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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released December 6, 2019 | D'Or et de Platine
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Axelle Red
French Music - Released December 1, 2023 | Music and Roses
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Poulenc: La Voix humaine, Fiançailles pour rire
Julie Cherrier-Hoffmann
Opera - Released September 22, 2023 | Aparté
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Francis Poulenc's late opera La voix humaine (1958) seems ideally suited to the age of cellular telephony, and indeed, it is showing signs of revival with several new productions. This 2023 recording by soprano Julie Cherrier-Hoffmann and the Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia should contribute to the trend. La voix humaine is an operatic monodrama, but of a modern kind; the single character is a woman, simply named Elle (She), talking on the phone, being dumped by her boyfriend, and hinting at suicide. The text was written by Jean Cocteau in 1930, when dropped phone calls were no doubt common, but it works perfectly in a contemporary setting; the phone conversation is interrupted by panicky "Allô allô" interjections. Poulenc's musical language for dealing with this text is remarkable, and it is not like that in any of his other compositions. The singer is unaccompanied when she is directly addressing her hearer, while the passages in which she narrates events are accompanied by the orchestra. This creates an uncanny impression of an actual phone conversation. Poulenc's harmonic language here is quite modern in comparison to his other works, not quite atonal but shorn of the popular tinge present in so much of his work. Cherrier-Hoffmann's performance is appropriately stressed out, and she is shown in the graphics with her hands splayed across a window as if trapped. Conductor Frédéric Chaslin emphasizes the orchestra's big, operatic sound, and this works; the engineering makes no attempt to disguise the opera house acoustic. Chaslin also contributes orchestrations of smaller Poulenc voice-and-piano works; these frame the opera and return the listener to the usual Poulenc world. This is an unusually satisfying Poulenc release and a fine performance of a work whose reputation is on the way up.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Les Plus Grands Succes
Michel Delpech
French Music - Released January 1, 2004 | Universal Music Division Label Panthéon
One of France's most popular and important singer/songwriters of the 1960s and '70s, Michel Delpech's stunning successes are measured here, on this 20-track collection from Universal International. Containing many of his biggest hits -- "Divorces," "La Vie, La Vie," "Le Chasseur," "Wight Is Wight," and "Pour un Flirt," to name but a few -- this collection should serve anyone looking to either get to know or rediscover this French pop legend.© Chris True /TiVo
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Du Soleil Au Cœur
Céline Dion
French Artists - Released April 1, 1983 | Sony Music Media
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Pas facile
Johnny Hallyday
French Music - Released September 17, 1981 | Universal Music Division Mercury Records
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40 ans de succès
La famille Daraîche
Country - Released January 1, 2009 | Les productions J.D
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Cœur parapluie
Hoshi
French Music - Released September 1, 2023 | Jo&Co
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Ravel: L'Heure espagnole - Bolero
François-Xavier Roth
Opera - Released June 16, 2023 | harmonia mundi
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Choc de Classica
The main attraction of the orchestra Les Siècles and its conductor François-Xavier Roth is its use of period instruments from around 1900, the time period in which the group specializes. One could hardly ask for a better demonstration record (as audiophiles used to call them) than this take on Maurice Ravel's L'Heure espagnole, an edgy, rather tawdry but undeniably funny little opera about the extramarital escapades of a clockmaker's wife, complete with excellent satirical characterizations of her two lovers. The opera receives a pitch-perfect performance here from a quintet of younger singers, who deliver the kind of dry, close-to-spoken singing Ravel wanted. Even better, though, is the orchestral sound, where the opera's large contingent of winds, brass, and percussion displays the sound of Les Siècles at its most vivid. The score calls for trios of oboes, clarinets, and bassoons, and these all have a tangier sound than modern instruments provide. The program ends with Boléro, and this, too, stands out from among the hundreds or thousands of other recordings on the market. Ravel had very fixed ideas about how he wanted the work to sound, and he wrangled with Arturo Toscanini, who conducted the premiere in New York, about it: it should be played absolutely straight, with no variation in tempo and little expression. Notwithstanding the connotations that became attached to the work later on, he viewed it as an abstract work, and that is exactly what it becomes in Roth's bracing reading. Listeners who have been wanting to sample Roth's work with this orchestra are enthusiastically encouraged to try this release, which made classical best-seller charts in the summer of 2023.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Spontini: La vestale
