Synthetists Revisited

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In September 1925, seven students gathered in Brussels to form the first composers’ collective in Belgian music history – Les Synthetistes – who sought to distinguish themselves from late Romantic style by connecting with contemporary music. A lack of symphony orchestras in Belgium at the time saw them composing and transcribing original works for wind band, and through their collaboration with Arthur Prevost and the Band of the Belgian Guides, a unique canon of original, modern music could be heard on the Brussels concert stages during the interwar period. This recording provides a resounding response to the injustice of this repertoire’s complete neglect today. Works by the collective’s ‘master’ Paul Gilson and the seventh member, Rene Bernier, can be heard on the digital single 9.70351.