L'heure D'ete [Import]

1. Toi Mon Amour

2. Je Me Sens Si Seul

3. Tu M'as RenversÉ

4. La MÉLancolie

5. Ne M'en Veux Pas De T'en Vouloir

6. Vogue Le Magazine

7. J'espÈRe (Duo Avec Quynh Anh)

8. On A Cru

9. Tous Les Jours

10. Doucement Rock And Roll

11. On Est PassÉ À L'heure D'ÉTÉ

12. Les Papillons

13. J'ai OubliÉ De Te Dire

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
2005, Studio Album from Marc Lavoine. 13 Tracks featuring Duet with Vietnamese Singer - Quynh Anh.

Tracks:

Vasnier Songbook: I. Pantomime
Vasnier Songbook: II. Calmes dans le demi-jour (En sourdine)
Vasnier Songbook: III. Mandoline
Vasnier Songbook: IV. Clair de lune
Vasnier Songbook: Fantoches
Vasnier Songbook: VI. Coquetterie posthume
Vasnier Songbook: VII. Romance - Silence ineffable
Vasnier Songbook: VIII. Musique
Vasnier Songbook: X. Paysage sentimental
Vasnier Songbook: X. Romance - Voici que le printemps
Vasnier Songbook: XI. La Romance d'Ariel
Vasnier Songbook: XII. Regret
Forgotten Melodies: I. C'est l'extase langoureuse
Forgotten Melodies: II. Il pleure dans mon coeur
Forgotten Melodies: III. L'ombre des arbres
Forgotten Melodies: IV. Chevaux de bois
Forgotten Melodies: V. Green (Aquarelle)
Forgotten Melodies: VI. Spleen (Aquarelle)
Five Poems Of Charles Baudelaire: I. Le Balcon
Five Poems Of Charles Baudelaire: II. Harmonie du soir
Five Poems Of Charles Baudelaire: III. Le Jet d'eau
Five Poems Of Charles Baudelaire: IV. Recueillement
Five Poems Of Charles Baudelaire: V. La Mort des amants

Customer Reviews:

Classic Art Songs Sung with Brilliance and Artistry.......2006-11-10

Dawn Upshaw possesses a voice with beautiful bell canto tonal quality and uses the glissando technique, only when effective, rendering this collection of uncommon art songs superbly sung. The entire album is a joy to listen to...

Pretty, but not memorable.......2006-04-29

'Forgotton Songs, Dawn Upshaw sings Debussy' with James Levine at the piano is, to my layman's ear, very pretty to listen to, but not a whole lot to get excited about. If you are especially fond of Upshaw, you must have this recording. If you are especially fond of Debussy, other vocalists may have just a little more to offer. Everything about this recording is 'nice', just not a whole lot to get excited about.

Returning to the Recital Hall: A Soiree.......2005-04-09

Dawn Upshaw is one of the most intelligent and creative and adventuresome singers on the concert stage today. Just reviewing the list of her recordings available and it is obvious that she has paid attention to both contemporary and established composers in a way that is truly refreshing.

Here the program is devoted to the works of Claude Debussy, a composer for whom Upshaw has a particular penchant. Her voice is crystal clear, perfectly focused and yet not afraid to animate when the lyrics demand. She covers three cycles here: 'Ariettes oubliees' (for this listener the most successful on the album), 'Racueil Vasnier', and 'Cinq Poemes de Charles Baudelaire' (contrast these with the recently released Susan Graham version and see what interpretation is all about!).

The collaboration between Upshaw and James Levine is sensitive (if not always the pianism of others..). But the entire recital is uplifting and satisfying for the variation in the songs, recorded sound, the generosity of the disc, and most of all for the musical intelligence in which these songs are performed! Grady Harp, April 05

Pretty sound spoiled by a bad vocal habit.......2004-05-07

Every voice teacher I have ever had, and I have had many, were unanimous in their advice that sliding into notes is something that must be done with great moderation. Dawn Upshaw does it all the time and to the ears of a trained singer it becomes extremely annoying extremely quickly. Constant sliding into notes is less objectionable if one actually reaches the right pitch in the process. Miss Upshaw frequently does NOT, resulting in numerous instances where she is simply not in tune at all on some notes. Her sliding also creates constant dissonances with the piano which are entirely undebussyesque. If it were Webern or Berg she were singing she might get away with it. Here she does not. NOT RECOMMENDED.

