For ever fortune

Lazarevitch bewegt sich als Instrumentalist und Arrangeur in dem spannenden Grenzbereich von traditioneller Musik und Kunstmusik wieder wie ein Fisch im Wasser… Dies ist eine jener Silberscheiben, die man unbedingt gehört haben sollte, weil sie musikgeschichtliche Zusammenhänge ohrenfällig machen und zugleich purer Hörgenuss sind.

Für den Hörer ist es ein äußerst beglückendes Erlebnis, wenn ein Ensemble so organisch und lebendig zu musizieren vermag, dass der Funke der Spielfreude und Begeisterung unweigerlich überspringt. Fantastisch!

Cross over croisés

François Lazarevitch is a past master in this learned crossover, which allows him to stretch a thread between the small bagpipes described by Praetorius and those of our countryside, between the luxurious musettes that the court of Louis XV loved and the Scottish hills of his latest record . The charm works quickly and holds you, with these chameleon instruments which speak as much as they sing, which know how to play on the solid spring of the up-beat to nonchalantly launch the melancholic phrase.

For Ever Fortune is a permanent celebration of sounds and senses, which highlights the frequent proximity of so-called scholarly repertoires and music qualified as popular in a CD for the general public and erudite at the same time.

An invitation to dance, to be intoxicated with the joy of living in friendly companionship, the repertoire offered in this new CD is all the more irresistible as the musicians are inspired. No gloom will resist the charm that emanates from this recording. The sometimes rough but so vivid colors of the whole captivate us with their dazzling and opulent richness… For Ever Fortune is a permanent celebration of sounds and senses, which highlights the frequent proximity of so-called scholarly repertoires and music described as popular into a general public and erudite CD at the same time.

A favorable rumor, born from the concerts offering For ever Fortune and from what we know about the natural affinities of the Musicians of Saint-Julien with music located on the border of “classical” and vernacular, had preceded the publication of this registration ; he absolutely confirms it, perhaps even beyond what we hoped… François Lazarevitch and his musicians offer a true demonstration of the validity of the second way by flowing into these Scottish compositions with an absolutely astonishing naturalness. The instrumentalists interact as in a conversation between friends full of warm conviviality, lightness and humor, whose apparent relaxation would almost make us forget the seriousness of the work which underlies it, but also of sensitivity, drawing, with constant happiness, the best of music in terms of atmospheres, contrasts and colors. Guest on nine titles, tenor Robert Getchell displays an assured and often radiant voice which he never neglects to put at the service of eloquence, whatever the register in which he expresses himself… Project manager of this project in which it is obvious that he invested a huge amount of time and energy, François Lazarevitch, whose quality of playing with flexibility and luminosity on the flutes as well as the delicious alacrity should also be highlighted. interventions on the Hümelchen (a small bagpipe), unites his troops with a fairly unstoppable and frankly delightful understanding of this repertoire… I warmly recommend this For ever Fortune which represents, in my opinion, a superb culmination of research led for years by François Lazarevitch and to which we sincerely hope to bring together a large audience, even beyond the boundaries of so-called “classical” music. Without making any concession to the trinkets of fashion and ease, the Musicians of Saint-Julien allow us, without falling for a moment into the trap of purely archaeological exhumation, to hear the beating heart of the Scottish people and their traditions, which the vicissitudes of history have fortunately not succeeded in stifling.

Listen only to the catchy opening melody “Saw na ye my Peggie”, a drinking song published in 1725, and going back even further, with historical emphasis on the Scottish language, defended with fiery precision by the excellent tenor Robert Getchell: the ornate nonchalance, the natural and flexible relief of the rhythms, the sumptuously colored sound fabric (harp and cittern among others) achieves a new accomplishment irresistible to credit to the lively and inspired musicians of Saint-Julien; alongside the hectic fire of Scottish dances, closer to our sensitivity, a nostalgic tenderness is revealed which is very difficult not to resist: the opening tune “MacCrimmon’s Lament” in a subtle arrangement for harp and flute… Same intoxication of the meaning for the diptych (contradance then slow air) which gives the title of this discographic jewel: “Princess Royal – For ever Fortune”: to the airy and allusive flute of François Lazarevitch, leader of the collective, responds to all the instrumentalists, and Robert Getchell knows how to express the sweet aspiration to love of this prayer of musical refinement always with preserved elegance…

Scottish drunkenness of the 18th century. Same appeal to nature and the landscapes of Scotland in Oswald’s “Kennet’s Dream” (1750), where the violin shines, its la-mi-la-mi scordatura flattering the resonance of the instrument and its drone effects; and “Benney side”, whose title refers to a river or a lake, composed by William Christie at the end of the 18th century, diffuses all the poetry of the Scottish motif which emerges under the fingers of the harpist after the ample prelude drawn in scrolls suggestive on the flute. Etrick Banks evokes the Highlands, in the tone of a tender romance, desperate for the desired beloved… The vitality and this hectic nature work wonders in the dancing facetiousness of The Fyket, an exceptional group of reels where the flautist’s playing knows get electrified. Same commitment for the three jigs, carried by the captivating little Hümelchen bagpipes. To conclude this program given at Hardelot in June 2011, nothing is more emblematic of the Scottish soul, between trance and allusive tenderness, than The Wawking of the faulds (keeping the sheep): a succession of rhythmic sections where flute, violin (beautiful liveliness of Keith Smith and Stéphanie Paulet), continuo at the party: My Peggy, very young and charming, a young girl, literally makes the young man’s head spin shepherd… until you run out of breath. Superb album.