Listen & tracks

5 of 22 tracks have a preview · 11 works · 79:37

1 Suite bergamasque, L 75 Claude Debussy Clair de lune 5:20
2 Printemps, L 61 Claude Debussy 7:18
3 Rêverie, L 68 Claude Debussy 5:22
Trois PiècesNadia Boulanger 3 movements7:31
1. 4 No. 1 in E flat minor – Modéré 2:54
2. 5 No. 2 in A minor – Sans vitesse et à l'aise 1:40
3. 6 No. 3 in C sharp minor – Vite et nerveusement rythmé 2:57
7 Les berceaux (Cradles), Op. 23 No. 1 Gabriel Fauré 2:40
8 Sylvie, Op. 6 No. 3 Gabriel Fauré 3:16
9 Au bord de l'eau, Op. 8 No. 1 Gabriel Fauré 2:06
10 Toujours, Op. 21 No. 2 Gabriel Fauré 1:35
11 Pièce, Op. 39 (1897) Ernest Chausson for violoncello and piano in C major 8:37
12 Sonata in F-sharp minor Jean Huré 23:34
Sonata for Violoncello and Piano (1915), L 135Claude Debussy 3 movements12:18
1. 13 Prologue: Lent, sostenuto e molto risoluto 5:00
2. 14 Sérénade: Modérément animé 3:32
3. 15 Finale: Animé, léger et nerveux 3:46

This recording began when Zoe Knighton and Amir Farid read through a pile of music that had sat unplayed on Zoe’s shelf for decades. They fell quickly for these French pieces, and the programme almost assembled itself. They even recorded more than they needed and cut a short work by Mompou – who, luckily, turned out to be from Barcelona.

The duo debuted at Melbourne Recital Centre in 2009. Since then they have released three Move discs (Mendelssohn Cello, Argentine Cello and Beethoven Cello), appeared in the ABC Sunday Live series and Saturday Sessions, and performed at the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival and across regional Victoria.

Reviews

The cello's sonorous and expressive tone is suited to French music. Zoé Knighton and Amir Farid here present music written or arranged for the cello by French composers. Its romanticism is played with style and sensitivity to the melodic and harmonic nuances. Knighton's even tone throughout the registers matches the rich yet delicate sound of Farid's stylistic and virtuosic accompaniments.

— Sharon Lierse, AUSTA Magazine (Stringendo)

Artists

Zoe Knighton

cello

Zoe Knighton is at the forefront of a new generation of performers intent on forging an innovative path for the enjoyment of classical music. A founding member of Flinders Quartet, she is a leading Melbourne cellist and chamber musician.

Amir Farid

piano

Amir Farid has been described as a highly creative musician – a pianist of great intelligence and integrity who brings strong musical substance to all that he does, imbuing it with his own experience and understanding, and who distinguishes himself for all the right reasons.

Ernest Chausson

composer

Ernest Chausson (1855–1899) was a French Romantic composer. His chamber and concert works, marked by lyrical intensity, include the celebrated violin Poème.

Claude Debussy

composer

Claude Debussy (1862–1918) was a French composer whose harmony, colour and flexible sense of key reshaped European music at the turn of the twentieth century. Piano, orchestral and chamber works from his maturity remain central to the repertoire.

Gabriel Fauré

composer

Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) was a French composer, pianist, organist and teacher whose music links late Romanticism with early modernism. His best-known works include the Requiem, the Pavane, and a large body of songs and piano music.

Nadia Boulanger

composer

Jean Huré

composer

A. Roelens

composer

F. Ronchini

composer

Léon Roques

composer

Léon Roques (1839–1923) was a French composer, accompanist and transcriber, remembered above all for chamber and keyboard arrangements of late Romantic and early twentieth-century French music.