P.S. Since writing this review (quite some time ago), I was fortunate to hear a recording of Ms. Upshaw in a production at the Metropolitan Opera where she didn't do any of her annoying sliding at all - not once - (probably because it was music from a much earlier time) The difference was astounding. It was a glorious performance. It was hard to believe it was the same person. This, more than ever, confirms my opinion that she ruined this recording with a bad singing habit.

Excellent!.......2003-11-26

This recording of Debussy's Melodies are really excellent. Dawn Upshaw's voice is exactly right for this kind of music - light, charming, and lyrical, with real sensitivity to the text. The Ariettes Oubliees are the best I've heard, with the exception of Frederica von Stade. In addition, her interpretation of Mandoline from the Vasnier Songbook is perfect - the tempo, piano, voice, and interpretation are exactly right. My only criticism is that the diction, while perfectly clear, has an "American" accent that is sometimes distracting.

Average customer rating:

Very enjoyable French music

L' Heure d'Été
Marc Lavoine
Manufacturer: Umvd Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Marc Lavoine
Garou
Caravane
Longueur d'Ondes
Dis-Moi Que Tu M'Aimes

ASIN: B0009I472K
Release Date: 2005-05-30

Tracks:

Toi Mon Amor
Je Me Sens Si Seul
Tu M'As Renvers
Mncolie
Ne M'En Veux Pas de T'En Vouloir
Vogue le Magazine
J'Esp
On a Cru
Tous Les Jours
Doucement Rock and Roll
On Est Pass l'Heure d'
Papillons
J'Ai Oubile Te Dire [CD-ROM Track]

Album Details

2005, Studio Album from Marc Lavoine. 13 Tracks featuring Duet with Vietnamese Singer - Quynh Anh.

Customer Reviews:

Very enjoyable French music.......2005-12-11

Not being French or a French music lover myself, originally I had my reservations in buying this CD but now, after having listened to it a few times, I think it is one of the best CD's I have ever baught. "Je me sense si seul" and "Vogue le magazine", being the two most "commercial" and very catchy songs, attract the attention in the beginning but there is more than just that. All of the songs are very melodic with beautiful romantic lyrics but the two favourite of mine are the "Ne m'en veux pas de t'en vouloir" and "On a cru" which feature amazing lyrics and very beautiful music. The more I listen to that CD the more I like it!

Average customer rating:

Hector Berlioz, Romantic Spirit

Manufacturer: Universal Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

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Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Requiems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Te Deum | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Lelio, Tristia

ASIN: B00008VR6V
Release Date: 2003-07-01

Tracks:

Ouverture - London Symphony Orchestra
No.2: Air-'Ah! Si De La Tendresse - Janet Baker
La Captive, Op.12 - Josephine Veasey
Resurrexit - Monteverdi Choir
IV. Marche Au Supplice - Pierre Boulez
II. Choeur D'Ombres - Lambert Wilson
IX. Sanctus - John Mark Ainsley
Ouverture - Nicolai Gedda
'Une Heur Encore' - Nicolai Gedda
'La Gloire Etait Ma Seule Idole' - Nicolai Gedda
III. Marche Funebre Pour La Derniere Scene D'Hamlet - Pierre Boulez

Tracks:

Marche Hongroise - Anne Sofie Von Otter
'D'Amour L'Ardente Flamme' - Anne Sofie Von Otter
'Au Son Des Trompettes' - Anne Sofie Von Otter
Chasse Royale Et Orage - Charles Dutoit
'Nuit D'Ivresse Et D'Extase Infinie!' - Jon Vickers
III. Serenade - Pinchas Zukerman
I. Villanelle - Regine Crespin
IV. La Reine Mab, Ou La Fee Des Songes (Scherzo) - London Symphony Orchestra
L'Adieu Des Bergers A La Sainte Famille: 'Il S'En Va Loin De La Terre' - Choeur De Montreal
IV. Christe, Rex Gloriae (Hymne) - London Symphony Chorus
Ouverture - John Alldis Choir
'Dieu Qui Guidas Nos Bras' - John Alldis Choir
'Approchez, Claudio!' - John Alldis Choir
'Ici L'On Voit Benedict' - John Alldis Choir
'L'Amour Est Un Flambeau' - John Alldis Choir

Average customer rating:

An "Apparition" of transparent beauty
The minority report...
Piau, Debussy and an Érard Piano Make for a Transcendent Combination
sterling recital

