Programme :

• Joseph-Ermend Bonnal, Trio for violin, viola and cello
• Jean Cras, String Trio
• Albert Roussel, Trio op. 58With Agnès Pyka (violin), Blandine Leydier (viola), Armance Quero (cello)

Eclipsed by the masterpieces of Ravel and Debussy, these three unjustly disregarded scores of chamber music share many features in common but, most importantly, their three composers, three leading lights of 20^th-century French music, shared a common passion for the sea. Joseph-Ermend Bonnal (1880–1944), organist and ragtime composer (under the moniker Guy Marylis), this performance will be a real treat for those unfamiliar with the Basque composer’s magnificent String Trio.

A naval officer and composer, the Breton Jean Cras (1879–1932) often reflected his seafaring adventures in his music, not least in this Trio no. 3, one of his great later works. Having been inspired to become a sailor after reading Jules Verne novels in his youth, Albert Roussel (1869–1937) quickly decided to dedicate his life entirely to music. He composed his String Trio in A minor in his final year; this concluding masterpiece, with its slow movement and positively oceanic range, is one of the composer’s finest works. The “Des Équilibres” ensemble has paid tribute to these three composers with an album featuring this same programme.