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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
When it comes to song writing, Ernest Chausson has long stood in the shadows of Debussy, Duparc, Fauré, and Ravel, but his gentle and self-effacing songs go so much further than the merely charming. To have the complete collection gathered on disc is a treat, and with artists like these, the performances are about as good as you could expect this side of the pearly gates. Ann Murray and Felicity Lott need no introduction for their celestial singing of this repertoire. The American baritone Chris Pedro Trakas is less well-known, but he comes with a clutch of top prizes and, more to the point, a beautifully sensitive voice, which he uses to great effect here.
Underpinning everything is accompanist Graham Johnson, whose playing is always just so right, whatever area of the song repertoire he takes on, and who provides (uncredited) a must-read essay on Chausson that really engages with the music. Soprano Geraldine McGreevy is a welcome addition in two duets, as is the Chilingirian Quartet, accompanying Ann Murray in the final number, "Chanson perpétuelle." If a reason for a reassessment of Chausson's role as a writer of mélodie is needed, this marvelous set is overwhelmingly it. --Keith Clarke
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Graham Johnson says in his booklet that ‘Chausson is not one of the four or five unarguably great mélodie composers', but that makes his songs harder to sing, not easier. The lesser ones are close to salon trifles, but not close enough for them to be patronized by amateurish performance. The finest are often very difficult indeed, either because they are vocally demanding or their moods are elusive. They need intelligent singers, in short, and Graham Johnson and Hyperion have chosen well. Felicity Lott sings only Chausson's most famous song, ‘Le temps des lilas', and the Serres chaudes cycle. The former she does pretty well perfectly, in half-voice from the outset, beautifully capturing the archetypal Chausson mood of nostalgic regret. She is even better in the latter, really imagining what Maeterlinck's baffling words must have meant to a man of Chausson's sensibility, finding in them delicacy, a strange magic and painful intensity. I have never heard them better sung.The sparing use of Dame Felicity places a great burden on the shoulders of the other singers. Ann Murray knows that her voice can take on an edge under pressure, especially in the soprano range. She knows it and mostly avoids it, singing intimately, with subtle shadings and phrasings ideal for distilling this composer's world. The American Chris Pedro Trakas has a pleasing light baritone, but his lower register is restricted and he is at a slight disadvantage where a bolder voice is ideally needed: in La caravane, written for a Wagnerian tenor, but also ‘L'âme de bois' and ‘Nanny' (from Sept mélodies, Op. 2). He sings very sensitively, however, and is especially good in those songs that are close (such as the second of Op. 8, ‘Amour d'antan') to Reynaldo Hahn or (the first of Op. 34, ‘La chanson bien douce') to Fauré. Chausson's keyboard parts are often extremely difficult, and some of the most memorable moments in these songs depend on the pianist's mastery: the strange, shifting textures of ‘Nocturne' (Op. 8 No. 1), suggesting a gleaming light above black depths; the fluttering tenths in both hands (depicting ‘butterflies' wings'?) in ‘Nos souvenirs' (Op. 8 No. 4); the grand evocation of the illusory oasis in La caravane. Chausson's keyboard parts are not accompaniments, and Johnson's achievement is at least the equal of his singers.I would still, ideally, like to hear a handful of these songs sung by a big voice (I know of no recordings that fit the bill, alas) but this is on the whole as comprehensive a distillation of Chausson's genius as could be wished. Not among the ‘four or five unarguably great' French song composers? In performances as subtle as these he's very close. Michael Oliver
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A SUPERB SET...,
By Sébastien Melmoth (Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Songs of Chausson / Lott · Murray · McGreevy · Trakas · Chilingirian Quartet · G. Johnson (Audio CD)
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5-stars just for being in print. A rare and superb set; ignore the 1-star review. .
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a spectacular record,
By
This review is from: The Songs of Chausson / Lott · Murray · McGreevy · Trakas · Chilingirian Quartet · G. Johnson (Audio CD)
Truly a great recording - sung by outstanding artists, especially Felicity Lott, and accompanied by Graham Johnson in his best form..... The music is truly glorious and the recording is a revelation with many beautiful nuances. A total joy!!!
8 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating rep, rancid singing,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Songs of Chausson / Lott · Murray · McGreevy · Trakas · Chilingirian Quartet · G. Johnson (Audio CD)
I picked this CD up because I love the melodie in general and Chausson in particular. What a pity that the performances can't hold a candle to the composer's inspiration. Felicity Lott is her usual shrill self, Ann Murray is even more wobbly and out-of-line than usual, Chris Trakas has no lower range and a pinched top, and Geraldine McGreevy sings as if she had a beautiful voice, which she most emphatically does not. All of these artists are woefully out of tune, which sits particularly unpleasantly on the ear in the chromatic universe of Chausson. As for Graham Johnson, the less said the better. There are those who think he is a fine accompanist and pianist. Fine. Let them think so. They must be deaf or have short memories. If one wants to hear great performances of French rep, turn to young Souzay, with Jacqueline Bonneau on a deleted Decca CD. This is rarified music, but these people have not the technique to do it justice.
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