Le Temps des lilas 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 colourful 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 I Giardini also deliver a previously unpublished version of Poème, op.25, reworked for violin, piano and string quartet.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 mélodie 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 (which has been awarded the prestigious Diapason d’Or), Bleu, Shaw and Fauré, an EP released with PENTATONE in 2024.