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Paysages / Phillips, Huang
Bridge Records

Paysages / Phillips, Huang

$18.99

Details

Composer
VARIOUS
Artist
Susanna Phillips
Format
CD
Label
Bridge Records
Released
Oct 11, 2011
Catalog #
BCD9356
UPC
090404935626

About

PAYSAGE • Susanna Phillips (sop); Myra Huang (pn) • BRIDGE 9356 (54:06 Text and Translation)



Songs by Debussy, Fauré, Messiaen


Susanna Phillips has been singing professionally for at least 5 years now and it is a wonder to me that she hasn’t already been recorded, this being her first recital disc. She has the voice and talent that quite likely will get her to the top of her profession sooner rather than later, all the potential makings of a major artist. So the Bridge label has had the perspicacity and the good fortune to debut her on CD, and they have another winner here.


Phillips sings an all-French program, from the 19th-century lyricism of Gabriel Fauré to the more tonally ambiguous (as the booklet puts it) work of Claude Debussy and the modern sounds of Oliver Messiaen, who created his own otherworldly soundscape to express the mystic and religious nature of his own texts. The three composers are not presented in that developmental order; the rather musically complex songs of Debussy’s Ariettes oubliées put both singer and pianist to work right away with the composer’s Impressionistic music. Phillips is expertly accompanied on piano by fellow Juilliard grad Myra Huang; Opera News opines that she “bids fair to be among the top accompanists of her generation.” The rather spiky dissonance of Messiaen’s song cycle Poèmes pour Mi is presented next, providing an even greater artistic challenge for both artists, and they respond admirably. Four lovely pieces by Fauré finish the program, allowing Phillips to display her fine voice and ability to add colors in more lyrical passages.


If Phillips’s French is not idiomatic, it is still quite good. Three different French styles are heard here and the singer does them all justice, but some of this music is not for the faint of heart. Timing is a bit short at about 54 minutes, but gets excused because of the fine music-making of both Phillips and Huang. A well-written and informative essay on the music by Malcolm MacDonald is included in the booklet, as are texts and translations.


FANFARE: Bill White

Tracklist 19 tracks

  1. 1 No. 1. C'est l'extase 03:02
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 1. C'est l'extase
    Duration
    03:02
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  2. 2 No. 2. Il pleure dans mon coeur 02:33
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 2. Il pleure dans mon coeur
    Duration
    02:33
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  3. 3 No. 3. L'ombre des arbres 02:33
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 3. L'ombre des arbres
    Duration
    02:33
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  4. 4 No. 4. Chevaux de bois 03:20
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 4. Chevaux de bois
    Duration
    03:20
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  5. 5 No. 5. Green 02:33
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 5. Green
    Duration
    02:33
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  6. 6 No. 6. Spleen 02:45
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 6. Spleen
    Duration
    02:45
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  7. 7 Book 1: No. 1. Action de graces 06:05
    Track
    7
    Title
    Book 1: No. 1. Action de graces
    Duration
    06:05
    Composer
    Olivier Messiaen
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  8. 8 Book 1: No. 2. Paysage 02:06
    Track
    8
    Title
    Book 1: No. 2. Paysage
    Duration
    02:06
    Composer
    Olivier Messiaen
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  9. 9 Book 1: No. 3. La maison 01:36
    Track
    9
    Title
    Book 1: No. 3. La maison
    Duration
    01:36
    Composer
    Olivier Messiaen
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  10. 10 Book 1: No. 4. Epouvante 02:29
    Track
    10
    Title
    Book 1: No. 4. Epouvante
    Duration
    02:29
    Composer
    Olivier Messiaen
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  11. 11 Book 2: No. 5. L'epouse 02:05
    Track
    11
    Title
    Book 2: No. 5. L'epouse
    Duration
    02:05
    Composer
    Olivier Messiaen
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  12. 12 Book 2: No. 6. Ta voix 03:03
    Track
    12
    Title
    Book 2: No. 6. Ta voix
    Duration
    03:03
    Composer
    Olivier Messiaen
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  13. 13 Book 2: No. 7. Les deux guerriers 01:34
    Track
    13
    Title
    Book 2: No. 7. Les deux guerriers
    Duration
    01:34
    Composer
    Olivier Messiaen
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  14. 14 Book 2: No. 8. Le collier 03:23
    Track
    14
    Title
    Book 2: No. 8. Le collier
    Duration
    03:23
    Composer
    Olivier Messiaen
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  15. 15 Book 2: No. 9. Priere exaucee 03:25
    Track
    15
    Title
    Book 2: No. 9. Priere exaucee
    Duration
    03:25
    Composer
    Olivier Messiaen
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  16. 16 Les roses d'Ispahan, Op. 39, No. 4 03:44
    Track
    16
    Title
    Les roses d'Ispahan, Op. 39, No. 4
    Duration
    03:44
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  17. 17 Nell, Op. 18, No. 1 01:50
    Track
    17
    Title
    Nell, Op. 18, No. 1
    Duration
    01:50
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  18. 18 3 Songs, Op. 7: No. 1. Apres un reve 03:08
    Track
    18
    Title
    3 Songs, Op. 7: No. 1. Apres un reve
    Duration
    03:08
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang
  19. 19 Poeme d'un jour, Op. 21: No. 3. Adieu 02:42
    Track
    19
    Title
    Poeme d'un jour, Op. 21: No. 3. Adieu
    Duration
    02:42
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Susanna Phillips, Myra Huang