Emmanuel Despax: Après Un Rêve: Belle Époque: Nights At The Piano

‘Après un Rêve’ is an ode to the French Belle Époque repertoire, depicting the beauty of dreams and the night.

The album is an opportunity to hear and perhaps discover rarely played / rarely recorded wonderful works (Chaminade Nocturne, Duparc Aux étoiles, Poulenc Les soirées de Nazelles), alongside central pillars of the repertoire, and includes a world premiere of Despax’s arrangement of ‘Après un rêve’.

The album is attributed to his grandfather, Jacques Charpentreau, a French poet who adored this repertoire and frequently drew inspiration from the night in his works.

Despax has curated some of his poetry, as well as works by other poets he admired to complement this music, taking the listener on an immersive poetic and musical journey through this nocturnal landscape.