Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Polyptyque (2025)

"Inspired by Duccio's polyptych, Swiss composer Frank Martin decided to write a work in six ‘tableaux’ based on the Passion of Christ. In ‘Polyptyque’, a concerto for violin and two small orchestras rooted in the music of Bach, Martin sets out to transpose musically the scenes of the Crucifixion.

This work is the starting point for the new recording by Marianne Piketty and the Concert Idéal. It is interspersed with works by Vivaldi, Bach, Lotti and Victoria, like so many tableaux responding to Martin's work. By opening up a dialogue between ancient and modern, sacred and secular, Marianne Piketty explores the continuum of human emotions, reminding us that they are at once universal and ephemeral, and yet a source of beauty and plenitude."

“No thing, no self, no form, no pattern is certain; everything is swept up in an invisible metamorphosis, never at rest.” — Robert Musil

When the violinist Yehudi Menuhin commissioned a piece from Frank Martin, the composer immediately thought of Bach—his concertos, his Passions—but ultimately found inspiration in a six-panel polyptych by Duccio, depicting the final moments of Christ’s life.

It is within this dynamic of influence and divergence that Marianne Piketty and Le Concert Idéal present Frank Martin’s Polyptyque, written for two string quintets and solo violin. This work, both descriptive and introspective, is placed in dialogue with pieces by other composers such as Bach, Vivaldi, Lotti, and Victoria—artists who, across time, space, and ideas, have encountered one another and passed on the flame of inspiration. — Olivier Fourés

This new program was built around Frank Martin’s Polyptyque. Its beauty and its expressive, narrative power offered a rich space for creativity. As I delved into this work—exploring its material and gradually shaping its interpretation—I sensed a connection between the emotions portrayed by Frank Martin (the futility of fleeting glory, the despair of a lost soul, anguish, the violence of a crowd, dismay and solitude) and the feelings we may experience when faced with the chaos of the modern world.

This sacredly inspired music radiated into everyday life, which in turn nourished it. The architecture of the spectacle was then conceived: weaving together the old and the new, as a way to reveal the continuity of human emotion, and to bring sacred and secular side by side in order to question their boundaries.

The early works were chosen for their musical and narrative resonance. As the listener progresses through the program, these pieces embrace our turmoil and soothe us. The two worlds feed into one another, echoing each other and sketching a possible path—one where beauty prevails, opening the way to serenity and a kind of joy.

Polyptyque offers this mindful, meditative journey toward the light. — Marianne Piketty

Marianne Piketty, violin & direction
Le Concert Ideal

TRACKLIST

1. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Bach: Matthäus-Passion, BWV 244, Seconda parte: No. 34, Mein Jesus schweigt zu falschen Lügen stille (Transc. for String Ensemble by Olivier Fourés)
2. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Lotti: Crucifixus а 10 (Transc. for String Ensemble by Olivier Fourés)
3. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Martin: Polyptyque for Violin and Two Small String Orchestras: I. Image des Rameaux
4. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Vivaldi: Laetatus sum in C Major, RV 827: II. Rogate quae ad pacem sunt (Transc. for String Ensemble by Olivier Fourés)
5. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Chédeville: Il pastor fido, Op. 13, Sonata No. 6 in G Minor: II. Fuga da capella. Alla breve (Transc. for String Ensemble by Olivier Fourés)
6. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Bach: Concerto in G Minor, BWV 975 (after Vivaldi's Violin Concerto in G Minor, RV 316): II. Largo (Transc. for String Ensemble by Olivier Fourés)
7. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Martin: Polyptyque for Violin and Two Small String Orchestras: II. Image de la Chambre haute
8. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Vivaldi: Gloria, RV 588: IV. Et in terra pax hominibus (Transc. for String Ensemble by Olivier Fourés)
9. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Martin: Polyptyque for Violin and Two Small String Orchestras: III. Image de Juda
10. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Victoria: O magnum mysterium
11. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Bach: Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12: II. Chorus. Weinen, Klagen (Transcr. for String Ensemble by Olivier Fourés)
12. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Bach: Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243: IV. Chorus. Omnes generationes (Transc. for String Ensemble by Olivier Fourés)
13. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Martin: Polyptyque for Violin and Two Small String Orchestras: IV. Image de Gethsémané
14. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Bach: Concerto in G Minor, BWV 975 (after Vivaldi's Violin Concerto in G Minor, RV 316): III. Giga. Presto (Transc. for String Ensemble by Olivier Fourés)
15. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Vivaldi: Beatus vir, RV 597/795: V. In memoria aeterna (Transc. for String Ensemble by Olivier Fourés)
16. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Martin: Polyptyque for Violin and Two Small String Orchestras: V. Image du Jugement
17. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Vivaldi: Credo, RV 592: III. Crucifixus
18. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Martin: Polyptyque for Violin and Two Small String Orchestras: VI. Image de la Glorification (Transc. for String Ensemble by Olivier Fourés)
19. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Bach: Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582 (Transc. for String Ensemble by Olivier Fourés)
20. Marianne Piketty & Le Concert Idéal - Vivaldi: Dixit Dominus in D Major, RV 594: X. Sicut erat in principio (Transc. for String Ensemble by Olivier Fourés)