On May 23, harpist Emmanuel Ceysson will release a new Alpha Classics album, Images, joined by French soprano Véronique Gens and the string quartet Quatuor Voce. According to a press release, the album is “a musical tribute to one of the greatest harpist composers in the history of the instrument: Marcel Tournier.” In addition to several harp solos, the album includes “several previously unpublished [chamber] versions of some of [Tournier’s] works, the manuscripts of which have only recently come to light… The majority of Tournier’s works are for solo harp or voice and harp, but he later added other instruments to certain pieces and so transformed them into chamber works. The works recorded here date from his mature years and show the influence of Debussy, Satie, and Ravel.”
Images is available for pre-order now. Listen below to the first single from the album, “II. Au seuil du temple” from Images, Suite no. 1, op. 29.
Ceysson was appointed principal harp with the Opéra national de Paris at the age of 22, where he remained for 15 years before going to the Metropolitan Opera of New York for five years; he has been principal harp of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel since 2020. Check out our cover interview with Ceysson from the July-August 2016 issue of Harp Column.
