Gwendeline lumaret - Naji Hakim- Cello Works (2025) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Gwendeline Lumaret explores the fusion of Eastern and Western traditions in Hakim’s striking solo and chamber works.

This album presents a striking collection of solo and chamber works for cello by Naji Hakim, performed by Gwendeline Lumaret with clarity, virtuosity, and deep expressive insight. Known for his distinctive synthesis of Western classical traditions and Middle Eastern influences, Hakim’s writing is both intricate and immediate, drawing on sources as diverse as Gregorian chant, Levantine folk music, and the harmonic innovations of French modernism.

The album opens with Arabesque et Variations, a vivid solo work inspired by the Egyptian song Ya Chadi el Alhhanby Sayyed Darwish. The piece moves through four contrasting variations, shifting from playful dance to contemplative lyricism before concluding with an intimate, improvisatory coda. Missa Cum Jubilo, also for solo cello, takes its themes from the Gregorian Mass IX. Each movement transforms the chant material into distinct sound worlds, from the expressive ornamentation of the Kyrie to the perpetual motion of the Sanctus and the luminous tranquillity of the Agnus Dei.

In Prélude et Habanera, Hakim pays homage to both Bach and the Spanish-inflected harmonies of Ravel and Debussy. The Prélude unfolds with the clarity of a Baroque toccata, while the Habanera evokes a sultry, shifting landscape of rhythm and color. Montmartre, written in 2023, is a deeply personal reflection on the history and spiritual resonance of the Parisian district where Hakim served as organist of the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur.

The album concludes with Levantine Variations for cello and piano, a work rooted in the popular song Bint El Shalabiya. The melody’s modal inflections and asymmetrical rhythms are explored through five transformations, ranging from contrapuntal chorale to martial intensity and a dazzling final movement that merges symphonic variation with sonata form.

TRACKLIST

1. gwendeline lumaret - Arabesque & Variations: Arabesque. Allegro con spirito
2. gwendeline lumaret - Arabesque & Variations: Var. 1, Allegro con spirito
3. gwendeline lumaret - Arabesque & Variations: Var. 2, Moderato con fantasia
4. gwendeline lumaret - Arabesque & Variations: Var. 3, Con moto
5. gwendeline lumaret - Arabesque & Variations: Var. 4, Calmo quasi improvisando
6. gwendeline lumaret - Missa cum jubilo: I. Kyrie
7. gwendeline lumaret - Missa cum jubilo: II. Gloria
8. gwendeline lumaret - Missa cum jubilo: III. Sanctus
9. gwendeline lumaret - Missa cum jubilo: IV. Agnus Dei
10. gwendeline lumaret - Prélude et habanera: I. Prélude
11. gwendeline lumaret - Prélude et habanera: II. Habanera
12. gwendeline lumaret - Montmartre
13. gwendeline lumaret - Levantine Variations: Theme. Allegro energico
14. gwendeline lumaret - Levantine Variations: Var. 1, Moderato
15. gwendeline lumaret - Levantine Variations: Var. 2, Allegro moderato
16. gwendeline lumaret - Levantine Variations: Var. 3, Andante grazioso
17. gwendeline lumaret - Levantine Variations: Var. 4, Marziale
18. gwendeline lumaret - Levantine Variations: Var. 5, Vivace



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