The well-disposed musicophile first perceives a vibrant Yerevan wind: it\u2019s Armenia in harmonies for 16 strings, it\u2019s the great Aznavourian\u2019s \u201cLa Boh\u00e8me\u201d transfigured by four quick-fingered chamber musicians. After a sequence of five of Charles\u2019 songs sung with delicate bow strokes, Quatuor Rhapsodie dissects the science of the heart in a medley of popular romanticism from Marc Hamilton (the only Quebecer on the program), Mike Brant, Trenet, Montand, and Sardou.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The complicity of violist Nayiri Piloyan, violinists Am\u00e9lie Lamontagne and Ana Drobac, and cellist Sophie Coderre dates back to the time when they climbed the slope leading to the Faculty of Music at University of Montreal. A fifth of a century later, their abundant road maps cover the four and a half kilometers separating Salle Claude-Champagne from the Maison symphonique. Quatuor Rhapsodie was born in 2007 out of a desire to sample the popular repertoire. The quartet has released three albums and given many concerts, including Pour un flirt<\/em>, dedicated to the repertoire presently discussed. The love and nostalgia for these fifty-plus-year-old standards, shared by the audience and the four musicians alike, prompted them to create an album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the help of Mark Corwin, who directs the music program and teaches electroacoustics at Concordia University, Sophie, Ana, Am\u00e9lie, and Nayiri recorded nine blocks of instrumental versions. In addition to the two mentioned above, there is a Delpech-Dutronc-Hardy-Aznavour, a Piaf, a Legrand, a Fugain, a B\u00e9caud, a Dassin, and an Aznavour as an encore. We can\u2019t calculate the harmonic potential of these works, but it must be said that the refinement of Nayiri Piloyan’s arrangements for string quartet \u2013 and Am\u00e9lie Lamontagne’s for Fugain \u2013 further invalidates Gainsbourg’s assertion that song is only a minor art. A total of 77 well-packed minutes of chamber songs are offered to the musicophile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A rhapsody in red, white, and blue, by a top quartet that knows that to get the party going, it’s better to bet on Delpech, Dutronc, Dassin, and Piaf than on G\u00f3recki, Glass, Reich, or Kurt\u00e1g.<\/p>\n\n\n\n