PICTURES OF THE PAST (CD)
Appeasement is the keyword of the album
By Vincent Girardin
"Appeasement" is the keyword of the album and *Le chant des vagues and N’aie pas peur are symbolic of this project: inspired and intimate melodies that build something new from somewhere solid, deep and necessary.
Simplicity is not facility. Here intensity grows from harmonies we recognize and that serve as a foundation for what gave birth to this recording: Laurent Grynszpan’s need to share with the world what is most vibrant in him, the love of a past, the bittersweet memory of a perpetual present, which led him to the happiness of being able to offer us his music, this particular music.
It is also a question of remembrance ; À ce Monsieur and Dans l’ombre seem to respond to each other: the resilient pardon silences the determined military march.
And if Ton passé composé, Pourquoi joues-tu sur ce piano ? and Sur cet air doucement sway between tender nostalgia and the deep joy of being alive, certain pieces plunge us into the innoncence of childhood where one feels the simple pleasure of playfulness and composition, from Au grand jour, to Sculpteur de songes as well as the very rhythmic interlude of the piano four-hands, Quand le roi…
Finally, some pieces are reminiscent of a certain musical impressionism, where the notes become touches of painting on an airy harmonic canvas, with Où sont-elles, J’ai des coquelicots, or the very inspired Regardez le ciel étoilé, a nocturnal promenade where the love of a rustling and powerful world is celebrated with gentleness and great humility.
*Complete titles:
Le chant des vagues (Wandering Memories), N’aie pas peur (Remembrance), À ce Monsieur (Traditional Klezmer), Dans l’ombre (From Darkness to Light), Ton passé composé (A Romantic Story), Pourquoi joues-tu sur ce piano? (True Devotion), Sur cet air doucement (Lullaby of Sorrow), Au grand jour (Liberty Polka), Sculpteur de songes (Dream Makers), Quand le roi (Happy Go Lucky), Où sont-elles? (Piano Nocturne), J’ai des coquelicots (A Delicate Waltz), Regardez le ciel étoilé (Sea of Stars).