It is thanks to the RSNO’s Music Director Stephane Deneve that Scottish audiences have become familiar with the music of French composer Guillaume Connesson. Born in 1970, Connesson has already composed a formidable body of work, of which his Cosmic Trilogy is probably the most substantial. Having heard the RSNO play Connesson’s music in concert, I am happy to report that it sounds equally thrilling on disc. Cosmic Trilogy originated as three separate tone poems: Supernova, writen in 1997, Une lueur dans l’age sombre [A Glimmer in the Age of Darkness] dating from 2005, and Aleph, commissioned by the RSNO, dedicated to Deneve and his wife as a wedding present, and first performed in 2007. Revised and reassembled in reverse order, the resulting trilogy depicts in turn the birth of the universe; an era of icy obscurity; and the death of a star. In Aleph the music bursts with rhythm and excitement, the initial ‘Big Bang’ giving way to a dance that develops from playful to orgiastic, the ending reminiscent of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Connesson’s slower music is also very appealing, whether in the shimmering, gentle opening of the second movement portraying the cold darkness of space, or the Rautavaara-like sussurating woodwind over sombre strings and brass near the start of Supernova. Like James MacMillan, Connesson is not afraid to incorporate what might be described as ‘ethnic’ music in his works; the second movement features a theme based on an Indian raga which is gradually embraced by the whole orchestra in a vast crescendo. Melody plays an important part in this music, as does the intriguingly varied orchestration, but it is the pulsating energy and taut, ever-changing rhythmic framework that make it stand out. The short piano concerto The Shining One is in similar vein, soloist Eric le Sage making the most of the bouncing and twinkling piano part, although Connesson shows he can be as romantic as Rachmaninov in the central section. The disc was recorded in Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall last summer, and the sound is superb.


Reviewed by Anne McAlister