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Par un matin (Caplet, Kaspar, Chausson, Marçot, Poulenc)

Ensemble Esquisses

Choral Music (Choirs) - Released September 15, 2023 | Evidence (LTR)

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Qobuzissime
Founded in 2017 by young choral and orchestral conductor Guillemette Daboval, the Ensemble Esquisses is an all-female choir with an ever-changing line-up made up of singers who have only recently graduated from their studies. With one shared desire, the ensemble are drawn to repertoire for equal voices and unison, which the young choristers explore throughout Par un Matin, the group’s debut album released on the Evidence label. The sophisticated programme offers a selective view of the 20th and 21st centuries, with André Caplet’s “Messe à 3 Voix”, Chausson's elegiac “Chant Funèbre Op.28” and Poulenc's “Litanies à la Vierge Noire” as well as a world premiere of Olivier Kaspar's “Chansons Erotiques” (inspired by bawdy texts from the 16th century) and the “Agnus” from composer Caroline Marçot. The task of singing with equal voices is an extremely difficult one since it requires an extremely heightened ability to listen to each other’s voices, as well as a great deal of self-sacrifice in search of a collective timbre. This state of mind often requires years of work and, more specifically, maturity. We’re not sure what type of magic is at work here, but the combined effort of Guillemette Daboval and her singers has produced something of striking purity. There are real layers at play here: the textures, the melodic accents and inflections, the roundness of the melismas. The precision of movement becomes all the more impressive in this kaleidoscopic choice of repertoires, which is also highly erudite. Daboval and the Esquisses members have succeeded in creating their own signature sound with their very first performance, and all with breathtaking ease, something that other renowned choirs can take years to perfect. Just as we have in the past spoken about the ‘Voces8 timbre’, the ‘Tenebrae timbre’ and the ‘Deller Consort timbre’, here we are witnessing the birth of the ‘Esquisses timbre’. Qobuzissime! © Pierre Lamy/Qobuz
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Mozart & Strauss: Lieder

Sabine Devieilhe

Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released March 29, 2024 | Warner Classics

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions 4F de Télérama
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Golden Oldies – More Favourite Encores

Brodsky Quartet

Chamber Music - Released March 17, 2023 | Chandos

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The Golden Oldies title and 50th Birthday Celebration subtitle might lead one to expect a compilation of earlier recordings on this 2023 release by the Brodsky Quartet, which amazingly still has two of its original members. However, all of the recordings are newly made, and the arrangements, mostly by members of the quartet, are fresh ones. So these are short pieces of the encore type, but they succeed in avoiding a greatest-hits feel and conveying more of what a really good encore does, namely to suggest the hidden recesses and secrets of a repertory. The album features short works by composers the Brodsky Quartet has championed in the past, including Shostakovich, Debussy, and Beethoven, who makes an appearance with the familiar first movement of the Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 ("Moonlight"). That is not a piece one would think could be transferred effectively to the string quartet medium, but the arrangement by violist Paul Cassidy is elegant. That points to another strength of the release: the album highlights the Brodsky's independent programming streak, even in so conventional a medium as the encores album. Scott Joplin's tango Solace is another work that one would hardly think of for a project like this, and it is lovely. There is just one contemporary work, Isidora Žebeljan's An Intimate Letter from the Judean Desert, effectively placed at the end. This is not only a celebration for Brodsky Quartet fans but also a decent introduction to the group's work for those interested in this venerable British ensemble, and it landed on classical best-seller charts in the spring of 2023. © James Manheim /TiVo
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Ysaÿe: VI Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27

Sergey Khachatryan

Classical - Released March 29, 2024 | naïve

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Porque existe otro querer

Marina Viotti

Mélodies - Released April 14, 2023 | Aparté

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This program of love songs from mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti and guitarist Gabriel Bianco boils down a variety of music to the combination of voice and guitar, with most of the songs arranged by Bianco himself. To perform the likes of Fauré on a guitar is unusual, but it works in this context, where the performers draw entirely unexpected connections between French music, Latin American popular song, and more. It is a bold program, and it is gorgeous. Viotti's voice is a magnificent instrument, warm and rounded but with a haze that hints at many experiences in the world. Her experience extends from opera to metal; she is neither French nor Spanish nor Latin American, but it would be hard to find a singer more suited to this project. Bianco's guitar is an agile thing, capable of hanging back or jumping into the dialogue. The words "Porque existe otro querer" ("because another love exists") come from a Cuban popular song of 1945, Dos Gardenias, that was composed by Isolina Carrillo and also recorded by Buena Vista Social Club, Daniel Santos, and others. One could start by sampling that, or one of the Siete canciones populares españolas of Falla, the original locus point for the grand fusion the performers are seeking. The players conclude with the zippy La danza of Rossini and a German song by Pauline Viardot that somewhat breaks the romantic mood, but by that time, it hardly matters; the listener will be totally satisfied. Aparte delivers excellent studio sound that captures all the many shades on display. © James Manheim /TiVo
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Bach-Abel Society

Les Ombres

Chamber Music - Released September 30, 2022 | Mirare

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In 1765, Johann Christian Bach, who had settled in London, established with his friend Carl Friedrich Abel the prestigious "Bach Abel Concerts". Surrounded by some of the most talented artists of their generation, Margaux Blanchard and Sylvain Sartre invite us to rediscover the music that enlivened the luxurious London salons of the late 18th century. A chance to be admitted, for a moment's listening, into the very select Bach Abel Society. © Mirare
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Gabriel Fauré: Mélodies

Bernard Kruysen, Noël Lee

Mélodies - Released January 1, 1997 | naïve classique

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Jardins suspendus

Eric Le Sage

Classical - Released October 28, 2022 | Sony Classical

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La Révolution (Music from the Netflix Original Series)

Saycet

Film Soundtracks - Released November 6, 2020 | Netflix Music

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La Bonne Chanson - French Chamber Songs

Anne Sofie von Otter

Classical - Released January 1, 1996 | Deutsche Grammophon (DG)

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Schumann: The Three Violin Sonatas

Charles Richard-Hamelin

Chamber Music - Released November 11, 2022 | Les Productions Analekta Inc.

