Cécile McLorin Savant, Dan Tepfer, Thomas Enhco and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Three time Grammy winner, Cécile McLorin Salvant is an unlikely diva, in her billowy harlequin smock of fuschia, turquoise and lime and her retro spectacles; yet she instantly commands attention. With phrasing both unprecedented, yet at once newly definitive, she made the Michel Legrand’s standard ‘Once Upon A Summertime’ (Valse des Lilas) utterly her own.
Her rapport with fellow Francophone, Paris-born, American jazz pianist Dan Tepfer was patent and together they enjoyed poking gentle fun at their French friends, with a number of singularly Gallic chansons, including Poulenc’s setting of Apollinaire’s ‘Hôtel’ – “Je ne veux pas travailler, je veux fumer! ”.
Tepfer then introduced his friend, and fellow Parisian pianist, Thomas Enhco, and together they embarked upon an energetic, and pleasingly protracted, series of “Improvisations on the French Song Book”. The pair, who apparently go rock climbing and kite-surfing together, were clearly enjoying their duel on two Steinways, and a number of very familiar melodies emerged regularly if fleetingly from their inspired and very instinctive extemporization.
Cécile returned for another series of classic chansons, including a memorable and warmly received version of ‘La Vie en Rose’, sweetly yet firmly putting away any lingering memories of Edith Piaf.
The energy stepped up significantly in the second half, after the 100 minute interval for a relaxed ‘souper’ in the sunlit grounds of The Grange. The affable Gavin Sutherland announced the world première of a song cycle, based on the three extant poems of Haïtian writer, Virginie Sampeur (1839-1919), written by Dan Tepfer, especially for Cécile.
From the opening urgent pizzicato to waves of soaring sonorities, the string section of the peerless Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra accompanied these three pieces, which all examined the vagaries of love, in true Francophone tradition, now lamenting ‘douleur sans mesure’ and ‘le deuil’, only to later proclaim murderous defiance: “Si vous étiez mort….”
Sutherland introduced Ravel’s G major Piano Concerto (1931) as ‘a jolly romp’ with its many echoes of the jazz and the spirituals that Ravel heard during his lengthy 1928 tour of America and of the Basque folk themes which were his original inspiration. In the hands of the dexterous Dan Tepfer, the three compact movements proved themselves to be significantly ahead of their time and the compressed, almost martial, final Presto brought the initially restrained Grange audience to its feet for the first time.
Fittingly, Cécile returned for a final collection of classics from the French Song Book, with full orchestra and both pianists. Yet again, she confirmed her status at perhaps the pre-eminent ‘chansonnière de nos jours’with singular and emotive versions of Brel’s “Ne me quitte pas” and Piaf’s “Mon Dieu” which clearly resonated with the previously imperturbable patrons of the Grange.
McLorin Salvant has been universally lauded since winning the Thelonius Monk Prize in 2010. She has numerous accolades, including her three Grammy awards and the Glenn Gould Protégé Prize; she is also a very talented visual artist. I particularly enjoyed her joyous rendition of “Dou Dou”, her own composition in Haïtian Kreyòl (Creole).
However, for this reviewer, the revelation of the evening was the versatile Dan Tepfer, who gave such a thoughtful and illuminating interpretation of the Ravel concerto. His own composition, the exquisite and heartbreaking song cycle of the Virginie Sampeur poems, is sure to find a very appreciative audience.
The eclectic programme, with its judicious mix of old and new, the easy affinities between all three solo performers and the sterling support of the BSO all made for an unusual, yet highly effective and celebratory evening which had all the hallmarks of a very successful ‘Salon Français’.
A French Salon was produced by Piers Playfair (23Arts Initiative) and Frankie Parham (Mascarade Opera). Additional arrangements by Philippe Maniez.
