Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg & Gustavo Gimeno - Debussy: La mer, Ibéria, Images & 6 Épigraphes antiques (2018)

Released in the year of Claude Debussy's death centenary, this album demonstrates the exceptional harmonic and colouristic richness of his music. Centrepiece of the album is La Mer (1903-1905), a musical realization of the composer's "sincere devotion to the sea" that revolutionized orchestral composition in the early twentieth-century.

Iberia takes the listener on a trip to Spain, whereas the Six Epigraphes antiques (1914), here performed in the orchestration of Rudolf Escher, evoke ancient Greece and Egypt. The biggest novelty on this album is Colin Matthews's new, lush orchestration of Images, Book 1 (1901-1905), one of Debussy's most-cherished piano works.

With this Debussy collection, the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and its Music Director Gustavo Gimeno continue their acclaimed Pentatone series of composer portraits that already featured monographs of Shostakovich, Bruckner, Ravel, Mahler and Stravinsky.

“The performances throughout by the Orchestre Philharmonique Morning Rain) du Luxembourg under Gustavo Gimeno are excellent, highly polished yet full of subtle nuance, wit and spirit, beautifully captured in SACD sound” - BBC Music Magazine

Tracklist:
1. La mer, L. 109: I. De l'aube à midi sur la mer
2. La mer, L. 109: II. Jeux de vagues
3. La mer, L. 109: III. Dialogue du vent et de la mer
4. Images, L. 122: No. 2a, Ibéria. Par les rues et par les chemins
5. Images, L. 122: No. 2b, Ibéria. Les parfums de la nuit
6. Images, L. 122: No. 2c, Ibéria. Le matin d'un jour de fête
7. Images, Book 1, L. 110 (Arr. C. Matthews for Orchestra): No. 1, Reflets dans l'eau
8. Images, Book 1, L. 110 (Arr. C. Matthews for Orchestra): No. 2, Hommage à Rameau
9. Images, Book 1, L. 110 (Arr. C. Matthews for Orchestra): No. 3, Mouvement
10. 6 Épigraphes antiques, L. 131 (Arr. R. Escher for Orchestra): No. 1, Pour invoquer Pan, dieu du vent d'été
11. 6 Épigraphes antiques, L. 131 (Arr. R. Escher for Orchestra): No. 2, Pour un tombeau sans nom
12. 6 Épigraphes antiques, L. 131 (Arr. R. Escher for Orchestra): No. 3, Pour que la nuit soit propice
13. 6 Épigraphes antiques, L. 131 (Arr. R. Escher for Orchestra): No. 4, Pour la danseuse aux crotales
14. 6 Épigraphes antiques, L. 131 (Arr. R. Escher for Orchestra): No. 5, Pour l'égyptienne
15. 6 Épigraphes antiques, L. 131 (Arr. R. Escher for Orchestra): No. 6, Pour remercier la pluie au matin