AT THE PRECIPICE, the third release on Navona Records featuring the music of the late composer Yves Ramette (1921-2012), showcases four world premiere recordings of the composer’s works. Recorded with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra in the summer of 2013 after his passing, these four orchestral pieces follow on the heels of Ramette’s albums CASCADING INTO REVERIE for piano and orchestra and WITH PASSION for solo piano, and offer interesting insight into not only the composer himself but also the times in which he worked.

AT THE PRECIPICE highlights Ramette’s rhythmically propulsive style, in which melodic fragments are presented, morphed, and expanded. As noted in his manuscripts, Ramette refers to Symphony 6 as a representation of “[my]  rm belief in music… addressing the man and the technique that is a reection of an era,” perhaps a reference to the dismissal of his work by the French musical elite in the 1950s.

Along with Symphony 6, the album includes Symphony 1, Symphony 2, and Symphony 4, all of which contain related motifs and concepts. Ramette was a prolific composer constantly searching for new sounds and ideas, but the underlying unity of his thinking shines through in this compelling collection.

WITH PASSION is the second release from Navona Records featuring the works of French composer Yves Ramette (1921-2012). Exquisitely beautiful, these cascading works for solo piano stand alone within a palate of tine, color, and space that Mr. Ramette crafted and honed throughout his studies and professional career. Says pianist Eric Himy, “I came to realize that Yves Ramette seems to have stayed in a place of his own…simply impervious to criticism. His musical vision is a surrealist’s idea of fantasy with his fresh, wonderfully innocent outlook on the world… extremely transparent crystalline drops of sounds evoking his Gallic roots and inspirations (Debussy, Ravel, Messaien). In the end, Ramette’s compositions seem to be objects that exist in space rather than in time.” Mr. Ramette passed away in June 2012 and is survived by his wife, Maryse. PARMA Recordings is proud to honor this exceptional composer’s legacy with this collection, and is currently in production on his symphonic output for future release.

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French composer Yves Ramette’s (1921–2012) music is marked by its ability to broadcast “messages of the heart,” offering unflinching and distinguished representations of emotion and experience using traditional forms. A student of Honegger and contemporary of Boulez, among others, Ramette’s works draw from the rhythmic and harmonic elements of mid-20th-century France. CASCADING INTO REVERIE, a two-disc retrospective of Ramette’s works for solo piano and orchestra, presents a series of meticulously constructed works showcasing the composer’s penchant for writing harmonically and rhythmically driven music. Pianist Eric Himy—whose playing has been lauded for its “extraordinary richness” (BBC Music Magazine) and “infallible power and intensity” (Washington Post)— interprets Ramette’s works with creativity and finely honed technique, navigating difficult passages with ease and grace.