Berlioz: La Mort d'Oph‚lie; Ouvres pour chour
Product ID: 15017967
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Review: The Best Of Its Kind! - The Berlioz song repertoire is not vast like that of Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, or even Brahms. But it is a jungle of different (sometimes vastly different) versions of the same songs. First, get "Les nuits d'ete" as a cycle out of your head--like the Fantastique, it exists in its own recording universe. It's the "other songs" that I refer to: Zaide, Le Trebuchet, Le chasseur danois etc. Recordings of those songs don't exactly drop off the assembly line and into our homes at a regular pace. As far as these things go, it's a pretty lean market. But we're lucky to get what we do. The problem with most Berlioz song albums is that they never satisfy ALL aspects equally. So far there are seven releases (that I know of) that concentrate on Berlioz's song and chorus oeuvre: DG's 2-disc collection; EMI's 2003 Berlioz Centennial release (promoting the cantata "La Revolution Grecque" as the main work); the Haenssler label's release of orchestrated songs led by Cambreling; an Alpha release with Janice Taylor singing an all Berlioz program; another all-Berlioz Alpha release with Jerome Correas, bass; an Erato release led by John Eliot Gardiner with a fine cast of soloists; and this one. This one is above and beyond the best of them. And it's not merely a matter of saying that this is the best of a poor lot: it's a very fine disc in and of itself, and should be included in any collection of melodie-lovers. The music came alive for me for the first time, whereas previously I had blamed Berlioz more than the artists for the so-so repertoire. Take the 2003 EMI release: on that release the "Chanson a boire," "Choeur d'ombres," and "Chanson des brigands" are played clear and pristine, but make the music sound rather heavy and everyday. In the Tetu recording, these pieces come alive: fresh, vivacious, and genius. The ballade, "Sara la baigneuse" is sung in duet with piano accompaniment. If you think that the reduced forces means less poetry, don't be afraid. Au contraire, it clears up the texture of the song and the rest of the songs and choruses as well. The soloists here are simply superb. Finding voices on disc that have the right weight and timbre for Berlioz is hard. Ann Sofie von Otter is great, as is Francoise Pollet (both on DG), but they are simply too heavy-and steely-voiced for Berlioz melodies. The same is true for Janice Taylor (Alpha). Rolando Villazon (EMI), on the other hand, is too shaky and unsure. He has the right voice, but not the musical temperament. Berlioz (and Berliozians) are lucky to have these songs recorded at all, though not all interpretations have served them well. With this Harmonia Mundi France disc, we are lucky and the music is done justice by art. So if you like French song, and you are going to get only ONE Berlioz songs CD (besides Les Nuits), then please let it be this one! PS: critics praise the Correas/Alpha version, but I suspect they have not heard this one. It is SO much better. Review: Jean Gabriel - Parfait
S**S
The Best Of Its Kind!
The Berlioz song repertoire is not vast like that of Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, or even Brahms. But it is a jungle of different (sometimes vastly different) versions of the same songs. First, get "Les nuits d'ete" as a cycle out of your head--like the Fantastique, it exists in its own recording universe. It's the "other songs" that I refer to: Zaide, Le Trebuchet, Le chasseur danois etc. Recordings of those songs don't exactly drop off the assembly line and into our homes at a regular pace. As far as these things go, it's a pretty lean market. But we're lucky to get what we do. The problem with most Berlioz song albums is that they never satisfy ALL aspects equally. So far there are seven releases (that I know of) that concentrate on Berlioz's song and chorus oeuvre: DG's 2-disc collection; EMI's 2003 Berlioz Centennial release (promoting the cantata "La Revolution Grecque" as the main work); the Haenssler label's release of orchestrated songs led by Cambreling; an Alpha release with Janice Taylor singing an all Berlioz program; another all-Berlioz Alpha release with Jerome Correas, bass; an Erato release led by John Eliot Gardiner with a fine cast of soloists; and this one. This one is above and beyond the best of them. And it's not merely a matter of saying that this is the best of a poor lot: it's a very fine disc in and of itself, and should be included in any collection of melodie-lovers. The music came alive for me for the first time, whereas previously I had blamed Berlioz more than the artists for the so-so repertoire. Take the 2003 EMI release: on that release the "Chanson a boire," "Choeur d'ombres," and "Chanson des brigands" are played clear and pristine, but make the music sound rather heavy and everyday. In the Tetu recording, these pieces come alive: fresh, vivacious, and genius. The ballade, "Sara la baigneuse" is sung in duet with piano accompaniment. If you think that the reduced forces means less poetry, don't be afraid. Au contraire, it clears up the texture of the song and the rest of the songs and choruses as well. The soloists here are simply superb. Finding voices on disc that have the right weight and timbre for Berlioz is hard. Ann Sofie von Otter is great, as is Francoise Pollet (both on DG), but they are simply too heavy-and steely-voiced for Berlioz melodies. The same is true for Janice Taylor (Alpha). Rolando Villazon (EMI), on the other hand, is too shaky and unsure. He has the right voice, but not the musical temperament. Berlioz (and Berliozians) are lucky to have these songs recorded at all, though not all interpretations have served them well. With this Harmonia Mundi France disc, we are lucky and the music is done justice by art. So if you like French song, and you are going to get only ONE Berlioz songs CD (besides Les Nuits), then please let it be this one! PS: critics praise the Correas/Alpha version, but I suspect they have not heard this one. It is SO much better.
J**L
Jean Gabriel
Parfait
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