Bien qu'Erik Satie soit principalement reconnu pour son oeuvre de compositeur et pianiste, ses ecrits poetiques sont a l'image de sa musique : souvent courts, empreints d'un humour absurde et d'une grande sensibilite melancolique. La voix profonde et le timbre captivant de Francois Marthouret, se mele ici aux harmonies delicates du piano de Christiane Gugger. La complicite sensible entre l'acteur et la pianiste, souligne toute la musicalite et l'inattendu de ces ecrits iconoclastes signes par l'un des plus grands precurseurs de son epoque Augustin BONDOUX / Patrick FReMEAUX Although Erik Satie is primarily known for his work as a composer and pianist, his poetic writings reflect the same qualities as his music: often brief, tinged with absurd humor and deep melancholic sensitivity. The deep voice and captivating tone of Francois Marthouret blend here with the delicate harmonies of Christiane Gugger's piano. The sensitive rapport between the actor and the pianist highlights the musicality and unpredictability of these iconoclastic writings by one of the greatest pioneers of his time. Augustin BONDOUX / Patrick FReMEAUX GNOSSIENNE N°2 ET JE SUIS Ne a HONFLEUR - GNOSSIENNE N°4 - JE REGRETTE - GNOSSIENNE N°3 - LA JOURNeE D'UN MUSICIEN - VALSE-BALLET. SPORTS ET DIVERTISSEMENTS - CHORAL INAPPeTISSANT - LA BALANcOIRE - LA CHASSE - LA COMeDIE ITALIENNE - LE ReVEIL DE LA MARIeE - COLIN MAILLARD - LA PeCHE - LE YACHTING - LE BAIN DE MER - LE CARNAVAL - LE GOLF - LA PIEUVRE - LES COURSES - LES QUATRE COINS - LE PICNIC - LE WATER-CHUTE - LE TANGO - LE TRAiNEAU - LE FLIRT - LE FEU D'ARTIFICE - LE TENNIS. MUSIQUE SUR L'EAU - FANTAISIE-VALSE - ECHANGE D'IDeE - OGIVE N°1 - LES PeRIMeS - GNOSSIENNE N°5 - LE VERTIGE - SEUL a LA MAISON. LETTRE a DEBUSSY - 20 JUILLET 1903 - 14 AOÛT 1903 - 17 AOÛT 1903. AVANT-DERNIeRES PENSeES - IDYLLE a DEBUSSY - AUBADE a PAUL DUCAS - MeDITATION a ALBERT ROUSSEL. MICHELET ET LES ANIMAUX - PIeCE FROIDE N°2 - L'ARTISTE ET L'ENNUI - GNOSSIENNE N°1 - MESDAMES MESDEMOISELLES MESSIEURS - JE TE VEUX LETTRE a SUZANNE VALADON 11 MARS 1893 - SON BINOCLE.
Francis Poulenc: Melodies Sur Des Poemes De Guillaume Apollinaire
MDG
CD
$23.99Oct 01, 2010
POULENC Melodies on Poems of Guillaume Apollinaire: Dans le jardin d’Anna; Allons plus vite; La Grenoullière; Montparnasse; Hyde Park; Anguille; Carte-Postale; Avant le Cinéma; 1904; Rosemonde; Le Présent; Chanson; Hier. Banalités. Bleuet. Le Bestiaire. Cortège d’Orphée. Calligrammes • Holger Falk (bar); Alessandro Zuppardo (pn) • MDG 6031658 (58:51 Text and Translation)
What an utterly delightful CD this is! From start to finish light, bright, engaging, and completely immersed in Poulenc’s unusual sound world. Holger Falk, a name unknown to me, is an extraordinarily light, high baritone, a true bariton-matin, a voice classification virtually nonexistent among German singers—but here he is, with an upper range so free and extensive, both in full voice and voix mixte, that much of the time he sounds like a tenor. It is also a unique voice; though it has a definite German lyric-baritone sound, there is no one else he reminds me of. The voice has a velvet sheen that is wholly unique. And what an artist he is, much more subtle in a lyrical sort of way than declamatory as so many of his brethren tend to be. I found his interpretations of the famed Le Bestiaire a trifle more restrained than Thomas Allen’s outstanding recording of them (CRD 3437, the orchestrated version with the Nash Ensemble), yet comparing Falk to Allen—as well as to Pierre Bernac, in the original 1945 recording with Poulenc on piano—reveals not only that he is able to hold his own as an interpreter, but that his voice sounds much more tenorish than either of those esteemed singers. Falk’s extensive high range sounds like an arched extension of his lower tones, rather than an add-on as in the case of Bernac, whose voice—after not having heard it in some years—suddenly strikes me as somewhat Russian in quality, particularly the low range.
