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Mademoiselle: Première Audience - Unknown Music of Nadia Boulanger
Delos

Mademoiselle: Première Audience - Unknown Music of Nadia Boulanger

$26.99

Details

Composer
BOULANGER, NADIA
Artist
Cabell, Shrader, Crossley-Mercer, Peled, Mauro, Houbart
Format
CD
Label
Delos
Released
Mar 10, 2017
Catalog #
DE 3496
UPC
013491349626

About

Delos has the tremendous honor of issuing the first-ever album devoted to the wonderful compositions of Nadia Boulanger: truly a release of great historical importance. None dispute that Boulanger was by far the twentieth century’s most influential composition teacher. Yet “Mademoiselle,” as she has long been known in the music world, dismissed her own works as “useless,” with the result that they are almost completely unknown to the musical public today. But not anymore. Music lovers everywhere can now hear Boulanger’s complete works, published and unpublished (including 13 world premieres), in the genres of the art song, solo piano, cello and piano, and organ, as performed by an all-star array of musicians. Mademoiselle’s music, with its beauty and originality, will amaze listeners everywhere.

REVIEWS:

Absolutely nothing about this record denotes one of the most important classical records of this or any year -- not the venerable but small American label Delos or the French, Israeli, and American musicians involved.

But what you've got here is historic and very great indeed: the first recording of music by one of the most important figures in all of 20th century music but one whose own music has been kept under virtual lock and key since her death in 1979 at the age of 92.

Nadia Boulanger's own compositional life occupied only a small part of her very long life: from 1901 to 1922. She didn't think her own music was worth much. You will differ completely after hearing these two discs. Listen to these songs, piano pieces and works for cello and piano and you'll, in fact, be dumbfounded that it took so long for this music to have its world premiere on record.

– Buffalo News (Jeff Simon)

The performances here range from good to considerably better. Nicole Cabell’s singing of just over half the songs is exquisite: delicately shaded, tonally lovely, and sensitive to the texts. Neither of the two male singers has a voice with the distinctiveness of hers, but both are fine singers and more than do justice to the songs. Tenor Alek Shrader really understands the French style. The usual range of subjects—love, grief, nature, and religion—are all covered in Boulanger’s melodies. Some songs are surprisingly passionate from a composer whom history has painted as a reserved and controlled personality.

The instrumental works, all miniatures, are skillfully crafted (as one would expect from a life-long pedagogue), but also display a spark of ingenuity and inspiration. The third of the three pieces for cello and piano, Vite et nerveusement rythmé, is a vivid depiction of nervous energy, forming a strong contrast to the first piece, which is longingly romantic. There is throughout the disc a great deal of variety of mood and color, which helps to maintain interest. Pianist Lucy Mauro does yeoman’s work as both soloist and as collaborative pianist, though without demonstrating a really strong musical personality. The cellist and organist are quite good as well, and the well-balanced and natural recorded sound is also a plus. Finally, so are Delos’s extensive and informative notes. Everything about this disc combines to make an enthusiastic recommendation easy.