Debussy: Mélodies

Manufacturer: Valois
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Mozart: Opera Arias
Sandrine Piau - Handel Opera Seria
Vivaldi: In furore, Laudate pueri e concerti sacri
Véronique Gens - Nuit d'étoiles (Mélodies Française) / Vignoles
Handel - Arcadian Duets / Dessay, Gens, Petibon, Claycomb, Lascarro, Panzarella, Mijanovic, Mingardo, Asawa, Agnew, Le Concert d'Astrée, Haïm

ASIN: B00008IOUS
Release Date: 2003-07-15

Tracks:

Apparition 1884 - Poeme De Stephane Mallarme 1863
Romance 1883 - Poeme De Paul Bourget
Les Papillons 1881 - Poem De Paul Bourget
Les Papillions 1881 - Poeme De Theophile Gautier In 'Premieres Poesies
Regret 1884 - Poeme De Paul Bourget
C'est L'extase
Il Pleure Dans Mon Coeur
L'ombre Des Arbres
Paysages Belges: Chevaux De Bois
Aquarelles: Green
Aquarelles: Spleen
De Reve
De Greve
De Fleurs
De Soir
Soupir
Placet Futile
Eventail

Amazon.com

Soprano Sandrine Piau follows her exciting all-Mozart aria recital with a disc of Debussy melodies, where subtlety and declamatory elegance replace coloratura fireworks. Piau's sparing use of vibrato testifies to her acclaim as a singer of early music, and it's "authentic" for turn-of-the-century music too. Her refined soprano is a quality instrument, though some may prefer the richer voice of Juliane Banse, whose recent Mozart-Debussy recital on ECM duplicates some of the material. But Piau covers more ground, including the 1913 Trois poémes de Stéphane Mallarmé and a brace of early songs from the 1880s since her well-chosen program spans Debussy's life-long interest in melodies. She captures his idiom well--just listen to the delicacy of her phrasing in C'est l'extase and the floating, disembodied close of De rêve and Soupir, among many such instances on this disc. Of special interest are the mellow-sounding piano accompaniments of Jos van Immerseel, playing an 1897 Erard, an instrument whose timbre Debussy would have expected in these songs. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

An "Apparition" of transparent beauty.......2006-03-12

There is a certain quality to the music of Debussy which is unmistakably his... It's not just that this is Impressionistic - it is in an innate timbre, an internal quality. Something about Debussy's music susurrates his very essence...

This is the finest recording of Debussy mélodies that I've ever heard. The more I listen to this CD, the more I find the fine detail and overall impression of delicately sure brush-strokes upon the canvas of the music. Sandrine Piau is an exceptionally gifted singer with very clear intelligence and an emotional connection to the exquisite songs of this CD.

Aahhhh! Listen, if you can, to "Apparition" without melting. This is a beautiful, beautiful selection of songs, and the timbre of Ms Piau's voice conveys perfectly what Debussy intended. It has a sort of trembling rose near the thorn of sorrow quality about it, a dewdrop quivering upon the velvet of a flower, very fresh and sweet without being saccharine, almost pointed, almost sharp. It is a sweet dagger in the heart.

This is truly lovely singing. I know these songs so well, as a singer of them myself, and I can only say... Beautiful. Other recordings of Debussy songs have their own appeal - Elly Ameling is always delightful, for instance. But the stodginess or lack of meticulous detail and understanding of the style of French art song of some singers is all the more highlighted by the zephyr-like beauties and perfectly delineated details of this particular recording. There's nothing like hearing a French singer of quality singing French songs - it can be a perfect experience, and in this case it is indeed perfect.

Very, very highly recommended. I know of no better recording of Debussy mélodies.

The minority report..........2006-01-15

I write as someone who is not a great listener to lieder, but who does follow Debussy song discs. I don't disagree that this is at least a very good CD, but I prefer Shafer's Debussy with Irwin Gage on DG, among relatively recent issues. Part of the problem is van Immerseel's 1887 Erard. He's done a solo disc of Debussy piano music with what is apparently the same piano, and I really enjoyed that disc. However, there's something about the blend of the Erard with the voice that, to this ear, doesn't work quite as happily as one would like. I know that, in theory, it should be more authentic. But is it, really? An interesting comparison can be done with the Maggie Teyte discs on Naxos, which contain a number of Debussy songs recorded in the 30's. She'd worked with Debussy himself, earlier in the century. What you hear on those discs is not much like what we hear on this one (regardless of what piano they were using). There are issues of vocal styling (to this ear, anyway) that trump the Erard issue.

I like Teyte, I like Piau, I like Shafer. I just wish that, with Piau, they'd used a contemporary piano.

