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“Trois cadences” for cello solo, my new musical journey

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My exploration of the instrumental repertoire is still ongoing with three new works for solo cello I wrote last year. “Trois cadences” are 3 short pieces for cello, of about 4 minutes each, combining great technical demands and high musicality.

“Cadence I” which opens the book, makes full use of instrument’s capacities of resonance and expression. Freely inspired by the first movement of Kodály’s cello Sonata, the writing twirls over a wide range of notes and explores many technical possibilities of the cello, while trying to keep a deep musicality.

“Cadence II” opens with an almost Chopinian introductory theme and alternates throughout the piece between drama and lyricism, storm and reverie, baroque improvisation and archaic music with the use of fifths, in a sound rendering that is deliberately less resonant than “Cadence I”.

“Cadence III” leads the performer along a narrow path, always on the razor’s edge, with tiny possibility of resonance (no open strings). It’s a high physically demanding piece, written in a key disliked by most cellists (F minor). It starts simply, with a formal cadenza extracted from the Ysaye cello Sonata. This scheme is then explored for almost 4 minutes, playing over and over again on the two-note repetition pattern of the initial cadenza.

These “Trois cadences” are quite a challenge for the performer. Lucile Fauquet did a real amazing job! Congrats and big thanks to her, especially for accepting to get involved in this project. She was, as usual, professional and demanding, with always challenging eyes on the score. A fruitful collaboration!

The release planning of these 3 pieces is as follows :

  • “Cadence I” as a single will be available the 13th of January 2023 on all streaming platforms (Spotify, Deezer…). A video with the score will be published at the same time on YouTube.
  • The complete “Trois Cadences” will be published the 16th of February 2023 on all streaming platforms (Spotify, Deezer…) and on YouTube with the full scores.

Really hope you will like it!

Stay tuned!

L.D.

“Minimal” for piano released as NFT

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Do you remember “Minimal” ? It was an electronic music work I composed, produced and released a few years ago. Just to remember the sound :

Well, originally, it was a solo piano work, of which a recording was made one day, with the help of the pianist Marilou Nézeys. But it got never published, for many reasons.

Today, I propose a NFT of this rare and unique piano version of “Minimal”. See the great french project for musical NFT called Pianity.com : “Minimal” has been selected on the top list of this project and the drop is planned on January 24, 2023, champagne!

The auction for the Unique Edition will start at 6:00 PM UTC on January 24, 2023 and will last 24 hours. Be ready for that!

Listen “Minimal” for piano! https://pianity.com/lou-darrel/minimal

L.D.

New recordings !

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Intense recording session last Friday at the studio of Meudon! Three new pieces for cello solo and two pieces for cello and piano were recorded :

  • “trois cadences” for cello solo,
  • “le chant du soir” and “nous danserons encore” for cello & piano,
    + a bonus for solo piano “l’absence“.
Studio de Meudon, France, 21th of October 2022

The musicians Lucile Fauquet (cello) and Thuy Anh Vuong (piano) were as usual : perfect, professional, listening and with real choices of interpretation, great art! Very good team also for the sound engineers Aurélien Marotte and Sami Bouvet.

An important step for me with this music for cello solo, intense, demanding, with a writing permanently challenged by Lucile. What a fruitful collaboration! And “le chant du soir” allowed me to explore once again the completeness of piano and cello for all greatest pleasure I hope.

I can’t wait to make you discover these new pieces! It is planned for the beginning of 2023 on all streaming plateforms for the pieces for cello solo. I will also put them on Youtube with the score (well, I’ll try ;)), a good way for them to be appropriated, don’t you think ? The next opus for cello and piano will be published during the year 2023.

Stay tuned! The best is yet to come.

L.D.

June 2022 : Lou Darrel in concert

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I am lucky to be scheduled for 2 concerts in June :

  • a concert at the Rachmaninoff conservatory of Paris the 11th of June

My musician friends Thuy Anh Vuong (piano) and Lucile Fauquet (cello) will create 2 new pieces and will of course perform “Papillon” (almost 26 K listenings on Spotify !, listen at https://open.spotify.com/album/34JoxDwgavWOGSWcGJjs5x?si=sTN7-qqySOqyY4epRXNv-Q)

Come many, it will be an opportunity to meet you and talk about music, I will be present at this concert !

Release of “Face à la Seine” the 14th of January 2021

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Here we are. After a few weeks of back and forth with my distributor imusican, the single “face à la Seine” is on its way to streaming platforms. Phew. On January 14, 2021, you will be able to listen :

  • Face à la Seine, music for string quartet, 6’04
  • Encore une danse, music for string quartet, 3’44
  • Papillon, music for cello & piano, 3’12

In the meantime, I’ve prepared a little video, a teaser like they said, oh nothing too engaging, but just to tell you: great chamber music awaits you, stay tuned! 🙂

Anyway, tell me everything, I’m waiting for your feedback.

Your composer,

L.D.

My chamber music is coming soon !

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During the last years, I spent my tiny available and creative time on writing pieces for string quartet. What a challenge ! I discovered, to my surprise, how much I loved this kind of work : work on the voices, on the response games, on subtle polyphony or demanding counterpoint. Two of them can be shown today, so proud of it ! 😉

A few months ago, I also put the focus on a piece for cello and piano, in a style that is so dear to me, that of Gabriel Fauré. And it’s ready to be shown too.

And now, it’s in the box ! Everything was recorded a few days ago at the studio of Meudon. Thanks to the pianist Thuy Anh Vuong, whom I thank once again, I had the chance to meet four wonderful musicians of great talent, who agreed to be part of the adventure and be my passengers for a while.

A big thank to Lucile Fauquet (cello), Raphaël Jacob and Justina Zajančauskaite (violin), Jérémy Pasquier (alto) and Thuy Anh Vuong (piano). Of course I do not forget Sami Bouvet (sound engineer) without whom all this would not be possible. An amazing team, really !

The EP will be available the 14th of January 2021.

Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

L.D.