Le temps des lilas (Lilac Time) is an ode to Romanticism, a love song and a nostalgic reflection on the bittersweet beauty of lost happiness. Dedicated to the music of Ernest Chausson, this album oscillates between passion and melancholy, wonder and nostalgia.

The Concert Op. 21, a masterly work on the borderline between chamber music and orchestra, is carried by Pierre Fouchenneret’s magnetic violin and David Violi’s colorful piano. I Giardini also deliver a previously unpublished version of Poème Op. 25, reworked for violin, piano and string quartet.

The album closes with Pauline Buet’s equally sensitive retelling of Chausson and Barbara’s Temps des/du lilas, using cello in the former and singing voice in the latter. Barbara’s song and Chausson’s melody stand as a simple, timeless tribute to the magic of past moments and the fragility of human existence.

Le temps des lilas is I Giardini’s first full-length album for Pentatone, following an already rich discography: Nuits (awarded the prestigious Diapason d’Or), Bleu, Shaw and Fauré, an EP released with Pentatone in 2024.

Pierre Fouchenneret
I Giardini
Pauline Buet
David Violi
Shuichi Okada
Camille Fonteneau
Violaine Despeyroux