The modest label REM has released a second CD dedicated to the music of the unknown French composer Pierre Vellones (1889-1939). Works for piano solo ("Toccata" and "Planisphères" - the latter are three arrangements from an orchestral suite of the same name) and piano four hands ("Invitation à la musique" and "Ballade"), as well as two trios, of which the first , "Impressions d'Espagne", is an
… arrangement of a piano piece. In both trios the original line-up stands out: the above is arranged for flute, bassoon and harp, while the second "Trio" has flute, oboe and harp as an instrumentation. In the accompanying booklet, which unfortunately does not provide any biographical information about the composer, which in this case is a curious omission, Vellones is called a 'typical interwar composer'. That's a nice characterization: Vellones' music has French lightness and clarity of form, with refined use of color in the trios. The idiom is somewhat reminiscent of the music of Roussel cum suis and is all in all a very nice and charming whole. Performers are Geneviève Ibanez (piano), Odette Chaynes-Decaux (piano) and the Ensemble Musique Ville d'Avray. (JvG) _ The idiom is somewhat reminiscent of the music of Roussel cum suis and is all in all a very nice and charming whole. Performers are Geneviève Ibanez (piano), Odette Chaynes-Decaux (piano) and the Ensemble Musique Ville d'Avray. (JvG) _ The idiom is somewhat reminiscent of the music of Roussel cum suis and is all in all a very nice and charming whole. Performers are Geneviève Ibanez (piano), Odette Chaynes-Decaux (piano) and the Ensemble Musique Ville d'Avray. (JvG) _more
