Press commentsCD Hints: Impressive Musical Paintings
Soline Guillon is an organist and harpsichordist living in Darmstadt
who drew several times attention to her. She now proposes a recording
made in the Petruskirche with harpsichord pieces of François Couperin
(from the second „Livre de Clavecin“), Sweelinck's variations on „Mein
junges Leben hat ein End“, Bach's 1st Partita (BWV 825) and Rameau. She
proves to be an exceptional harpsichordist, who creates in those mood
pieces impressive musical paintings.
Besides usual chirping, the harpsichord offers astonishing sound
volume, particularly in the pronounced bass. It is a replica (by Marian
Johannes Schreiner from Darmstadt) of a historical instrument of the
Flemish harpsichord builder family Ruckers (late 17th Century), owned
by the Petrus congregation. Above all the tuning of the instrument has
been adapted to the style of the respective pieces, so that striking
sounds effects and frictions are created in Couperin's pieces. The
finale of Bach's partita becomes under the hands of Ms Guillon a
virtuoso toccata, as Bach converts his giga. Who until now
hasn't much enjoyed harpsichord will be here disabused.
hz
Darmstädter Echo
23.1.2009
Hell ride with B-A-C-H
Organ concert: Soline Guillon's tour through music history in the
Pauluskirche
... Soline Guillon demonstrated in the Darmstadt Pauluskirche last
sunday her versatility with a concert during which she lead the
listener through centuries.
... Already in Bach's choral prelude „Dies sind die heiligen zehn
Gebot“ (BWV 678), she extracted clearly the choral, counterpointed by
the other voices. A self-evident virtuosity stands her in good stead
during her agile fingerplaying.
... Actually the playing of this organist is an asset. This also holds
for the Fughetta by Mendelssohn which sounds like a lyrical song
without words or the first sonata in d minor op. 11 by August Gottfried
Ritter, which incorporates in the sonata movement toccata-like
episodes. Before all, Mrs Guillon possesses an astonishing sense of
style, which contributes further to a clear structuring.
... Liszt's „Präludium und Fuge über den Namen B-A-C-H“ was the
crowning conclusion. A virtuoso big hit. And the organist really
deployed a virtuosic hell ride in this pianistic work
... No lower summit was at the beginning Messiaen's jazzy movement
„Joie et clarté des corps glorieux“...
... „Joie et clarté“ stand at the same time for Soline Guillon's
interpretation manner, which is characterized by her playing and
clarity.
Heinz Zietsch
Darmstädter Echo
29.4.2008
Emotional suspense and technical
brilliance
First-class organ concert by Soline Guillon in the Bergkirche
... Young French organist Soline Guillon played in the lutheran church
in Zwingenberg works by Johann Jakob Froberger and Georg Muffat, who
count among the most significant sources of inspiration in the European
musical tradition.
... This was a real musical confrontation, allowed by the quality of
the instrument and Soline Guillon's nuanced playing.
... Soline Guillon presented Bach's melodic Trio sonata in e minor
(BWV 528) with finely interweaved voices and expressive cantability.
... This well-known piece (Praeludium and Fugue in e flat major) full
of
musical-theological symbolism was a climax
of the concert, in which Soline Guillon managed to preserve the balance
between virtuosity and musicality: emotional suspense and technical
brilliance shaked their hands during this musical experience.
... Mrs Guillon presented juvenile freshness paired with musical
earnestness and never let the audience feel what high exigencies are
concealed behind a such convincing interpretation.
tr
Bergsträßer Anzeiger
May 30th 2007