Piau, Debussy and an Érard Piano Make for a Transcendent Combination.......2005-07-05

Soprano Sandrine Piau impressed me considerably with her period-authentic performance on her recent 2005 recording, "Handel Opera Seria", as she provides expressive vocalism, a wide-ranging coloratura and an immaculate technique. This 2003 release applies her talent to the demanding art of French song, which has been well trodden of late with superbly rendered releases from the likes of mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, lyric tenor Rolando Villazón and countertenor David Daniels. Piau has the advantage of singing in her native tongue, and she is matched admirably by accompanist Jos van Immerseel, who plays on an 1897 Érard grand piano to uphold the integrity of Debussy's original compositions. The combination of the piano's precise and subtle sound and Piau's clear diction and phrasing makes Debussy's music transcendent.

The program is organized chronologically with two song cycles from Debussy's later years, the "Ariettes oubliées" and the "Proses lyriques", sandwiched between songs from Debussy's youth ("Mélodies de jeunesse") and his final cycle based on texts by Stéphane Mallarmé. It's obvious from the opening song, "Apparition", that Piau loves this music, as she milks the intensely expressive line with vigor and lets her supple voice soar with ease. In "C'est l'extase", the first song of the "Ariettes oubliées", she gently brings out each syllable's meaning indicating a gradual maturity in approach that is quite moving. But unlike Graham's consistently sonorous set, Piau lets loose with exuberant abandon on "Paysages belges: Chevaux de bois" when she enthusiastically describes the unfettered excitement of a carousel from a child's perspective. The last cycle is perhaps Piau's most accomplished, as she lends symmetry to the three songs from the sunrise described in the opening "Soupir" matches her glowing tone in the last song, "Évantail". Piau sings with astonishing precision and clarity of tone throughout no matter what the dramatic setting, whether she is being mournful or girlish. With the deeper tessitura of each succeeding cycle, Piau's voice deepens, and her interpretations take on a burnished quality. It is thrilling to hear such an ideal match between composer, voice and instrument.

sterling recital.......2003-10-11

Piau already belongs to the rarefied cadre of superlative French singers of baroque music -- Veronique Gens and Patricia Petibon are in the same league -- and here, like Gens and Petibon, Piau ventures into the modern field. This recital is even better than Piau's recent Mozart album. The rapport between singer and pianist is uncanny, and Piau's singing is unfailingly responsive to the texts, and supremely beautiful. A gorgeous album.

Average customer rating:

L' Heure d'Été
Marc Lavoine
Manufacturer: Umvd Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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French Pop | Euro Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000JU7NB0
Release Date: 2006-04-12

Tracks:

Toi Mon Amour
Je Me Sens Si Seul
Tu M'as Renvers
La Mancolie
Ne M'en Veux Pas De T'en Vouloir
Vogue Le Magazine
J'espe (Duo Avec Quynh Anh)
On A Cru
Tous Les Jours
Doucement Rock And Roll
On Est PassL'heure D'
Les Papillons
J'ai OubliDe Te Dire

Album Details

2006 Edition of Marc Lavoine Album. The Dvd Includes Four Video Clips.

Average customer rating:

Very pretty and with the virtues of that prettiness

Debussy: Early Songs

Manufacturer: Deux-Elles
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Forgotten Songs: Dawn Upshaw Sings Debussy
Susan Graham - La Belle Époque (The Songs of Reynaldo Hahn)

ASIN: B0000926RI
Release Date: 2003-12-30

Customer Reviews:

Very pretty and with the virtues of that prettiness.......2007-05-18

Gillian Keith's voice is a young very pretty light soprano, with ease in the top notes and considerable agility. She brings all of that plus her very good French to this recording of often unrepresented Debussy songs - some rarities indeed of Debussy's early vocal compositions.

Accompanist Simon Lepper is marvellous. He plays like limpid streams of water - transparent, beautiful, full of movement and colour and reflections.

Where this album falls for me is in the vocal interpretation. What I hear is sound - very pretty sound, but not a remarkable facility for interpretation. I feel the phrasing is musical but perfunctory, so that many times a moment of significance is lost because it is not phrased with more feeling. And while the voice is (as I said) very pretty, and the top notes are sung with ease, it does seem to me that some of those top notes are slightly pinched... a little white and not quite matching the rest of the voice. But this is a minor criticism - from what I can see, Ms Keith has plenty of time to develop her technique further, and it's always a pretty sound and with such a lovely line of clarity.

