Omega Ensemble – Échappsodie

French delights and modern beauty.

As one of the leading exponents of musical Impressionism, Debussy’s music represents an extraordinarily beautiful palette of colour and harmonic innovation. Commissioned by the Paris Conservatoire the Premiere Rhapsodie was originally a ‘Solo de Concours’ (competition solo) written to test the virtuosic abilities of students at the Conservatoire.

Laden with emotional melodies and rich textures, Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quintet No. 1 is an expressive work that highlights a groundbreaking change in French chamber music.

A rising star in both her native Australia and current home in Paris, Alice Chance’s Échappsodie (a made-up word using the French verb échapper — ‘to escape’) takes fragments of Debussy’s Premiere Rhapsodie and constructs them into a colourful masterclass of virtuosity for clarinet and ensemble.

Omega Ensemble
David Rowden clarinet; Peter Clark violin; Natalia Harvey violin; Neil Thompson viola
Paul Stender cello; Vatche Jambazian piano