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A Year in Paris

Music for clarinet and piano by composers Poulenc, Carmichael, Benjamin, Cahuzac, Debussy, Stanhope, Brumby, Cahuzac and Francois. Nicole spent a year in Paris studying at the Versailles Conservatoire.

Music for clarinet and piano by composers Poulenc, Carmichael, Benjamin, Cahuzac, Debussy, Stanhope, Brumby, Cahuzac and Francois.

A Year in Paris is a romantic, mysterious journey through repertoire evoking Paris, the most beautiful city in the world. Moody, intimate, ranging from introverted to brilliant, the music takes the listener through a year long view of the seasons and emotions of an Australian living in the City of Light.

From the mercurial Valses-Caprices of Benjamin to the brooding Pastorale Cevenole, the icy stillness of The Footsteps in the Snow and the bubbling enthusiasm of the Francaix Theme and Variations, A Year in Paris offers the range of emotions evoked in a life in Paris. Music to sit back and drift away with your imagination...rainy Paris streets, surprises and beauty around every corner, a mix of the startling and the expected.

This recording project is the culmination of Canham's studies in France with renowned clarinetist and pedagogue, Philippe Cuper. Produced with the assistance of CAPO, the CD features music by French and Australian composers, all of whom have some connection to Paris or with each other.

With "A Year in Paris" Canham and Smith aim to share the ideas of anecdotes and traditions and their influence on performance, with Australian audiences.

Artists

Nicole Canham

Nicole's professional experience is extensive and varied, including orchestral work with Opera Australia, the Tasmanian and Canberra Symphony Orchestras, the Canberra Chamber Orchestra, the Canberra Choral Society and for the Australian and Kiev Ballet Canberra seasons.

Anthony Smith

Anthony graduated from the ANU in 2000. He was appointed pianist at The Casals Academy of Music in 2003.


Press quotes

“Nicole Canham's voluptuous timbre and immaculate technique ensnare you right from the opening of Poulenc's Charinet Sonata, transporting you effortlessly into an exotic yet rewarding program drawn from Paris-inspired French and Australian composers. Antony Smith is a first-rate accompanist. This is one of the best Chamber albums so far this year.”

— BC, Limelight

“If you are fond of the Clarinet, let me say unhesitatingly that this CD should yield hours of pleasure.”

— John Barns, 3MBS FM Libretto

“Intelligent selection and fine performances.”

— Malcolm Tattersal, MCA Music Forum

Track Listing

    Sonata for clarinet and piano Francis Poulenc

  1. i. Allegro Tristamente
  2. ii. Romanza
  3. iii. Allegro con fuoco
  4. Pastorale John Carmichael

    5. Le Tombeau de Ravel: Valse-Caprices Arthur Benjamin

  5. i. Introduzione, allegro molto, poco lento
  6. ii. Presto, volante, andante, semplice, allegro, vigoroso
  7. iii. Allegretto, preciso, finale
  8. Pastorale Cévenole Louis Cahuzac
  9. Les pas sur la neige Claude Debussy
  10. Phospheric Variations Paul Stanhope
  11. Danza Colin Brumby
  12. Cantilène Louis Cahuzac
  13. Tema con Variazioni Jean Françaix

Performers

Composers

Francis Poulenc

John Carmichael

Arthur Benjamin

Australian composer Arthur Benjamin wrote numerous 'serious' compositions, including several operas, orchestral works, a harmonica concerto (premiered by Larry Adler), vocal and chamber music, and also had a great commercial success with his Jamaican Rumba (1938).

Claude Debussy

Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions.

Paul Stanhope

Colin Brumby

Colin Brumby was born in Melbourne studying in Spain and London. He helped lay the foundation of permanent opera in Queensland and has considerable diversity in his output, representing almost every form in the musical catalogue.


Where to buy

A Year in Paris is available for download from the iTunes Music Store.
It's available for streaming through Apple Music.

A Year in Paris is available as as CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer secure online ordering.

Move CDs can be ordered through music retailers across Australia including Readings.

Product details

List price
$25.00 AUD
Release date
2004
Copyright
© 2004 Nicole Canham and Anthony Smith
Phonogram
℗ 2004 Move Records
Category
Classical
Catalogue number
MCD 288
Alternate catalogue number
MCD288
Barcode
EAN 9314574028829