Vikingur Olafsson's "Debussy - Rameau": a pairing of French giants

When the acclaimed Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson first released Debussy-Rameau, the praise seemed to be omnipresent and unanimous. Every classical music critic or blogger that I admire was celebrating an album that puts together two of the most important French composers: Claude Debussy and Jean-Philippe Rameau. The first thing that got my attention was both the quantity and the quality of the pieces that Ólafsson decided to include. There are 28 tracks, and their type definitely excludes the obvious selection. The pairing is undoubtedly daring. Ólafsson has put together two composers that a lot of people have a hard time putting together even in the same sentence. Nonetheless, if there is a common thread that unites them, it would be their relevance, not only in French music, but also in classical music in general. Jean-Philippe Rameau was one of the most remarkable French composers of the 18th century. His domain of opera, dance pieces and music for the harpsichord made him the natural successor of Jean-Baptiste Lully, another giant of French music. Claude Debussy ignited a revolution at the end of the twentieth century by crafting music that was opposed in many ways to the dominant music of the time: the one made by the Germans. Ólafsson’s greatest feat consists of seamlessly playing music made by two composers that not only were born almost two hundred years apart, but are also distanced by their stylistic qualities. The astonishingly uniform tone that unites all the pieces almost makes one think that this is the work of only one composer. The order in which these pieces were arranged is also something that should not be underestimated. When you listen to this album, you feel some sort of cinematic attribute. The pace of the slower tunes ends up balanced by the more up-tempo tracks. In that way Debussy-Rameau holds your interest -and excitement- in a very well achieved way. Alex Ross stated that the pillars of French music are charm, elegance and clarity. Debussy-Rameau is definitely eloquent of those features. The music may have been written already possessing those traits, but the performance of Ólafsson is what heightens them. This album is an absolutely endearing experience, so I encourage you to delve into it -you will be rewarded with pure beauty.