-- Fanfare

Tracklist 37 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 Versailles 03:05
    Track
    1
    Title
    Versailles
    Duration
    03:05
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Nicole Cabell, Lucy Mauro
  3. 2 J'ai frappé 01:59
    Track
    2
    Title
    J'ai frappé
    Duration
    01:59
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Nicole Cabell, Lucy Mauro
  4. 3 Chanson 01:26
    Track
    3
    Title
    Chanson
    Duration
    01:26
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Alek Shrader, Lucy Mauro
  5. 4 Chanson 02:02
    Track
    4
    Title
    Chanson
    Duration
    02:02
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Alek Shrader, Lucy Mauro
  6. 5 Heures ternes 02:49
    Track
    5
    Title
    Heures ternes
    Duration
    02:49
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Nicole Cabell, Lucy Mauro
  7. 6 Le beau navire 03:04
    Track
    6
    Title
    Le beau navire
    Duration
    03:04
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Nicole Cabell, Lucy Mauro
  8. 7 Mon coeur 03:05
    Track
    7
    Title
    Mon coeur
    Duration
    03:05
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Nicole Cabell, Lucy Mauro
  9. 8 Doute 02:47
    Track
    8
    Title
    Doute
    Duration
    02:47
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Lucy Mauro
  10. 9 Un grand sommeil noir 02:02
    Track
    9
    Title
    Un grand sommeil noir
    Duration
    02:02
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Lucy Mauro
  11. 10 L'échange 03:24
    Track
    10
    Title
    L'échange
    Duration
    03:24
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Nicole Cabell, Lucy Mauro
  12. 11 Soir d'hiver 03:40
    Track
    11
    Title
    Soir d'hiver
    Duration
    03:40
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Nicole Cabell, Lucy Mauro
  13. 12 Ilda 03:29
    Track
    12
    Title
    Ilda
    Duration
    03:29
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Nicole Cabell, Lucy Mauro
  14. 13 Prière 03:38
    Track
    13
    Title
    Prière
    Duration
    03:38
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Nicole Cabell, Lucy Mauro
  15. 14 Cantique 02:03
    Track
    14
    Title
    Cantique
    Duration
    02:03
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Alek Shrader, Lucy Mauro
  16. 15 Poème d'amour 03:50
    Track
    15
    Title
    Poème d'amour
    Duration
    03:50
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Alek Shrader, Lucy Mauro
  17. 16 Extase 03:36
    Track
    16
    Title
    Extase
    Duration
    03:36
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Nicole Cabell, Lucy Mauro
  18. 17 La mer 02:53
    Track
    17
    Title
    La mer
    Duration
    02:53
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Nicole Cabell, Lucy Mauro
  19. 18 Aubade 02:00
    Track
    18
    Title
    Aubade
    Duration
    02:00
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Lucy Mauro
  20. 19 Au bord de la nuit 02:18
    Track
    19
    Title
    Au bord de la nuit
    Duration
    02:18
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Lucy Mauro
  21. 20 Le couteau 01:57
    Track
    20
    Title
    Le couteau
    Duration
    01:57
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Lucy Mauro
  22. Disc 2
  23. 1 Soleils couchants 02:24
    Track
    1
    Title
    Soleils couchants
    Duration
    02:24
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Nicole Cabell, Lucy Mauro
  24. 2 Élégie 03:30
    Track
    2
    Title
    Élégie
    Duration
    03:30
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Nicole Cabell, Lucy Mauro
  25. 3 O schwöre nicht 02:03
    Track
    3
    Title
    O schwöre nicht
    Duration
    02:03
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Alek Shrader, Lucy Mauro
  26. 4 Was will die einsame Thräne 02:32
    Track
    4
    Title
    Was will die einsame Thräne
    Duration
    02:32
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Alek Shrader, Lucy Mauro
  27. 5 Ach, die Augen sind es wieder 02:09
    Track
    5
    Title
    Ach, die Augen sind es wieder
    Duration
    02:09
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Alek Shrader, Lucy Mauro
  28. 6 Écoutez la chanson bien douce 06:03
    Track
    6
    Title
    Écoutez la chanson bien douce
    Duration
    06:03
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Nicole Cabell, Lucy Mauro
  29. 7 Vers la vie nouvelle 04:30
    Track
    7
    Title
    Vers la vie nouvelle
    Duration
    04:30
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Lucy Mauro
  30. 8 No. 1 in D Minor 01:05
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 1 in D Minor
    Duration
    01:05
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Lucy Mauro
  31. 9 No. 2 in D Minor 01:26
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 2 in D Minor
    Duration
    01:26
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Lucy Mauro
  32. 10 No. 3 in B Minor 00:51
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 3 in B Minor
    Duration
    00:51
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Lucy Mauro
  33. 11 No. 1. Modéré 03:14
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 1. Modéré
    Duration
    03:14
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Amit Peled, Lucy Mauro
  34. 12 No. 2. Sans vitesse et à l'aise 02:21
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 2. Sans vitesse et à l'aise
    Duration
    02:21
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Amit Peled, Lucy Mauro
  35. 13 No. 3. Vite et nerveusement rythmé 02:58
    Track
    13
    Title
    No. 3. Vite et nerveusement rythmé
    Duration
    02:58
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Amit Peled, Lucy Mauro
  36. 14 No. 1. Prélude 05:22
    Track
    14
    Title
    No. 1. Prélude
    Duration
    05:22
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Francois-Henri Houbart
  37. 15 No. 2. Petit Canon 02:32
    Track
    15
    Title
    No. 2. Petit Canon
    Duration
    02:32
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Francois-Henri Houbart
  38. 16 No. 3. Improvisation 03:57
    Track
    16
    Title
    No. 3. Improvisation
    Duration
    03:57
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Francois-Henri Houbart
  39. 17 Pièce sur des airs populaires flamands 07:18
    Track
    17
    Title
    Pièce sur des airs populaires flamands
    Duration
    07:18
    Composer
    Nadia Boulanger
    Performer
    Francois-Henri Houbart