In different universes In different universes

Intense, uncompromising works carved from granite, the three pieces by Kazuo Fukushima (Requiem, Mei, Shun San) demand flawless breath and lip technique from the performer, which flautist Guy Raffalli masters to perfection. Often without vibrato, but with variations in pressure, attack and color not unlike sakuhachi, and ornamental use of micro-intervals, multiphonic sounds and double-trills, this is resolutely contemporary writing. However, Fukushima plays above all on the juxtapositions of fleeting emotions, through which Guy Raffalli draws us into a dream world inhabited by luminous colors.

Atli Heimir Sveinsson's 21 miniatures guide us through a world that is often whirling and playful, sometimes almost naive. Each piece in this suite, entitled 21 tones must be executed in 1 minute, which, according to the padge, means playing quite a few sixteenths per second! At the end of each piece, the characteristic clacking of a chess clock can be heard, as if in a wink. 21 small paintings in an exhibition, showing us a world of speed, totally at odds with the Zen universe of the Fukushima pieces.

The only "repertoire" pieces are the wonderful Incantations by André Jolivet find in Guy Raffalli a qualified and particularly inspired interpreter. This music, composed almost 80 years ago, remains thoroughly modern today. But we have to agree on that word! With their elusive beauty, the incantations were written with total intellectual freedom from the canons of writing. Occasionally, we can perceive a succession of 12 tones, reminiscent of the Viennese school. But this would be to confine a fiercely independent composer, for as soon as a series is drawn, we quickly move on to oriental colors without any disparity. The 5 movements take us down paths of freedom that have retained all their freshness.

Guy Raffalli, solo flute. Works by Kazuo Fukushima, Atli Heimir Sveinsson, André Jolivet. Gallo CD 1396