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After recording the Sonatas for Violin and Piano by Ludwig van Beethoven, a triptych that won numerous awards, Andrew Wan and Charles Richard-Hamelin continue their fruitful collaboration by performing the complete Violin Sonatas by Robert Schumann (1810-1856). A perfect work to highlight the complicity that has developed between the concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the pianist who won the silver medal at the 2015 Frédéric Chopin International Piano Competition. © Analekta
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Chopin, Liszt, Bach, Scarlatti & Albeniz (Diapason n°601)

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli

Classical - Released December 25, 2010 | Les Indispensables de Diapason

Booklet Distinctions Diapason d'or
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Frederic Chopin : Les 21 Nocturnes

Marie-Josèphe Jude

Solo Piano - Released August 25, 2014 | Lyrinx

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Après un rêve - Mélodies pour voix et piano

Sandrine Piau

Art Songs, Mélodies & Lieder - Released March 21, 2011 | naïve classique

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The Complete Songs of Fauré, Vol. 4

Malcolm Martineau

Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released July 9, 2021 | Signum Records

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It's uncommon to hear a body of songs performed by an accompanist, bringing together a variety of singers for the project. However, that's what pianist Malcolm Martineau did with his cycle of Poulenc songs, and he's done it again with Fauré, a substantial four-volume series of which this release is the last. It has much in common with the first three, with eight singers joining Martineau and matched in his estimation with proper repertory. Most are British, and they represent an appealing mixture of old hands and up-and-comers. Countertenor Iestyn Davies may be a surprise, but he is effectively deployed in more impersonal numbers like Noël, Op. 43, No. 1. The richer, plummier numbers go to veteran soprano Isobel Buchanan, and younger baritone John Chest is a fine, restrained match for the L'horizon chimérique set, Op. 118, from the end of Fauré's life. Yet throughout, the star is once again Martineau, who is an expert in the exquisitely subtle language of Fauré's songs, where a fleeting thought may be represented in full by a little inflection of the piano. The songs here date from various sessions ranging as far back as 2014, and the first three volumes in the series may be a trifle more cohesive, but really the whole thing is an accomplishment worth the listener's time. The church sound is wrong for this intimate music, however.© TiVo

Chopin: Les Nocturnes

Bruno Rigutto

Classical - Released July 5, 2010 | Parlophone (France)

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Venice

Anastasia Kobekina

Classical - Released February 2, 2024 | Sony Classical

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At first glance, one might confuse the virtuoso cellist Angelina Kobekina’s latest album, Venice, as a classical “greatest hits” collection—a packaging of snippets taken from previous recordings released when a record company’s star artist hasn’t recorded enough fresh material. This recording is anything but that. Venice is a strikingly original and personal concept with Kobekina’s love for the titular city as the underlying theme. Kobekina’s original compositions are solo cello pieces, while those of Bach, Britten, Monteverdi, and Vivaldi feature her unique accompaniments. Some depart significantly from the originals, such as a 20th-Century jazz arrangement of a Vivaldi concerto. While some traditionally-minded classical listeners may object to the recomposing of works by the old masters, what must be kept in mind is that Venice is not the typical classical release in recital format, but a creation in which the artist takes the listener along on her own highly intimate journey. Some listeners may find themselves getting lost but the wordy “roadmap” provided in the booklet or even the notes by Kobekina herself may likely be of little assistance.  Rather than trying to figure out exactly what the artist is expressing, the best approach is to listen to Venice from beginning to end, with no interruptions or preconceived notions. Listeners may love it or hate it, but one thing on which all may agree: Anastasia Kobekina is an extraordinary cellist, artist, and musician. ©Anthony Fountain/Qobuz
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Reflet

Sandrine Piau

Classical - Released January 12, 2024 | Alpha Classics

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Diapason d'or
In a world of "singles," pursued even by classical music labels nowadays, here is a whole album that makes up a single, sublime musical utterance. Reflet is a follow-up, similarly concerned with light effects, to soprano Sandrine Piau's German-language Clair-Obscur of a few years back. The German songs might have been a bigger stretch for Piau than the French material here, but Reflet has possibly an even more sublime coherence. One feels that every note is almost foreordained as the program opens with classic orchestral songs from Berlioz, Henri Duparc, and the less common Charles Koechlin, proceeding into darker, more mysterious realms with Ravel's Trois poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé, and ending with the youthful ebullience of Britten's Quatre chansons françaises. An illustration of how carefully calibrated everything is here comes with two Debussy pieces, Clair de lune and "Pour remercier la pluie" (from the Six Épigraphes Antiques), arranged for orchestra from other media. These serve as entr'actes between the sections of Piau's program, and they should by all rights have been annoying: aren't there enough genuine orchestral pieces that could have filled the bill? But just listen. These fit into the patterns that run through the whole album, and they make perfect sense, just like everything else. Piau's voice is delicate, soaring, and richly beautiful; one of the miracles of the current scene is its durability and versatility. Her support from conductor Jean-François Verdier, leading the Victor Hugo Orchestra, is confidently smooth, never intruding on the spell Piau weaves. A magnificent orchestral song recital that made classical best-seller lists in early 2024.© James Manheim /TiVo