Country : Canada (Quebec) Label : ATMA Classique Genres and styles : Classical Singing Year : 2020

Auguste Descarries : Musique de chambre et mélodies

· by Alexandre Villemaire

Auguste Descarries (1896-1958) was a virtuoso pianist and composer, whose contribution to Quebec’s musical heritage is little known. He is part of an aesthetic of musical art influenced much more by the Russian neo-Romanticists such as Medtner and Glazunov, with clear melodic lines, than by modernists such as Stravinsky or Prokofiev. The evolution of Descarries’ lyrical and romantic language, which occurred during his advanced training in Paris between 1921 and 1930, is palpable in this album devoted to instrumental and vocal works by the composer, performed by the Trio Hochelaga and baritone Pierre Rancourt, with the participation of violist Victor Fournelle-Blain and violinist Éliane Charest-Beauchamp.

By presenting, in a certain alternation, the pieces for voice and those for chamber ensemble from different creative periods, magnificently interpreted by the warm timbre of baritone Pierre Rancourt and the ample sound of Trio Hochelaga, the artists demonstrate the breadth of Descarries’ stylistic palette. Witness the refined and expressive Fantaisie for string quartet, which follows on from Trois Poèmes de Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, and the romance L’Étoile du soir based on a poem by Alfred de Musset, which evoke the style of 19th-century French melodies. The difference is also striking when listening to the Élégie for violin and piano, whose light-hearted character precedes by about 10 years the piece for cello and piano Mon lac, with its noble and graceful lyricism. But the piece that best captures the mature harmonic richness that Descarries displays is without a doubt the excellent and energetic Quatuor for violin, viola, cello and piano. Left unfinished in 1934, the work was completed in 2015 by Aleksey Shegolev, who paid tribute and justice, in the piano cadenza, to the composer’s virtuosity.

After the works of André Mathieu popularized by Alain Lefebvre, the album Auguste Descarries: Musique de chambre et mélodies, with its selection of works balancing melodic lightness and careful harmony, is sure to satisfy lovers of music from the first half of the 20th century, as well as music aficionados of Quebec composers whose works, often little represented, merit wider awareness.

Latest 360 Content

Suoni 2025 | Farida Amadou ++: an apotheosis of adrenaline discharge

Suoni 2025 | Farida Amadou ++: an apotheosis of adrenaline discharge

Suoni 2025 | Bozzini + Sarah Hennies: contrasts in post-minimalism

Suoni 2025 | Bozzini + Sarah Hennies: contrasts in post-minimalism

Queenie | An Artist to Look Out For

Queenie | An Artist to Look Out For

Jazz at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal explained by Modibo Keita

Jazz at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal explained by Modibo Keita

FIJM 2025 | Programming Explained by Modibo Keita (part 2)

FIJM 2025 | Programming Explained by Modibo Keita (part 2)

Montreal Chamber Music Festival | But it was a nice concert…

Montreal Chamber Music Festival | But it was a nice concert…

Montréal Baroque 2025 | 4 seasons: welcome to the 21st century and the climate crisis, Mr. Vivaldi

Montréal Baroque 2025 | 4 seasons: welcome to the 21st century and the climate crisis, Mr. Vivaldi

Montréal Baroque 2025 | Zarzuela, my love

Montréal Baroque 2025 | Zarzuela, my love

Francos | The Candor and Kindness of Aliosha Schneider

Francos | The Candor and Kindness of Aliosha Schneider

Francos | Back in Time With Saïan Supa Celebration

Francos | Back in Time With Saïan Supa Celebration

Festival d’art vocal de Montréal | What’s On July 2-27 at Salle Claude-Champagne?

Festival d’art vocal de Montréal | What’s On July 2-27 at Salle Claude-Champagne?

Francos | Cardinal at The Foufs

Francos | Cardinal at The Foufs

Piknik Elektronic | Nadim Maghzal, Laylit Co-Founder : MTL Middle East Arabic Electronic Refinement, Pleasure, Fun!

Piknik Elektronic | Nadim Maghzal, Laylit Co-Founder : MTL Middle East Arabic Electronic Refinement, Pleasure, Fun!

Suoni | Sanam, Beirut’s Eloquence on The Brink of Danger

Suoni | Sanam, Beirut’s Eloquence on The Brink of Danger

Francos | Honoring Slam With Grand Corps Malade

Francos | Honoring Slam With Grand Corps Malade

Orford Musique | A Common Thread: Beethoven

Orford Musique | A Common Thread: Beethoven

Suoni | Watch that ends the night records Quinton Barnes + Jason Doell & Naomi McCarroll-Butler + Liam Cole + Alex “Bad Baby” Lukashevsky

Suoni | Watch that ends the night records Quinton Barnes + Jason Doell & Naomi McCarroll-Butler + Liam Cole + Alex “Bad Baby” Lukashevsky

Francos | A Montreal 1st for Emma Peters

Francos | A Montreal 1st for Emma Peters

Suoni | My Thursday at the Suoni: Alex Lukashevsky, Cabaret Noir…

Suoni | My Thursday at the Suoni: Alex Lukashevsky, Cabaret Noir…

My musical garage: interview with Ziya Tabassian for the 11th edition of Garage Concerts

My musical garage: interview with Ziya Tabassian for the 11th edition of Garage Concerts

Suoni | Chik White and Ky Brooks raise their voices (but not Jessica Ackerley)

Suoni | Chik White and Ky Brooks raise their voices (but not Jessica Ackerley)

Francos| A Heatwave for Tiken Jah Fakoly

Francos| A Heatwave for Tiken Jah Fakoly

Francos | Ariane Roy’s Rock Aura

Francos | Ariane Roy’s Rock Aura

Subscribe to our newsletter