Guy Sacre – Oeuvres pour piano
Billy Eidi
Le Palais des Dégustateurs PDD 028 (lepalaisdesdegustateurs.com)
There is, perhaps, no better way to become familiar with an individual composer’s ideas and performance practice than to hear them (or someone close to them) perform their works. Consider, for example, Olivier Messiaen’s recordings of his own organ music, or Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen performing her husband’s piano compositions, and how these aural experiences can augment – and sometimes overcome – the murky clarity present in printed music.
Such is the case with Billy Eidi’s interpretation of Guy Sacre’s piano works. Eidi and Sacre (b.1948) worked together in the 1990s to create the association Contrechants, intended to rediscover unknown French repertoire. Equal parts scholar and composer, Sacre’s greatest contribution to musicology is perhaps La Musique de Piano, a critical census of a large part of the piano repertoire, dealing with 4,000 works by 272 composers.
Given his broad knowledge of piano repertoire, especially from French composers, it is no surprise that Sacre’s own compositions contain a wide range of influences and techniques. Many of his works utilize classical forms and structures over which are draped the harmonies and melodies of the early 20th century, inspired by Fauré, Debussy and Milhaud. This is, at its core, beautiful music and it traverses a range of affects and depth of expression without ever losing its levity, which is a remarkable compositional achievement.
While Sacre certainly writes stunning material, it is up to the interpreter to make it so, and Eidi brings a lightness of touch that, even in the most solemn and profound moments, provides much-needed clarity and transparency. This disc is a magnificent example of how an ideal combination of performer and composer can produce music of transcendent and sublime beauty.
