Gérard Souzay Sings Ravel, Debussy, Chausson, Duparc [Import]

Gérard Souzay (Performer), Maurice Ravel (Composer), Claude Debussy (Composer), Ernest Chausson (Composer), Henri Duparc (Composer), Edouard Lindenberg (Conductor), Paris Conservatory Concert Society Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Gérard Souzay
• Orchestra: Paris Conservatory Concert Society Orchestra
• Conductor: Edouard Lindenberg
• Composer: Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Ernest Chausson, Henri Duparc
• Audio CD (November 11, 2003)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Testament UK
• ASIN: B0000AH3DE
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,469 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. I. Chanson Romanesque - Gerard Souzay

2. II. Chanson Epique - Gerard Souzay

3. III. Chanson A Boire - Gerard Souzay

4. II. Ballade Que Villon Feit A La Requeste De Sa Mere Pour Prier Notre-Dame - Gerard Souzay

5. II. La Grotte - Gerard Souzay

6. Mandoline - Gerard Souzay

7. Nanny, Op.2 No.1

8. Le Charme, Op.2 No.2

9. Serenade Italienne, Op.2 No.5

10. Le Colibri, Op.2 No.7

11. Cantique A L'epouse, Op.36 No.1

12. Les Papillons, Op.2 No.3

13. Le Temps De Lilas

14. La Vie Anterieure

15. Le Manoir De Rosemonde

16. elegie

17. Phidyle

18. Soupir

19. Chanson Triste

20. Lamento

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great singer is fading away, December 8, 2005

By 

L. E. Cantrell (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gérard Souzay Sings Ravel, Debussy, Chausson, Duparc (Audio CD)

At about the same time that recording companies were profitably supporting a "rivalry" between Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi, they were stirring up a similarly profitable competition between Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Gérard Souzay. Imagine it, once there was a time in which money could be made from singing lieder!

Souzay, was born as Gérard Marcel Tisserand in 1918. He attended the Paris Conservatoire from 1940 to1945. In 1944, while still a student, he made his professional debut and his first two recordings. He did a limited amount of operatic work, even essaying the role of Don Giovanni, but his true field of operation was song. His opera career is represented on CD by memorable performances of "Manon" (with Beverly Sills) and "Pèlleas et Mèlisaunde," but his recorded songs from 1944 to 1987 number about 750 in at least fifteen different languages. He died in 2004.

I first became aware of Souzay more than forty years ago when a singer-friend suggested I try him when I got weary of Fischer-Dieskau. At the time I wondered how anyone could tire of the great German baritone. Not very long after that, of course, I found that I could bear the sound of the excellent but ubiquitous and damnably too-familiar sound of DF-D no longer. Gérard Souzay was an instant curative. To this day, it is Souzay's voice I hear in my mind when I think of the lieder of Schumann and Schubert. In French art song, Souzay was simply without rival.

I find to my dismay that the memory of this great French performer is fading. Amazon still lists 45 of his titles on CD, but only 22 of them are still in print (or whatever the proper term should be for a recording.) As I write this, only 13 of the 45 titles have attracted Amazon reviews and, worse, only seven of his solo CDs have been reviewed. This is more than dismaying; it's downright ominous. The memory of a wonderful talent seems well on its way to oblivion, to the sad diminishment of us all.

In January 2000, an unnamed Amazon reviewer wrote this of Souzay, "In these performances he surpassed Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in a number of respects -- sheer style, beauty and range of tone, naturalness, depth of expression". Yeah.

Five stars!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Souzay at his best, January 18, 2011

By 

Finnamon "finnamon" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gérard Souzay Sings Ravel, Debussy, Chausson, Duparc (Audio CD)

I was alarmed to see that the average rating for this recording was only three stars. Then I checked the reviews and noted that someone was disappointed with the sound of the recording and gave this reissue a single star. I just had to weigh in here: many of the early Decca recordings are rather boxy and I am sure Testament did what they could to improve the sound. The chance to hear this great French baritone in his prime interpret songs in his native language: this far outweighs any niggling about the quality of the sound, which is more than adequate.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Great Singer in Peak Form but . . ., June 20, 2010

By 

Mr. Barry Smith "Barry5082" (Adelaide, SA Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gérard Souzay Sings Ravel, Debussy, Chausson, Duparc (Audio CD)

This disc was a great disappointment for me. While it contains some of the most beautiful songs from the French repertoire, lovingly interpreted by Gerard Souzay, the CD transfer was rather 'dry' with significant distortion when the dynamics were put to test. I was surprised, as the Testament label is known for its many fine remasterings of older recordings. However, potential purchasers should look elsewhere for examples of this fine baritone's work.