·April 3, 2025·3 min read

‘Duos For Violin and Piano’ by Raphael Novarina is a Vast Instrumental Collection of the Composer’s Quintessential Compositions

‘Duos For Violin and Piano’ by Raphael Novarina is an expansive collection of instrumental pieces pull on the balance between melancholy and light. Piano, violin and cello melodies dominate the soundscape, melding on unique tracks (and their variations) to tell expansive, emotionally intuitive narratives.

The collection spans around 34 tracks, with short tracks and long, with expansive ones that give listeners a sense of Novarina’s body of work. Most steeped in velvety melancholy with a few bursts of light, ambient enigmatic melodies seem to flit by and cascade along.

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‘Duos For Violin and Piano’: ‘Le Cinquième Péché’

On ‘Duos For Violin and Piano’ (et la) one instrument keeps count. This while the other braids, swirls, spirals or flits around those bass melodies. These soaring melodies lead the mood of the track in question. Repetitive motifs acting like refrains that pull the listener’s attention.

Some tracks on this list, like ‘Le Cinquième Péché’ have a few variations that layer the melodies with deeper meaning at each stop. The song is paired with violin and cello, piano and violin and more, each variation taking on this increased sense of velvety melancholy. But each piecing together in different ways.

‘Duo For Piano and Oboe, Le Cinquième Péché’ is a particular highlight here.

‘Duos For Violin and Piano’: Ambient, Velvet Melancholic

Most of the tracks in this collection hold this melancholic velvetiness, introduced in different, expansive, goosebump inducing ways that it’s almost difficult to keep count. Its a melancholy that’s simply naturally occurring in these tracks for the most barring a few notable exceptions.

Towards the beginning of the ‘Duos’ collection, a short, intense piano-led track called ‘Dancing’ pulls its way onto the tracklist. Its light piano and string melodies dance together to create their mood.

‘Duos For Two Clarinets, Danse De Rein’ holds a similar quality down the line. A nearly 30-second track, two clarinets build momentum with their unique flair and energetic charm.

Towards the end, ‘Duo for Two Harps, No. 1 (Candice Variation)’ specifically stands out. This for the way the harps seems to twinkle in a way that feels otherworldly. Cascading rhythms move downward while the heady quality of the harps allows them to expand towards the edges of their range.

Conclusion

The ‘Duos For Violin and Piano’ collection by Rapheal Novarina showcases the composer’s ability to imbue his melodies that feel heavy with melancholy. Each track evokes vivid imagery that can be both dark and light. This capturing the soul of emotion, and its various variations and iterations.

Melodies are ambient and whole, telling full stories that resolve most of the time.

An immersive, calming listen.

The Artist

Raphael Novarina is a French composer who makes music in a variety of styles and settings. However, he mainly focuses on contemporary classical piano compositions.