MAURICE EMMANUEL (1862-1938): Sonatine Bourgignonne, Sonatine Pastorale, Sonatine No. 3, Sonatine No. 4 “En divers Modes Hindous”, Sonatine No. 5 “Alla Francese”. Sonatine No. 6.

Description: These short (but niot simple) pieces were written over a period of more than 30 years, yet display a remarkable consistency of idiom. Emmanuel’s piano style can probably be traced on the one hand to Chabrier and on the other to Debussy, but with the former’s rhythmic verve and the latter’s impressionism he combines a personal fluency of counterpoint, a taste for diatonic dissonance and percussive sonority, and an original melodic language deriving its inspiration from many sources (as their subtitles show). Peter Jacobs (piano). Original 1992 Continuum release.