In addition to being an outstanding song interpreter, then, Falk has a voice I could listen to all day without fatigue. His range, arched phrasing, sensitive dynamic shading, and ability to color his tones all mark him as an artist of outstanding sensibility. I should also point out that Alessandro Zuppardo, though in a supporting role, is equally sensitive and highly musical, capable of give-and-take with his singer to a degree rare among duos who are not permanent concert partners, but since he has had extensive experience accompanying singers (among them Renato Bruson, Mariella Devia, Fabio Armiliato, Cecilia Bartoli, and Vincenzo La Scola) this comes as less of a surprise. This is a disc you’ll play over and over and over again, if you enjoy Poulenc’s songs or modern French song in general. MDG’s outstanding sound quality—rich, round, with just the right amount of natural reverberance—lends an extra patina of quality to this release. Bravo, Falk and Zuppardo! I hope to hear much more of you in the years to come.
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto, Etc / Kaler, Russian Po
Naxos
CD
$19.99Feb 27, 2007
Talk about rotten luck. Naxos has had these performances in the can for a couple of years, and have just released them, hot on the heels of Julia Fischer’s recent Tchaikovsky disc on Pentatone, containing exactly the same programme. The only difference is that Kaler plays Tchaikovsky's Souvenir d’un lieu cher in Glazunov’s orchestration, while Fischer plays the original version for violin and piano.
I fear that in all the excitement over Fischer’s album, Kaler’s will be ignored, and that would be incredibly unfair because this disc is excellent in every way. In fact, Kaler’s account points up the only deficiency in Fischer’s account: a lack of variety to her tone. Kaler's performance is full of contrasts, as he colours the violin line with subtle shading, yet maintains a lyrical virility throughout. It is clear that he has lived with this concerto under his fingertips for many years and that he still finds much to enjoy and inspire in the familiar turns of phrase. There is an artless facility to his playing of the big tunes as in the opening statement of the first movement or in the gorgeous Canzonetta, and a sweetness of tone that is quite disarming. As the violin writing gets busier, Kaler and the orchestra tend to pick up the pace quite significantly, yet the rapid passages are dispatched with effortless brilliance. Kaler's first movement cadenza has plenty of character, freedom and precision. Cadenzas apart, Yablonsky and his orchestra lend sympathetic support. This performance is not so much a full-blooded flood of romanticism as a blossoming account of elegance as well as brilliance. It also wears it war-horse status lightly, impressing itself upon the listener by virtue of its freshness and natural feeling. It is a tremendously satisfying account and one that bears rehearing.
Similar comments apply to the remaining pieces on this album. The quality of the music, both in terms of its inspiration and emotional content, makes this programme apt and it is hard to understand why it is not more common. The Sérénade mélancolique is quite a rarity, but it deserves to be far more popular. It was in fact Tchaikovsky's first piece for solo violin, written to a commission from the great Leopold Auer. The violin's part is so full of longing and achingly beautiful that it is almost a vocalise. There are striking effects of orchestration too, with some magical woodwind interplay underpinning the sighing of the violin.
The Souvenir is, if anything, even more engaging. The first of its three movements was initially intended as the second movement of the violin concerto, with the spakling scherzo and intimate melodie added later. The dark romanticism of Glazunov's orchestration is entirely idiomatic and Kaler's playing is sweet toned and brightly coloured. The little Valse-Scherzo that closes the disc makes an excellent encore and Kaler plays it with gusto.
Microphone placement favours Kaler throughout, but this is generally not overly problematic except for the first movement of the Souvenir where Kaler's breathing is a little distracting. Keith Anderson's liner-notes are up to his usual high standard.
If you are in the market for a new recording of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto this year, have a listen to this one before just buying Fischer’s. You may find, as I did, that you want both.
Vinyl LP pressing. 2022 release. Singer/songwriter Cecile McLorin Salvant's Nonesuch Records debut album, Ghost Song, features a diverse mix of seven originals and five interpretations on the themes of ghosts, nostalgia, and yearning. Salvant says, "It's unlike anything I've done before-it's getting closer to reflecting my personality as an eclectic curator. I'm embracing my weirdness!"
The VocaMe vocal ensemble has committed itself to presenting exceptional female figures in early music, and the four ladies have already attracted much attention with the songs of Hildegard and Kassia. The secret of their success lies in their special approach to interpretation: against a background of thorough understanding of historical performance practice, the four singers and their musical director and instrumentalist Michael Popp feel their way into the ancient sources, which usually leave much room for conjecture. VocaMe has pursued this idea and used late medieval melodies and sounds to transform Christine's poetry into fascinating music.
With the advent of stereo recordings in the late 1950s, many important soloists, including Jascha Heifetz, began remaking many of their favorite compositions in stereo that they'd previously recorded only in mono. Between 1961-62, as heard on this Idis CD, Heifetz came back to the studio to re-make three of his most famous pieces he'd previously recorded in mono during the '40s and '50s: Bruch's Concerto no. 1 and the Scottish Fantasy, and Vieuxtemps's Concerto No 5. The CD concludes with Tchaikovsky's Serenade Mélancolique op. 26, in a mono recording from 1954.
