Bleu Ardent / Apolline Jesupret
Tracklist
Intimate ardour / concerto for violin and string orchestra
01 - Vibration
02 - Contemplation
03 - Pulsion
In the evening air / for solo violin
04 - Tender vanilla
05 - Frozen conifer
06 - Pink pepper
07 - Vapours of iodine
08 - Ardbeg
09 - Peppermint
10 - Incense of light
11 - Ice / For piano
12 -Of lava / For piano
13 - Bleue / Symphonic painting
Maya Levy (violin)/ Apolline Jesupret (piano)
Musiques nouvelles (1-2-3) / Jean-Paul Dessy (conductor)
Belgian National Orchestra (13) / Jac Van Steen (conductor).
Blue as the Earth, fiery as Life
28 February 2025 by Bernard Vincken
Ardeurs intimes, Apolline Jesupret's first violin concerto, presented in November at Le Botanique, is the focus of this second monographic disc, which follows Lueurs : Under the impetus of violinist Maya Levy (ah, the power of dreams - despite his setbacks, Sigmund still hasn't said his last word), whose sensitive and committed playing feeds half the pieces, the composer brings together four bouquets of inspirations (all of which speak of hot... or cold) and completes her image as a musician ‘who knows what she wants’, whose work is both demanding and moving.
Constructed in the classical tradition but repainted in the colours of its author, the concerto is about love, that perilous and over-exciting coming together of souls and bodies, bodies and souls: First there is the demand and the ardour (Vibration); then comes a numbed dismay (Contemplation), like the apprehension that arises when one looks back on a troubling intoxication; then Pulsion, imperial, settles the matter with this universal, timeless, omnipotent statement: the spirit thinks, the flesh acts.
Like a link transcending the two albums, the six miniatures of the suite Dans l'air du soir (written in close collaboration with the soloist) echo the small pieces of Efflorescence : Here, scents (or flavours) take the place of plants and the writing, inspired by Claude Debussy's Fourth Prelude, more mature but still fed by the sounds of Apolline carved out by Jesupret, traces decisive contours with a sword-brush - but this time, the work is constructed by two and Maya Levy brings her experience of the violin, gestures and extended techniques.
Seen from the moon, it's obvious (seen from the ceiling - especially if it's low - it's less obvious), our planet is Blue: this symphonic work in three parts, presented at the Belgian Music Days by the Belgian National Orchestra conducted by Jac van Steen, another first, focuses on environmental concerns, those that should affect us more than sports results, political jabs or the colour of the Queen's hat, and reminds us with an underlying concern that life is precious, ephemeral and tenuously balanced. Will it end, like the play's derisory finale, in a melancholy unfinished episode?
For De Lave et De Glace, Apolline Jesupret is behind the piano: the first is set against the backdrop of the volcanic island, the second, Iceberg, two paintings by musician Julie Thériault that form the art work of the disc. The first, with its vigorous strokes and lively sonorities, speaks of the melting that releases the viscous, threatening lava, then of its cooling, which numbs it, slows it down, freezes it; the second, with accents that are uncluttered without being entirely tranquil, tells of the wall of the lost piece of ice floe, essentially underwater, smooth in appearance but rough to the touch.