LOUIS-NOËL BESTION DE CAMBOULAS: SOLEILS COUCHANTS

Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas makes a winning debut on Harmonia mundi’s new talent-focused Nova label. And a talent he certainly is, admirably sharing the limelight here in ravishing duets that showcase the intimacy of an 1864 III/44 Cavaillé-Coll built for salon use. Solo transcriptions of Fauré’s Sicilienne, Franck’s Chorale no.3, op.40 and Debussy’s Clair de lune reveal a soloist of utmost sensitivity to tone and temperament. The duets, with soprano, baritone, viola and, most exquisitely, harp range eloquently and elegantly from transcriptions of Liszt, Debussy, Wolf and Fauré to Émile Paladilhe’s aching baritone duet Fantaisie and Nadia Boulanger’s glowing title track with soprano accompaniment, Soleils couchants. Quietly, pleasingly, ravishing.

MICHAEL QUINN Read the full review on Agora Classica