JORGE PEIXINHO (1940-1995): Remake for Flute, Cello, Harp and Piano, 2 Pièces Meublées for Flute, Clarinet, String Trio and Harp, Coração Habitado for Mezzo-Soprano, Flute, Cello and Piano, Floreal for Flute, Bass Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Harp and Celesta, Concerto for Harp and Ensemble.

Description: These ensemble works by Portugal's most significant student of Nono, Boulez and Stockhausen reveal a composer with an exquisitely refined ear for timbre and instrumental expressiveness. Despite the incorporation of extended playing techniques - direct contact on the piano strings in Remake, avant garde vocal techniques in Coração habitado - the emphasis is always on a rich, sensuous timbral palette. The Deux pièces are an homage to Ravel, and strikingly emulate the older composer's sound-world in terms of an atonality that he would never have approached. 1992's Floreal has a complex, multi-layered structure, expressed in terms of an instrumental palette of great beauty and refinement. Here and especially in the concerto for the instrument, the harp takes center stage, its combination of sumptuous timbre and incisive presentation of richly textured harmonic overtones, lyrical linearity and warmth of sonic texture making it an ideal solo instrument for the composer's purposes. Grupo de Música Contemporânea de Lisboa; Christopher Bochmann, João Paulo Santos, Jean-Sébastien Béreau.