There are many leading threads in this audacious disc, even if they are not always apparent. A few words by way of explanation!
The first concerns the performers: what do the bass Shadi Torbey and the baritone Lionel Lhote have in common? Answer: their magnificent positions as fourth and sixth in the Queen Elisabeth Competition for singing in 2004. A perfectly justified surprise; their youth, their maturity, their enthusiasm charmed the musical press and the Belgian press.
The second concerns French song. On this CD major works from the repertory are joined by a few rarities: very different styles with texts of highly diverse origins.
Déodat de Séverac, for example, offers us delicate pieces with typically French refinement, often imbued with the fragrance of his native region in the south of France.
Meyerbeer’s itinerary was nothing if not original: born in Germany, he Italianised his first name when he emigrated to Italy where he devoted himself mainly to the composition of operas, being at this time no less popular than Rossini. He settled subsequently in Paris, where he died. A veritable master of vocal composition, Meyerbeer wrote hundreds of songs.
A child prodigy, Camille Saint-Saëns occupied an essential place in French music. His Danse Macabre was first composed for the voice and only later became the celebrated symphonic poem.
Francis Poulenc was atypical, both “hooligan and monk”. His style is in the neo-classical vein, close to the songs of Ravel. Composed just after World War I, the eight little pearls in the cycle of Chansons Gaillardes often play on double meanings, being funny, with false naivety and solemnity.
Lastly, the music of Jacques Ibert is brim full of humour, effects, gaiety, charm and originality. The four Chansons de Don Quichotte, dating from 1932, were written for a film.
This is a CD that will delight all amateurs of French song, of young talent and superb voices.
