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Notes
Although the turn of the twentieth century marked the golden age of French song, the genre was generally accompanied on the piano and only rarely orchestrated by its composers. But Camille Saint-Saëns, a great lover of poetry, was also a champion of the orchestrated mélodie and the French coloristic style. He also wanted to counterbalance the overwhelming popularity of operatic arias in concert programmes. An immense admirer of Victor Hugo, Saint-Saëns set many of his poems to music, including L'Enlèvement, Rêverie, and Le Pas d'armes du RoiJean, regarded as one of his masterpieces. Exoticism and a certain sense of the supernatural run through such songs as Danse macabre, one of the most popular pieces of classical music, but always heard nowadays either in its version for orchestra alone or performed by a singer with piano accompaniment. Of the twenty-five mélodies with orchestra listed in the catalogue of Saint-Saëns, nineteen are recorded here, all of them for the first time!
With interpreters of the calibre of Yann Beuron and Tassis Christoyannis, the words are perfectly served here and the composer’s coloristic talents heard from the very first bars. This disc is a genuine event that enables us to rediscover a whole segment of the history of vocal music, a renaissance made possible by the Fondation Bru Zane.
World premiere recording
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Reviews
ICMA Vocal Recital Award Nominee
2018 International Classical Music Awards
"... The recorded sound is lovely; rich, atmospheric, and admirably detailed, with excellent balance between the voices and orchestra. Every word of the poetry emerges with clarity, as does the beguiling orchestral fabric. To be sure, this is specialized repertoire. But it is wonderful repertoire, nonetheless, and the new Alpha Classics recording provides an hour of absolute enchantment. Highly recommended."
Ken Meltzer - Fanfare - September/October 2017
“...Both of these fine singers have a Gallic tone ideally suited to this music, and their voices are matched so well and are so close in weight that it is almost as though one is an extension of the other. Poscher and his orchestral forces stylishly convey the colors of the score. Even if Saint Saens is not one of your favorite composers, the singing here is so intoxicating that it is hard not to love it.”
Robert Moore – American Record Guide – July/August 2017
Performance **** Recording ****
Roger Nichols - BBC Music magazine - August 2017
"...Conducting and playing are faultless. It's a very fine disc indeed."
Tim Ashley – Gramophone magazine – May 2017
**** (Excellent Album)
Nicola Cattò - Musica magazine (Italy) - April 2017
Choc de Classica
Jérémie Bigorie - Classica magazine (France) - April 2017
Media Downloads
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