Canadian pianist Stéphane Lemelin returns with a recording devoted to the music of French composer Gabriel Dupont. This CD is part of Lemelin’s ATMA series Musique française: Découvertes 1890-1939, which presents rarely recorded French music and sheds light on areas of the French musical landscape during a pivotal era.

Lemelin’s previous recordings for ATMA focused on chamber music of other lesser-known but fascinating French composers and have been praised for their “finely wrought passion” (Globe and Mail). This new recording is devoted to Gabriel Dubois’ two solo piano suites, Les heures dolentes and La maison dans les dunes.

Though Gabriel Dupont was known largely for his operatic works, he was also acclaimed for his piano suites. Les heures dolentes was composed during Dupont’s convalescence from his first bout of tuberculosis the disease that would ultimately bring about his untimely death at the age of 36.

La maison dans les dunes was composed at Cap Ferret, a small island refuge for tuberculosis patients. Dupont was in much better health than he had been while writing Les heures dolentes, and this second piano suite sculpts a new musical landscape that is rich and vibrant.

Stéphane Lemelin performs regularly across Canada, as well as in the United States, Europe and Asia. A frequent guest of major summer festivals, he has appeared as soloist with many of Canada’s principal orchestras. He is a member of Trio Hochelaga with violinist Anne Robert and cellist Paul Marleyn, and tours with this ensemble internationally. He is also the artistic director of the Prince Edward County Music Festival, in Picton, Ontario.