Ravel Recomposed Victor Le Masne

• 1 Boléro (Recomposed) 05:34
• 2 Le jardin féerique (From Ma mère l'oye, Ballet, M. 62) (Recomposed) 04:38
• 3 Assez vif, très rythmé (From String Quartet in F Major, M. 35) (Recomposed) 03:33
• 4 Jeux d'eau, M. 30 (Recomposed) 05:07
• 5 Il est bon, l'enfant, il est sage (From L'enfant et les sortilèges, M. 71) [Arr. Le Masne] 06:35
• 6 Mouvement de menuet (From Sonatine, M. 40) (Recomposed) 03:19
• 7 Pavane pour une infante défunte, M. 19 (Recomposed) 05:13
• 8 Adagio assai (From Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83) (Recomposed) 09:02
• 9 Chanson hébraïque (From Chants populaires, M. A17) (Recomposed) 04:12
• 10 Le gibet (From Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55) (Recomposed) 03:16
• 11 Une barque sur l'océan (From Miroirs, M. 43) (Recomposed) 03:29
• 12 Lever du jour (From Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2, M. 57b) [Arr. Le Masne] 04:04
• Total Runtime 58:02

Info for Ravel Recomposed

With Ravel Recomposed presents Victor le Masne a affectionate take on music by one of the greatest of all French composers. Fresh from his role as Composer and Musical Director of the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics, Le Masne brings vibrant colours and contemporary reflections to music he has loved since childhood. The fusion of styles and genres on Ravel Recomposed embraces everything from classical and jazz to the Grammy®-winning composer-producer-multi-instrumentalist’s distinctive brand of French Touch electro-dance music.

Released to mark the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth, the album includes reworks of Boléro, Jeux d’eau, Le jardin féerique and extracts from Daphnis et Chloé, L’enfant et les sortilèges and the String Quartet, among others. Ravel Recomposed also features guest contributions from Christine and the Queens (lyrics & vocals), Julius Asal (piano) and Camille Thomas (cello).

This 12-track album is the latest edition in Deutsche Grammophon’s pioneering Recomposed series, launched 20 years ago with Matthias Arfmann’s reworks of recordings by the Berliner Philharmoniker and Herbert von Karajan, with later albums also including Peter Gregson’s reimagining of Bach’s Cello Suites and Max Richter’s 2012 and 2022 reinventions of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Already the opening track, the world-famous "Boléro," is enough to give you goosebumps. It becomes especially moving when the Scoring Berlin Choir and, finally, the impressive voice of Christine and the Queens join in with a specially written text. In the album's eleven tracks, Le Masne showcases his talent as a multi-instrumentalist: he plays piano, Fender Rhodes, synthesizer, drums, and kalimba. In addition to Christine and the Queens, he invited pianist Julius Asal and cellist Camille Thomas to the studio as guests, who perfectly complemented the Scoring Berlin Orchestra and the choir.

Le Masne's compositional creativity is particularly impressive in the final track, "Lever du jour." Here, he literally turns one of Ravel's most beautiful themes on its head: "The idea of ​​an upside-down world fits perfectly with this final track," he explains. "This album is about looking at Ravel's music from new perspectives and reinterpreting it." I begin with a melody played backwards, which then transforms into the original harmonies, but in the form of a loop. This is followed by a climax with new instrumentation, lasting about 30 seconds, before it returns—also played backwards. Ravel's original is so masterful that even this reversed version sounds fascinating!

Anyone who wants to experience this opulent work in all its richness should turn up the volume. "Ravel Recomposed" then unfolds a magnificent dynamic range and depth of sound that is simply breathtaking! (vinyl-fan.de)

Victor le Masne, piano, Fender Rhodes, synthesizer, drums, kalimba
Christine and the Queens, vocals
Adrian Edeline, guitar
Camille Thomas, cello
Julius Asal, piano
Laurent Vernerey, bass guitar
Scoring Berlin

Victor le Masne
(born February 8, 1982) is a French composer, producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and musical director.

Among others records, he is known for his production and songwriting work on the albums Reborn by Kavinsky, Escapades by Gaspard Augé (member of the electronic music duo Justice), and Brûler le Feu by Juliette Armanet. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as the co-founder of the electro-pop duet Housse de Racket.

Together, they released three albums (including Alesia, co-produced by the late Philippe Zdar) and toured the world from Tokyo to Coachella.

In 2021, he arranged the French national anthem La Marseillaise, and reinterpreted it with the Orchestre National de France for the handover ceremony between Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games.

Since 2022, Victor le Masne is the musical director of the cult and multi-awarded rock opera Starmania. In 2024 he’s the composer and musical director of Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics ceremonies. In addition of the entire score he wrote for it, his production and musical direction includes collaborations with Lady Gaga, Gojira, Aya Nakamura, Jean-Michel Jarre and many more.

During his career he also collaborated with artists such as Metronomy, Woodkid, Chilly Gonzales, Air, Philippe Katerine, Parcels, etc.

This album contains no booklet.