[In de schaduw van Ensor]

© Veerle Vercautere,

Frédéric Devreese – James Ensor Suite
Darius Milhaud – La Cheminée Du Roi René
Claude Debussy – Syrinx 
Paul Taffanel – Quintet 
Claude Debussy – La fille aux cheveux de lin

On the occasion of the year celebrating James Ensor, Casco Phil delves into the colourful repertoire for woodwind quintet. Ensor himself often boasted that he had his sensitivity to colours, that he shared with many contemporaries, thanks to none other than Claude Debussy, the founder of musical impressionism. The interweaving of sound and colour proved to be a sign of the times. Just as Ensor was inspired by shades of colour and light, a whole generation of French composers became fascinated by the contrast between light and dark. Milhaud and Taffanel, among others, knew how to exploit the ample sound diversity of a woodwind collective. The trend was also picked up in Flanders. Frédéric Devreese composed his James Ensor Suite as the ultimate homage to the Ostend master. From ragged melodies to richly varied textures, be moved by the colourful splendour of this enchanting music in the intimate setting of the Predikherenkerk. 

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