Vivid Elegance Piano music by Guy Ropartz - heard by GERALD FENECH '... Stephanie McCallum simply floats her way through this music with subtlety and panache that fit Ropartz's harmonic language to perfection ...'

Born into a family of artistic tastes and strong civic commitment, Guy Ropartz (1864-1955) was composer, poet, conductor, novelist and administrator wrapped into one. His town of birth was Guingamp in Brittany, so it is no surprise that over a long and industrious musical career his compositions are impregnated with echoes of Breton folksong and, apart from the influence of the above virtues, the dignified language of his teacher Cesar Franck. Indeed, these characteristics are easily discernible on this recording, which includes two large-scale suites and a number of shorter pieces. His father Sigismond died when the boy was only fifteen, and Guy was sent to a Jesuit College in Vannes, where he learnt several instruments, apart from consolidating a profound Catholic faith...

PIANO MUSIC

TOCCATA CLASSICS

FRANCE