Romain Leleu & Ensemble Convergences - Inspirations (2016) [Official Digital Download]

'The man who is restoring the trumpet's prestige' is how Télérama described Romain Leleu, both a worthy representative of the purest tradition of the French trumpet school and a musician-adventurer, always ready to explore new universes.

Since winning the Victoires de la Musique Classique award in 2009, Romain Leleu has made a name for himself on the international scene, demonstrating breathtaking technique combined with a sonority of rare beauty. Now, going off the beaten track, Romain Leleu has decided to follow his 'Inspirations' (the title of this new album) and take his trumpet on a journey from early-20th-century salons to Latin American dance floors. He revisits melodies as legendary as they are spellbinding with elegance and jubilation.

„In the two years following Sur la Route with the Ensemble Covergences I have had the chance put together a collection which, I think, is remarkable in its variety.

It has been my good fortune to be able to play the programme at live concerts and discover that it appeals as much to discerning music-lovers as it does to newcomers to classical music.

My chosen palette was rich in warm and primary colours, a sonority that was at once both brilliant and lyrical, even sensual. Day in, day out, we, as an ensemble, tried out new work, commissioned new arrangements and played them before live audiences to get their response.

This new album represents the results of my search for that purest and richest of sounds. The trumpet weaves its way from the fashionable salons of the early 20th century to much more mundane venues, from Lutheran churches to the dance music of Latin America and on to the rare atmospheres of grand opera.

From Les Feuilles Mortes and the Air from Bach’s Third Suite, works that go all the way back to my childhood, to Youkali that just brims with nostalgia and which I came across much later, the music collected in this album is the result of a long labour of love. They are pieces that thrill me, that make me want to sing, dance and smile and have become part of my life.

This is a musical letter from my heart, a soundscape that is both personal and mythic: my Inspirations.“ (Romain Leleu)

Tracklist:
01. Les feuilles mortes
02. Hora Staccato
03. María de Buenos Aires: V. Fuga y misterio
04. Cinema Paradiso
05. Trois mélodies, Op. 7: I. Après un rêve
06. Fantaisie sur Carmen, Op. 25
07. Les Chansons grises: V. L'Heure exquise
08. Le Coucou
09. Aguas de Março
10. Chega de saudade
11. Random Obsession
12. Suite No. 3, BWV 1068: II. Aria
13. Zapateado
14. Youkali
15. Manhã de Carnaval

Composers
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750)
Bizet, Georges (1838-75)
Bonfa, Luiz Floriano (1922-2001)
Daquin, Louis-Claude (1694-1772)
Dinicu, Grigoras (1889-1949)
Fauré, Gabriel Urbain (1845-1924)
Hahn, Reynaldo (1875-1947)
Jobim, Antonio Carlos 'Tom' (1927-94)
Kosma, Joseph (1905-69)
Morricone, Ennio (b.1928)
Peirani, Vincent
Piazzólla, Astor (1921-92)
Sarasate, Pablo de (1844-1908)
Weill, Kurt (1900-50)

Personnel:
Romain Leleu, trumpet
Ensemble Convergences