inextricably linked to the music of their respective homelands, their time in Paris made a huge impression.

This disc is built around the tantalising thought that these three very different artists were all in Paris at the same time discussing music and inspiring one another.

(From liner notes by Simon Crawford-Phillips)

‘Throughout, there’s a feeling of musicians listening and responding, enjoying each other’s company.’

– Gramophone

‘Marvellous release. Internal balance is excellent, so no register dominates and despite the piano having a very realistic, powerful, gutsy sound it never overwhelms the other instruments, which is down to both the player and production team.’

– Audio Review

‘The performances and recording are excellent, and it’s nice to hear music by each composer combined in this unique way.’

– Audiophile Audition