Since his 2004 recording of the Chopin Nocturnes, Pascal Amoyel has further developed his view of the composer’s music: ‘For the Nocturnes, Chopin is thinking of a sort of universality, whereas with the Polonaises it’s more like the singular seeking transcendence. At the end of the series, the form is not at all a framework or an aim, but a poetic resource, which flows into the force of the language; that engages one’s interpretation, but also liberates it in a sense. I hope all of that goes in the direction of simplicity.’ Pascal Amoyel proposes his interpretation of the great Polonaises (opp.26, 40, 44 and 53), metaphors of the Polish diaspora, of exile, sorrow and despair. The Polonaise-Fantaisie, a synthesis of all the others, closes this sumptuous recording, offering us a new world of sound, right up to the exultant quintessence of the final bars.