MICHEL MEYNAUD (b.1950): Sonatine for Treble Recorder and Piano (Joseph Grau [recorder], Cécile Dennaud [piano]), Sonatine for Double Bass (Pierre Hartmann), ¡Viva Emiliano! for Tenor Recorder and Timpani (Grau, Béatrice Repecaud [timpani]), Chaconne for Violin (Jean-Jacques Jubin), Les points d'orgue de la Saint-Jean for Flutes (Grau), Faust I for Cello (Oliver de Mones).

Description: Like a number of other composers working in modern idioms, Meynaud acknowledges song as fundamental to musical expression. In his case, the means by which he seeks to demonstrate this principle include a preoccupation with writing for solo instruments capable of a sustained cantabile line, and writing for them in a manner which exploits this lyrical quality. However, it would be a mistake to assume that his idiom is conservative; microtonal intonations and sound effects (multiphonics and some extended instrumental techniques) form part of his vocabulary, and while making clearly recognisable use of established forms - as in the variations of the Chaconne - his material does not present a primarily tonal aspect, and conventional harmonic development is largely avoided. Nevertheless, the works share a sense of linear narrative which is clearly related to various vocal traditions, while in no sense seeking to transcribe them literally in instrumental terms.