Les Talens Lyriques
Classical - Released May 12, 2023 | Bru Zane
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Gaspare's Spontini's French-language La Vestale is probably the most often heard of his operas, but that is not saying much; the work was sung by Maria Callas in the 1950s, but performances are sparse. Here, it is revived in period style by Les Talens Lyriques and conductor Christophe Rousset, and a very good case is made for further attention. The story is action-packed; Julia, in the absence of her lover, General Licinius, becomes una Vestale, a Vestal Virgin and guards a sacred flame. When Licinius returns to town, the flame goes out, and Julia is sentenced to be buried alive. Licinius rallies his troops, vowing to kidnap Julia, and the flame is reignited later by a lightning strike. Spontini's orchestration of this tale is Beethovenian in its dimensions, and despite the difficulties of natural horns, it is exciting to hear this opera as Napoleon (thought to be the model for Licinius) and Josephine (who backed the opera) heard it. The singers are not Callas-level, but throughout, and especially in the choruses, there is a commitment to the text and its meaning that is rare in any kind of recording. Marina Rebeka, in the role of Julia, is fully involved in the character's plight, and the smoky-voiced Aude Extrémo as La Grande Vestale is worth the price of admission on her own. The singers are aided by clear, spacious studio sound engineering from the early opera specialist label Palazzetto Bru Zane, whose high standards are perhaps even exceeded here.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Adjani, bande originale
Isabelle Adjani
French Music - Released November 10, 2023 | Parlophone (France)
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Marais: Ariane et Bacchus
Le Concert Spirituel
Classical - Released March 24, 2023 | Alpha Classics
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Diapason d'or
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Fauré: Requiem - Poulenc: Figure Humaine - Debussy: 3 Chansons
Mathieu Romano
Masses, Passions, Requiems - Released March 1, 2019 | Aparté
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4F de Télérama
Fauré's Requiem, “funeral lullaby” written for enjoyment as the composer put it, has a unique place in history. It's soft, simple and modest poetry conveys moments of gentle contemplation and moving expressiveness which are entrusted to both the choir and the two soloists. With his Ensemble Aedes and the orchestra Les Siècles, Mathieu Romano is committed to render a Requiem faithful to its first performance. We hear thus the score in its original 1893 orchestration, where the organ plays a great role, and where Latin is pronounced in the French way as it used to be. The clearest articulation of the Ensemble Aedes then perfectly fits Éluard’s Figure humaine set to music by Francis Poulenc. We have never heard these sublime poems sung with such intelligibility before! Finally, the three Songs by Debussy elegantly close the album. Here again, the quality and clarity of the voices are stunning. Artistic director and founder of Ensemble Aedes has established himself as a magician of voices in a cappella scores. And voices ideally melt with the strings of Les Siècles under his baton. A 100% French cast in a 100% French music disc for a triple rediscovery. Essential! © Aparté
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Poulenc: La voix humaine
Véronique Gens
Classical - Released January 13, 2023 | Alpha Classics
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Choc de Classica
Francis Poulenc's La Voix Humaine ("The Human Voice") is a one-woman opera, less than an hour long, about a woman on the phone with her boyfriend as they break up. Set to a text by Jean Cocteau, it puts the woman through strong mood swings. (Country music fans may wish to compare it to As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone, although there, the boyfriend is present to deliver the final blow.) Soprano Véronique Gens is best known for music from the 17th century up to Mozart, but it is easy to believe the claim in the publicity materials for this release that she had always wanted to record this work; its direct, conversational quality, interspersed with occasional freakouts, fits her manner beautifully. It might seem that those freakouts require a bit more intensity than Gens gives them here, but that is not really in the Cocteau spirit and certainly not in the Poulenc spirit. Gens receives sensitive support from the Orchestre National de Lille under Alexandre Bloch, who also ring down the curtain with a lithe performance of the joyous Sinfonietta. There are other strong performances of Poulenc's little opera, which ought to be much more frequently heard and would be ideal for university voice programs, but this one is instantly appealing and quite memorable, and it is no surprise that it made classical best-seller charts in early 2023.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Machaut: The Fount of Grace
