Piano and harp in balance
The new recording "Signature" by the duo Praxedis combines compositions by Swiss contemporaries with little-known works from the 19th century.
The Duo Praxedis is here to stay. Harpist Praxedis Hug-Rütti and her daughter, pianist Praxedis Geneviève Hug, have been performing together for years and continue to surprise with original recordings. Just think of the Piazzolla double CD or the grand duet with original works for harp and piano, also a double album.
In fact, the harp has always flourished as an instrument, for example at royal courts and in the salons of the 19th century. Or with the French, when Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel set off into new, "liberated" worlds of sound. The duo combination of harp and piano was also celebrated in the concert hall, for example with the pianist Carl Czerny (1791-1857) and the harpist Elias Parish Alvars (1808-1849), who was the "Liszt of the harp" for Berlioz.
Researching interesting but forgotten literature for their duo is part of the job for these two passionate musicians. On their current CD, for example, you can hear a Grand Duo du Couronnement by Henri Herz (1806-1888) or listen to the Six Nocturnes by Charles Oberthür (1819-1895). In these trouvailles, the pianist knows how to subtly hold back the sound in order to give the harp its acoustic space.
However, this CD also documents three of the commissioned works that Duo Praxedis regularly gives to renowned Swiss composers. In 2018, the stylistically very accomplished and versatile Rudolf Lutz La Folia for the duo, whereby, in his own words, he "meanders through the most diverse stylistic countries". Lutz skillfully combines Renaissance elements, romantic sounds, tango and jazz variations to create a varied but coherent piece.
Coucher du soleil (2016) is the title of the work that Rolf Urs Ringger dedicated to Duo Praxedis at an advanced age. He was inspired by Marc Chagall's painting Sunset inspire. In no other piece on this CD is the dialog between piano and harp explored as masterfully as here. Ringger's use of the pedalized bass register of the grand piano is particularly striking, lending the delicate harp an original aura of sound.
Xavier Dayer, the youngest composer in the group, is also known for his subtle sense of sound. For Duo Praxedis, he has varied a melody from the popular polyphonic songs of the French province of Béarn. Here, the two musicians reveal their perfected sound balance, their subtle ear for each other and their delicate virtuosity.
Duo Praxedis: Signature. Praxedis Hug-Rütti, harp; Praxedis Geneviève Hug, piano. Ars Production ARS 38 628
