Suite   l'ancienne (Suite in the old style) [Alf:98-EP68812]

Marc-Andrİ Hamelin's Suite   l'ancienne is, as the title might suggest, a Baroque-style suite in six movements, each with the unmistakable wit and virtuosity that characterizes Hamelin's compositions.Hamelin's "Praİmbule" takes J. S. Bach's "Chromatic Fantasy" as the jumping off point for a wild flight of fancy followed by, the deceptively amiable amble of the "Allemende", the moto perpetuo sprint of the "Corrente", the decadent embroidery of the "Air avec agrİments", and the "Gavotte et Musette's" contrast between staccato strut and pedal-heavy pedal point, before concluding with a spectacular "Gigue".Rachel Naomi Kudo commissioned the Suite   l'ancienne, about 16 minutes duration, after impressing Hamelin with her performance of his "Toccata on L'homme armİ" in the Van Cliburn International Competition. Funding the commission with her Gilmore Young Artist Award, Kudo suggested the idea of a work inspired by the music of J. S. Bach and went on to premiere the Suite in a performance streaming from Pordenone, Italy on February 21, 2021, presented by the Irving S. Gilmore International Piano Festival.