Evening, night, and morning seems to be the progression in the program music chosen by violinist
Janine Jansen and pianist
Itamar Golan on
Beau Soir. The opening selections from
Debussy, including the brief Beau Soir itself, can be taken to depict a pleasant evening, with
Richard Dubugnon's quiet La Minute Exquise introducing the calm moments of early bedtime, along with the advancing sleep of Lili Boulanger's Nocturne. Dreaming is represented in
Dubugnon's Hypnos and, perhaps, even a nightmare in
Messiaen's Théme et Variations. Then, appropriately, comes
Faure's Après un Rêve ("After a Dream"), and a series of
Ravel pieces of increasing energy point to the arrival of dawn and new activity. A final
Dubugnon effort, Retour à Montfort-Lamaury, begins the cycle over again.
Beau Soir is an ambitious collection, especially in the varied demands it makes on the violinist and pianist, who are up to the challenge. ~ William Ruhlmann