CD REVIEW – LES CHOSES DE LA VIE
CINEMA ll
RENAUD CAPUÇON
LES SIÈCLES / DUNCAN WARD
Warner Classics Erato 5054197799051 [80:01]

Following a very collectable Daniel Hope release last month, we now have another top-notch violinist whose 'Cinema' album reviewed here back in 2018 was one of my CDs of the year and which, I'm delighted to learn from the new digipak blurb, was a "triumph". This latest release is a follow-up that should prove equally attractive to light music enthusiasts.

Capuçon has chosen a commendably generous menu of 19 tracks with the majority focused on film music from his French homeland. Recognisable to a lot of readers will include tunes from 'The Thomas Crown Affair' (Michel Legrand), 'The English Patient' (Gabriel Yarad), 'Love Story' (Francis Lai), 'The Shape of Water' (Alexandre Desplat) and 'Lawrence of Arabia' (Maurice Jarre); also, Les Feuilles mortes, from 'Les Portes de la nuit' / 'Gates of the Night' (Joseph Kosma), on which the song "Autumn Leaves" is based, with words by Johnny Mercer.

Unless you are familiar with French composers, choice discoveries may well come from among seven pieces by the late Georges Delerue, much admired for the quality and profundity of his work by the violinist. For me, his Concerto de l’Adieu (from the film 'Diên Biên Phu') 'Le Dernier Métro' / 'The Last Metro' and Radioscope (a radio show signature tune) qualify.

Philippe Sarde, who has scored over two hundred films, film shorts and television mini-series, wrote La Chanson d’Hélène from the eponymous album titled film ('The Things of Life'). Also represented are François de Roubaix, Jean-Claude Petit, Philippe Rombi and Vladimir Cosma, whose 'Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob' / 'The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob' brings the album to a rip-roaring end.

Les Siècles is a French symphony orchestra founded only 21 years ago. Duncan Ward (b 1989), described online as exciting and versatile, has been Chief Conductor of Phitzuid (South Netherlands Philharmonic) since 2021 and regularly works with the LSO among others. All arrangements bar two are by Cyrille Lehn: pianist, composer and improvisor.

Très agréable, but don’t just take my word for it: a reviewer in the BBC Music magazine writes: "The sound is beautifully balanced. Capuçon's razor-sharp tone contrasting perfectly with the warm orchestral strings."

© Peter Burt, March 2024