 De ces quatorze charmantes pièces écrites pour la harpe, sept sont enregistrées pour la première fois. « Adeste fideles », « Douce nuit », « Mon beau sapin » ou encore « Jingle Bells » se font entendre au gré des fantaisies et autres variations sur un thème de Noël. On apprendra que la mélodie de la Sonate de Mazzinghi deviendra un fameux thème de Noël que l’on reconnaît sans peine. Certaines pièces sont d’une jolie mélancolie comme celle d’Oberthür paraphrasant un ancien hymne marial ou encore celle de Schüecker invitant autant au recueillement qu’à une douce et joyeuse contemplation. Le « Conte de Noël » d’Hasselmans alterne entre féerie chantante et accents quasi-médiévaux quand celui de Renié, plus concis, se fait rêveur. Les deux courtes pièces de Tournier sont tels des tableaux évocateurs d’inspiration debussyste. Une joie dansante caractérise le « Noël provençal » de Grandjany quand les « Variations pastorales sur un vieux Noël » de Samuel-Rousseau nous transportent dans un univers où la harpe déploie son charme soyeux, coloré et cristallin. Un jazzy « Jingle Bells » clôture le programme. Astucieux arrangements de thèmes traditionnels au sein de compositions joliment inspirées et œuvres originales imprégnées de l’esprit de Noël constituent autant de délicieuses découvertes que le son gracieux, chaleureux et lumineux de la harpe ne rend que plus séduisant. (Laurent Mineau) Christmas has always been a source of inspiration for musicians, and this harp album contains many Christmas pieces and famous melodies. Robert Nicolas Charles Bochsa (1789–1856) wrote much harp music, including his fantasy on Adeste fideles (dedicated to Clementi). Joseph Mazzinghi’s (1765–1844) Andante from Sonata Op.30 No.3 consists of a series of variations on the, likely pre-existing, melody that almost a century later would become the famous song Deck the Halls. Charles Oberthür (1845–1924) was the first harp professor of the Royal Academy of Music in London. His piece “Virgo Maria” is based on the ancient Marian hymn O Sanctissima. Unlike other tracks, Edmund Schüecker's (1860–1911) Weihnachtslied is not inspired by any traditional Christmas melody. His other didactic compositions are well known and still used in conservatories, unlike his concert pieces. The same can be said of his pupil, Dutch composer Johannes Snoer (1868–1936). His Phantasia combines the two themes of the Christmas carols Stille Nacht and Es ist ein' Ros' entsprungen. In France, Alphonse Hasselmans (1845–1912) was the most important harp tutor at the Paris Conservatory, teaching Tournier, Renié, Grandjany and Salzedo. Rather than depicting a light-hearted holiday scene, Hasslemans’ Conte de Noël evokes Christmas ghost tales. In 1912, Marcel Tournier (1879–1951) succeeded Hasselmans at the Paris Conservatory. Tournier composed in an impressionistic style, and his two pieces here are from his four volumes of Images (inspired by Debussy). Les enfants expresses children’s joy watching the nativity scene, and Cloches evokes the sound of bells under the snow. Hasselmans’ first choice for his replacement was, however, not Tournier, but Henriette Renié (1875–1956), perhaps the most important female harp music composer. However, the Minister of Education refused Hasselmans, as there were no women teaching principal courses at the time, and because she was a Christian when the French government was advocating secularism. The melancholic Conte de Noël opens her collection of Six Pièces brèves. Marcel Grandjany (1891–1975), a pupil of Renié, composed many pieces that remain part of study and concert programs for the harp, and his version of Stille Nacht here contrasts with Snoer’s version. Marcel Samuel- Rousseau’s (1882-1955) Variations Pastorales are inspired by an old French popular carol. Carlos Salzedo’s (1885-1961) compositions for harp were very innovative: he invented and described several of the effects that are still used in contemporary harp music. His Concert Variations are based on the song O Tannenbaum, created from a late medieval or Renaissance melody. Jingle Bells needs no introduction. Composed by James Pierpont (1822-1893) in 1850 (originally for Thanksgiving), it has become a distinctive Christmas song, arranged here by harpist Masumi Nagasawa.
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