I'm listening to "Introspection" now. It's really nice work. Your timing is so accurate. When listening to these, I sometimes feel you should slow down the tempo a bit but maybe I just have a slower metabolism.

Hi Differencetone,
Thank you for your kind comment. Well, as for the tempo, you'll see there are also some rest moments... Variety is one of the qualities we should try to bring in improvisation, while keeping consistency and organisation in the musical development. But I will listen your music now !

Hi François,

I listened to both first improvisations just because of curiosity. I was much surprised by how good they are and I liked them. I'm not so surprised by the very high quality sound: great pianist, great piano and great room (and likely great microphoines, IRCAM oblige), it makes most part of the sound.

Moreover the cassette was not a bad medium when used in a professional recorder (Nakamichi for instance). The only performance of the Beethoven 6th symphony directed by Carlos Kleiber in 1983 was edited on CD some years ago from a cassette recorded during the concert by the technicians for the son of Carlos Kleiber because the main tapes were no longer usable. The cassette was and its transfer gave one of the most terrific Beethoven's 6th on CD, which wins the blind listening contest in this program from France Musique.

Cheers,
Didier

Thanks Didier ! I must give a precision concerning the recording technique: the sound was originally recorded on a DAT recorder, then transfered on a ferric cassette, and, almost 20 years after, read on a good cassette recorder and entered in a computer through an external sound card, then transformed in .wav file then transformed in mp3.
The original recording was of top quality, regarding the early '90 state-of-the-art. Which is surprising is the fact that the cassette did not degrade too much. I'm not sure that the CDs we burn today will be still readable after 20 or 30 years...
Regards,

Dear All,
Please find hereafter four more improvisations from the same sessions. Hence I must recognise the influence of Keith Jarrett, at least in the three first ones. The fourth is a kind of awakening, after three slow and dreamy moments, towards the rest of the suite (that I will post in a next delivery...).

9. Regrets
10. Tribute to KJ
11. White keys
12. A gate


Larrard - Regrets (4:21)
Larrard - Tribute to K.J. (4:57)
Larrard - White Keys (4:00)
Larrard - A Gate (0:33)

Great stuff as usual ! These are up on the site.

Thanks Chris ! BTW, when will you fix the statistics issue (in the event where you're in charge - I understand you have at least the competence...) ? From my side, I can only pay my modest part for the site financing, that I'm going to do, just time to grab my credit card !

Oh, the darn statistics... I wish I'd never made them in the first place
Maybe one day....

Dear All,
Please find attached the four last improvisations of this series, recorded almost 20 years ago. As in the previous ones, there are alternatively violence and peace, dissonance and harmony, percussion and melodies. The tittles were attributed afterward, since there's nothing predetermined before execution of the music. I hope some of you will enjoy these musical impressions, which are mainly a spontaneous expression of my love for the Piano.

Larrard - Glance at the Garden

Larrard - Toccata

Larrard - Deserts

Larrard - Ballade

I really like your music. I'm a big fan of Bartok too. You don't have anything you have done recently? You should be writing symphonies or piano concertos. "15 DESERTS" hits the spot for me.

Thank you so much, Differencetone ! Well, I have a Jazz CD (solo piano) that I have recorded last year. It will be released by end of the year, and it will be available by Internet. Here's the link towards the label:

http://www.yolkrecords.com/

There is an announcement of the CD down in the page (the name of the CD is 'Zoo').

As for writing symphonies and concertos... maybe when I retire ! But I have a number of more modest compositions available through Internet:

http://francoisdelarrard.chez-alice.fr/ ... logue.html

Regards,

Francois, I have not forgotten these. I just can't do the work now. Hopefully tomorrow or the next day for sure.

No hurry, Monica ! They have waited for 19 years, they can wait for some more days... Regards,

Ok, Francois, these are up. Sounded nice - I especially liked Glance at the Garden. And for a second I thought you were going to play 'Claire de Lune" on your Ballad.

Thanks, Monica ! You're right, the beginning of the ballad sounds kind of Debussy, with the scale in full tone thirds... I must say he is for me a great source of inspiration...