Contemporary composers working with just intonation tend to have an affinity for early music, when Pythagorean tuning was mainstream and before equal temperament became the standard. Léo Dupleix is no exception, and he takes the connection one step further, putting the harpsichord at the center of much of his music.
Round Sky is Dupleix’s latest, a close cousin of his 2024 release, Resonant Trees. Both albums place the composer’s harpsichord within a small chamber ensemble including flute, guitar, and in the case of Round Sky, double bass. (Resonant Trees called for clarinet and viola instead of bass). Dupleix also plays analogue synthesizer, a color that is particularly central to the longest piece on the new album, the nearly 20-minute…