Francesco Maria Moncher has completed the recording of the second volume of Five Elements for Da Vinci Classics. Following Acqua, the pianist turns to Terra: a programme that brings together French, German and Scandinavian repertoire to explore the relationship between the piano and the natural world.

A new chapter: Terra

The new recording approaches its theme through contrasting musical perspectives. Rather than tracing a single style or period, Moncher brings together works in which landscape, reflection and the energy of nature take on different forms at the keyboard.

Déodat de Séverac’s Chant de la Terre opens the programme, placing the idea of the earth at its centre. It is followed by Franz Liszt’s two Trenodie, S.163 Nos. 2 and 3, whose inward character introduces a more meditative dimension to the journey.

Carl Tausig’s Chant d’amour, after Wagner, extends the programme into the world of transcription, while Christian Sinding’s Frühlingsrauschen brings the movement and vitality of spring into focus. Gabriel Fauré’s Ballade completes the selection, opening a further lyrical and introspective perspective.

The connections between these works are as much a matter of sound and atmosphere as of subject. Their differences allow the theme to unfold through changing textures and gestures: the piano becomes a means of considering nature through movement, resonance and musical imagination.

Inside the sessions

Five Elements

Five Elements is conceived as a cycle of five recordings, each offering a distinct perspective on the relationship between music and the elements. Its central idea is not simply to assemble pieces under a common title, but to explore how timbre, sonority, light and atmosphere can suggest different ways of experiencing the natural world.

With the recording of Terra now complete, the project takes its second step. The new volume will be released by Da Vinci Classics; its publication date has not yet been announced.

The first volume: Acqua

Released on 26 January 2024 as C00821, Five Elements Vol. 1: Acqua introduced the cycle through music by Alexander Scriabin, Franz Liszt, Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy. Works including Liszt’s Les Jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este and Ravel’s Jeux d’eau established the water-inspired point of departure from which the project now moves towards the earth.

Listen to Acqua on Spotify →

Terra: the programme

• Déodat de Séverac — Chant de la Terre
• Franz Liszt — Trenodie, S.163 Nos. 2 and 3
• Carl Tausig — Chant d’amour, after Wagner
• Christian Sinding — Frühlingsrauschen
• Gabriel Fauré — Ballade