Orlando Consort
Classical - Released July 7, 2023 | Hyperion
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Françoise Hardy (Tous les garçons et les filles)
Françoise Hardy
French Music - Released October 28, 2022 | Vogue
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The Qobuz Ideal Discography
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Lully: Acis et Galatée
Les Talens Lyriques
Opera - Released October 14, 2022 | Aparté
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Composed on 1686 as part of the festivities organised by the Duc de Vendôme in honour of the Grand Dauphin, during the latter’s visit to his estate at the Château d’Anet in September of that year, Acis et Galatée is Lully’s last complete opera. His faithful librettist Quinault having retired from writing for the stage, he collaborated this time with the poet Campistron on a work that tells the story of the love between the sea-nymph Galatea and the shepherd Acis – a love threatened by the violence of the jealous cyclops Polyphemus. This opera, an undoubted dramatic success, gives the orchestra an important part, expressively evoking, for example, the giant’s cries of anger, the terror of the chorus, and the lovers’ hasty flight in Act III. It includes some magnificent pieces, including the final Passacaille, as well as inventive treasures, such as duet for hautes-contre (high tenors) “Ah! je succombe au tourment qui m'accable”, or the burlesque march that accompanies the entry of Polyphemus and his fellow cyclopes, conveying their uncouthness. But the loveliest pieces in the score are for Galatea: “Enfin, j’ai dissipé la crainte”, for instance, or “Que ne puis-je expirer après ce coup funeste?”. Lully died in March 1687, a few months after the première, leaving Achille et Polyxène unfinished. © Aparté
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Duni: Le peintre amoureux de son modèle - Les deux chasseurs et la laitière
Orkester Nord
Opera - Released October 6, 2023 | Aparté
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The composer Egidio Duni is all but unknown nowadays, but he worked amidst several important currents of 18th century musical life. A Neapolitan who wrote Italian operas, he was backed by a noble patron who apparently gave him the means to move to Paris. Duni composed French operas of various types, and Denis Diderot cited him as a counterexample to Rousseau's contention that the French language was unsuited to opera. Duni would be worth hearing for his influence alone; the two short comic works recorded here were important early examples of opéra-comique, but they are also charming in their own right. In Paris, they were known not as operas but as "comédies melées d'ariettes," or comedies mixed with ariettas. Much of the dialogue is spoken, and some of that is unaccompanied, while other pieces have a light continuo-like backing. (This aspect of the notation has not survived, but the decisions made by the performers here are unobjectionable.) The texts hold up even today as pretty funny. Le peintre amoureux de son modèle ("The Painter in Love with His Model," she chooses someone her own age at the end) and Les deux chasseurs et la laitière ("The Two Hunters and the Milkmaid") have crackling sitcom dialogue. Physical album buyers will get a booklet with complete texts. The singers are not spectacular (four in one opera, three in the other), but then, they shouldn't be; what is important is that they put the text across, don't overact, and engage with the comedy. The small Orkester Nord is the right size at 23 players, and conductor Martin Wåhlberg keeps things moving along. This is a delightful release of much more than historical interest. If scores are available, collegiate groups could easily mount productions of these works.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Panorama
Christophe Willem
French Music - Released September 16, 2022 | RCA Group
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So It's Like That
Joe Bonamassa
Blues - Released August 13, 2002 | J&R Adventures
Joe Bonamassa may well be a young guitar virtuoso, in line with the likes of Derek Trucks and John Mayer (like Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd before them) to be the Next Blues-Rock Guitar Hero. Unfortunately, he's not much of a songwriter. So, It's Like That, his sophomore solo effort, is filled with subpar tunes bloated with clichés. The production (by Clif Magness) is swell enough, though Bonamassa's guitar sometimes sounds too carefully dirty, and his band -- comprised of drummer Kenny Kramme and bassist Eric Czar -- far too generic. Bonamassa shines when he is allowed to stretch out and explore, on songs such as the sonically varied "Pain and Sorrow." There, on a long improvisation, he works through myriad modes of playing, textures, and musical ideas. And, since it is one of the album's only extended tracks, it is also one of the album's only redeeming moments -- and the only thing that clearly separates Bonamassa from generic boorishness.
© Jesse Jarnow /TiVo
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