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The Complete Songs of Duparc / Connolly, Spence, Thomas, Rendall, Martineau
Signum Classics

The Complete Songs of Duparc / Connolly, Spence, Thomas, Rendall, Martineau

$19.99

Details

Composer
Henri Duparc
Artist
Sarah Connolly, Nicky Spence, William Thomas, Huw Montague Rendall, Malcolm Martineau
Format
CD
Label
Signum Classics
Released
Jul 15, 2022
Catalog #
SIGCD715
UPC
635212071526

About

Malcolm Martineau follows up his acclaimed complete song collections of Poulenc and Faure with an album celebrating the solo songs of Henri Duparc, performed by an acclaimed roster of British singers – Dame Sarah Connolly, Huw Montague Rendall, Nicky Spence & William Thomas. An iconic figure in the world of French music – his songs described as being ‘imperfect...but works of genius’ by Ravel and ‘perfect’ by Debussy – Duparc only composed a handful of works during the first half of his life: following a nervous disorder in 1885 at age 37 he lived for a further 48 years, orchestrating and tinkering with his songs, but publishing nothing new.

Scottish pianist Malcolm Martineau is recognized at the highest international level as one of the UK’s leading accompanists, performing worldwide alongside the world’s greatest singers and with a discography of over 100 albums, including a number of award-winning recordings.

REVIEW

With four singers in the line-up, there is plenty of vocal variety. The lion’s share of the songs is allotted to Sarah Connolly who still has her voice in fine fettle. She perhaps displays a wider vibrato than in past, but the tone is beautiful and her expressiveness is undiminished, and her high notes ring out gloriously. She is allotted seven songs, while her three male colleagues have three each. But we shouldn’t forget the fifth participant, Malcolm Martineau at the piano. His role is just as important as the singers’, since these songs are no mere melodies with accompaniments but rather dramatic or narrative scenes, where the piano sets the scene and propels the action forward. In that respect Duparc is Wagnerian in his approach. Obviously we focus on the singer, but the piano part mustn’t be suppressed. Malcolm Martineau shows that he is a born director and keeps the proceedings on a tight rein.

-- MusicWeb International

Tracklist 16 tracks

  1. 1 Chanson triste, Op. 2, No. 4 (version for voice and piano) 03:18
    Track
    1
    Title
    Chanson triste, Op. 2, No. 4 (version for voice and piano)
    Duration
    03:18
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    Sarah Connolly, Malcolm Martineau
  2. 2 Soupir, Op. 2, No. 1 03:16
    Track
    2
    Title
    Soupir, Op. 2, No. 1
    Duration
    03:16
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    Nicky Spence, Malcolm Martineau
  3. 3 Romance de Mignon 04:05
    Track
    3
    Title
    Romance de Mignon
    Duration
    04:05
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    Sarah Connolly, Malcolm Martineau
  4. 4 Sérénade 02:25
    Track
    4
    Title
    Sérénade
    Duration
    02:25
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    Nicky Spence, Malcolm Martineau
  5. 5 Le galop 03:06
    Track
    5
    Title
    Le galop
    Duration
    03:06
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    William Thomas, Malcolm Martineau
  6. 6 Au pays où se fait la guerre 05:11
    Track
    6
    Title
    Au pays où se fait la guerre
    Duration
    05:11
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    Sarah Connolly, Malcolm Martineau
  7. 7 L'Invitation au voyage (version for voice and piano) 04:47
    Track
    7
    Title
    L'Invitation au voyage (version for voice and piano)
    Duration
    04:47
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    Sarah Connolly, Malcolm Martineau
  8. 8 La vague et la cloche 05:47
    Track
    8
    Title
    La vague et la cloche
    Duration
    05:47
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    William Thomas, Malcolm Martineau
  9. 9 Extase 03:16
    Track
    9
    Title
    Extase
    Duration
    03:16
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    Sarah Connolly, Malcolm Martineau
  10. 10 Élégie 02:58
    Track
    10
    Title
    Élégie
    Duration
    02:58
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    Sarah Connolly, Malcolm Martineau
  11. 11 Le manoir de Rosemonde 02:51
    Track
    11
    Title
    Le manoir de Rosemonde
    Duration
    02:51
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    Huw Montague Rendall, Malcolm Martineau
  12. 12 Sérénade florentine 02:17
    Track
    12
    Title
    Sérénade florentine
    Duration
    02:17
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    Nicky Spence, Malcolm Martineau
  13. 13 Lamento 03:16
    Track
    13
    Title
    Lamento
    Duration
    03:16
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    Huw Montague Rendall, Malcolm Martineau
  14. 14 Phidylé (version for voice and piano) 05:44
    Track
    14
    Title
    Phidylé (version for voice and piano)
    Duration
    05:44
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    Huw Montague Rendall, Malcolm Martineau
  15. 15 Testament 03:05
    Track
    15
    Title
    Testament
    Duration
    03:05
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    Sarah Connolly, Malcolm Martineau
  16. 16 La vie antérieure 04:34
    Track
    16
    Title
    La vie antérieure
    Duration
    04:34
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    William Thomas, Malcolm Martineau