It's charming to listen to, and if I was left wanting a little more, it doesn't detract from the prettiness of it. I think this will please many listeners. Recommended.

Edmond Clément: The Complete Pathé Recordings (1916-1925)

Average customer rating:

A unique French stylist

Edmond Clément: The Complete Pathé Recordings (1916-1925)

Manufacturer: Romophone
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Customer Reviews:

A unique French stylist.......2005-12-09

These old hill-and-dale Pathés Saphir are noisy and erratic and even that magician Ward Marston, who has done so much wonderful work making historic recordings sound as good as possible, cannot make that much with them. It is nonetheless very much worth the bother, because Clément was one of the most elegant stylists in the history of singing-certainly singing on records-and every one of these items is wonderful. I particularly love the Berlioz: this music is simply never well performed any more, especially by the voice for which it was intended, the tenor voice.

In opéra comique and, especially, in the art song of the Victorian era, Clément was unique: the chimeric tenderness and poetry of his singing, the perfect French enunciation, the really creative musicianship. His light voice, clear and perfectly placed, was nothing special. Everything else about his singing was.

Serenade - 19th Century French Art Songs

Average customer rating:

Serenade - 19th Century French Art Songs

Manufacturer: Titanic
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

Average customer rating:

Wonderfully vivid and exotic.
Two-and-a-half hours of beauty

Maggie Teyte: A Vocal Portrait

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfully vivid and exotic........2003-10-07

Renowned accompanist Gerald Moore's comments about the many luminaries of C20 music that he accompanied were both pertinent and perceptive. The effect that Maggie Teyte's singing had on him, he said, made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Listening to this excellent anthology, you might register a similar response. Try two of the songs by Reynaldo Hahn, in which she is accompanied by Gerald Moore, and you will be aware of singing that is at once a crie de coeur and ecstatic.

At an advanced age, Maggie Teyte proved to be a feisty and imperious subject in many radio interviews. She had much to tell, of course, about many of the composers with whom she worked, some of whose songs she sings here. She also admitted that recordings such as these, made late in her career, carried her name to all parts of the world and opened doors into large, well-filled concert halls. The vocal longevity was remarkable. Her last recording here, Ravel's Sheherazade, was made in her 60th year. One critic welcomed it with the description "wonderfully vivid and exotic", and that is how it still sounds to me.

You'll find many ratities here, including a clean copy of a discarded duet Maggie Teyte recorded with John McCormack. The Irish tenor holds the last note for almost half a bar longer than Maggie Teyte does - an irregularity that possibly caused the recording to remain unissued for many years.

Two-and-a-half hours of beauty.......2003-06-02

This two CD issue from Naxos of singing by Maggie Teyte (1888-1976) is a treat for two different audiences. For those of us who have long known and loved her voice, it is 2 1/2 hours of mostly French mélodies and arias sung as only she could sing them, in a pristine restoration by that wizard, Ward Marston. For those who don't know her singing, it is a fabulous introduction at budget price to a singer who put the stamp of her unmistakable personality on everything she sang with great musicality, intelligence, impeccable diction, and purity of tone throughout her range.

Included are fifteen mélodies by Debussy (Fetes galantes I & II, Trois Chansons de Bilitis, Le Promenoir de deux amants, et al.) accompanied by the inimitable Alfred Cortot. Almost all the other piano-accompanied songs are with Gerald Moore, that paragon who accompanied every important artist of his era. Also included are Ravel's Schéhérazade, some of the best known Fauré songs (Aprés un reve, Nell, Clair de lune), the delectable Psyché of Paladilhe, and three by Reynaldo Hahn (Offrande, L'Heure exquise, and Si mes vers avaient des ailes). There are assorted other songs by Purcell, Martini, Pergolesi, a couple of selections from Berlioz's Nuit d'été (Absence, and Spectre de la rose), Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Chausson, Duparc (Phydilé, L'Ivitation au voyage), Offenbach (Tu n'es pas beau), Messager. It ends with several songs in English by Elgar (Pleading), Quilter (the exquisite Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal), Thomas's Night Hymn at Sea (with John McCormack, and never before released), a song from a Kennedy Russell operetta, and Romberg's Deep in My Heart, Dear.

The last songs were recorded when she was over sixty and one cannot hear any erosion of the voice at all. It had maintained its fragile lyric beauty after more than forty years of performing.

Some of these performances are available on other labels (e.g. Pearl) but at much higher price. You simply cannot go wrong here. One again Naxos has given us an issue of major historical interest. Long may they continue this effort!

Recommended.