Susan Graham - La Belle Époque (The Songs of Reynaldo Hahn)

Reynaldo Hahn (Artist), Susan Graham (Artist), Roger Vignoles (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 15, 1998)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000AG7M
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #29,646 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #84 in	Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Modern, 20th, & 21st Century > Vocal & Song
  #99 in	Music > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Songs & Lieder

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Lyric mezzo-soprano Susan Graham stands out from the crowd for her expressive, opulent voice and communicative gifts. Someone at Sony has made the decision to place her in the public mind primarily as a singer of French works, and although it would be a shame to see her limited to that area of the repertoire, she does sing the French repertoire exceptionally. Graham sings sensitively and idiomatically in this group of 24 songs by Reynaldo Hahn (1875-1947), a Venezuelan-born, French-reared composer and conductor who knew how to craft a song like few others. In such lovely songs as "A Chloris," which opens the album, and "Je me souviens," Hahn creates a bevy of beautiful little worlds, which Graham and the outstanding pianist Roger Vignoles present in memorable form. This album belongs in the collection of all lovers of song. --Sarah Bryan Miller

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DON'T WAIT -- RUN TO GET THIS ALBUM, April 3, 2002

By	SF RAGE (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Sometimes hyperbole can ruin the very thing it seeks to enhance, but I find it difficult to come up with enough words of praise for this astonishing album and the two artists who perform on it. Susan Graham is one of the top five opera singers in the world today -- her artistry and sensitivity to the music and text of what she sings is simply unmatched. That's why such an album as this is so extraordinary. Hahn was once a jealously guarded secret by those "in the know" -- he's a delight, and, now that he's becoming more well known, to have an artist of Graham's stature share these pieces is a special event. Listen to the first cut, "A Chloris"; if your heart doesn't melt into goo instantly, then it could be you're a deaf space alien. The whole disc is this lovely. I can't imagine that anyone listening won't be thrilled that they purchased it.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Graham's Artistry Makes for Compelling Listening in a Collection of Songs from a 'Minor' Composer, February 26, 2006

By	Terry Serres (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This was only Graham's second solo outing, and for many listeners it confirmed the promise of her début recording of "Les Nuits d'été" -- an unusual accomplishment for a relatively minor project.

I know the songs of Reynaldo Hahn from a number of worthy recordings from other artists -- Rachel Yakar, Martyn Hill, Bruno Laplante, Mady Mesplé, Graham Johnson & Co. (the Hyperion French Song Edition), one-offs on Elly Ameling albums, not to mention vintage recordings by Hahn himself. All the same, this recording was a complete revelation. Her beauty of tone, her ease with the French language (surpassing, I daresay, the much-vaunted Francophony of Felicity Lott), her canny selection of songs, Vignoles's sensitive accompaniment, they all add up. But there's that (ahem) je-ne-sais-quoi that makes something a classic, and this album has it. It captures an era, it creates a time and place that come wafting out of your speakers.

My favorite song on this record is "Si la nuit n'est pas étoilée" -- it is a rapturous melody to a quintessential Victor Hugo text. But there is nary a false note on the entire album. I do recommend, if you can find it, the Ameling album "Serenata," which includes two Hahn songs I haven't encountered elsewhere, "L'amitié" with its faint melancholy and "La vie est belle" with its French élan.

As we know, Graham has gone on to much bigger things, but she retains her commitment to the art of song and to breathing fresh life into French rarities (as in her delightful operetta album). In terms of tone, timbre, and intonation, for my money she has the most beautiful voice in opera today. My only hope is that she doesn't go the way of Ren?e Fleming and become The Voice Beautiful ... she veered a bit in that direction with her recent Chausson record, and I hope she gets back to business and gets her vivid personality back in action in her song performances.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good Hahn collection, December 4, 2004

By	Charlus (NYC) - See all my reviews

Venezuelan-born Reynaldo Hahn was taken to Paris at age 3, and became, early enough (his most famous song, Si mes vers avaient des ailes, was composed when he was 12!) a steady feature in the musical life of Paris.

Lover of Marcel Proust, sought-after musical entertainer in the salons of the Highest Society, diarist, composer, singer, renowned conductor, influential music writer in the most powerful daily in France (Le Figaro) finally General Manager of the Opéra Comique before dying of a brain tumor in 1947, Hahn was a multi-faceted musician of the highest probity. His songs are simple, patrician, utterly elegant, and always set to the best poetry. His simplicity and purity of means accomplish in little what many pretentious thunderers fail even to approximate.

Hahn himself had a light little baritone voice, a little croak of a voice, really, with which he became popular in high society drawing rooms before the First World War: a voice that charmed duchesses and made the most reserved princesses smile. He even made some 50 records between 1920 and 1930, which show his unique, expressive musicality, unfailing sense of phrasing, elegance of style, and fine piano-playing (He almost invariably accompanies himself.)

Hahn's own 78s, and a very few others by the likes of Ninon Vallin, give a clear recorded testimony of how his songs ought to be performed: simply, elegantly, with charm.

Graham is a lovely singer and a supple musician. Her French is not exactly top-notch but most people will not care: they will respond to her beautiful sound and endearing manner. The pianist is also good.