It’s a perfect note, in every sense of the word, that Camille Thomas achieves with Voice of Hope, her second album on the Deutsche Grammophon label. The young Franco-Belgian cellist, accompanied by the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra, performs a poignant amalgamation of cello tunes that takes us on a journey from the baroque era to the current day. If the performer enchants with the versatility of her playing, she stands out all the more for her flawless technique and great sensitivity.
The centerpiece of the album is undoubtedly the cello concerto Never Give Up, composed by Fazil Say for Camille Thomas, which she premiered in 2018. This composition is inspired by the attacks in Paris and Istanbul a few years earlier, which is reflected in the hardness and emotionality of certain passages, which the performer renders with brilliance. The latter excels as much in her contemporary technique as in her ability to make her instrument sing, a skill highly emphasized in the piece “Träume”, a transcription for cello of a song from Wagner’s Wesendonck-lieder. Emotion is thus instrumental in this album, which features some of the most beautiful arias ever composed for the instrument, delivered by a musician who is brilliant thanks to her musicality and immense talent.
