Pauset: Canons CD review – cool precision and dense virtuosity

Nicolas Hodges
(Wergo, two CDs)Canons have been a feature of western music since at least the 13th century, and it seems that composers are still fascinated by their possibilities. Brice Pauset, the French-born, German-resident former pupil of Gérard Grisey has taken that fascination further than most; as well as these cycles of canons for solo piano, he has composed equivalent cycles for chamber ensemble and chamber orchestra.The 18 pieces in these four collections were composed between