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Oh toi l'amour de ma vie

Michel et Jean

Retro French Music - Released November 17, 2014 | Disc Ambiance

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Cellopera

Ophélie Gaillard

Opera - Released March 5, 2021 | Aparté

Hi-Res Booklet
Cellists rarely think of themselves as "prima donnas", and yet this is Ophélie Gaillard's gambit on this album, which is perhaps a questionable choice. The answer may be found on the cover showing the cellist opening the heavy red curtain of an opera stage with an amused look. It's a hint at the fact that it takes a good dose of courage and nerve to tackle the greatest pages of the operatic repertoire, from Don Giovanni to the operetta Toi, c'est moi, via the hits of Bellini, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini (E lucevan le stelle!!!), but also Tchaikovsky (Lenski's great aria in Eugene Onegin) or the famous O! du mein Holder from Wagner's Tannhäuser. During a rehearsal of Don Giovanni at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, the solo cello of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra suddenly had to replace an absent singer, under the direction of Daniel Harding. It was at that moment that Ophélie Gaillard developed the idea of this original programme of operatic arias without words. © François Hudry/Qobuz
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Et si je m'en vais avant toi

Françoise Hardy

French Music - Released January 1, 1972 | Parlophone (France)

One of her weaker efforts, frequently characterized by a happy-go-lucky, pedestrian country-blues flavor. It's nice to know that she was keeping her ears open to outside influences. Yet we Yankees who love Francoise listen to her, at least in part, because of her oh-so-very French qualities. If you want to hear lame L.A.-style early '70s mellow rock, there are plenty of alternatives to turn to before you head for the import bins. It would be nice to lay the blame with some wrongheaded producer, but actually Hardy wrote almost all of the material herself. Yet it's not entirely dismissable. The most pop-oriented productions--"Carfard," the title track, and the gorgeous "Bowm Bowm Bowm"--are delicately tuneful and sensitively performed, even if they're incongruous with the rest of the album.© Richie Unterberger /TiVo
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Confiance, espérance

Communauté de l'Emmanuel

Miscellaneous - Released March 3, 2020 | Il est vivant - Editions de l'Emmanuel

Stade de France 98 - Johnny allume le feu

Johnny Hallyday

French Music - Released November 24, 1998 | Universal Music Division Mercury Records

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Botanique et vieilles charrues

Louis Chedid

Pop - Released August 19, 2003 | Atmosphériques

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Mille après mille

Willie Lamothe

Pop - Released January 1, 2005 | Disques Mérite

Romantique

Manuela

French Music - Released June 2, 1995 | Universal Music Division MCA

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Poulenc: La Voix humaine, Fiançailles pour rire

Julie Cherrier-Hoffmann

Opera - Released September 22, 2023 | Aparté

Hi-Res Booklet
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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L'intégrale 1970-1980

Jean-Roger Caussimon

French Music - Released January 1, 1994 | Saravah

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Arcadie

Archimède

French Music - Released June 16, 2014 | Jive Epic

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Chantons Dieu avec les enfants

Communauté de l'Emmanuel

Miscellaneous - Released March 11, 2020 | Il est vivant - Editions de l'Emmanuel

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Spontini: La vestale

Les Talens Lyriques

Classical - Released May 12, 2023 | Bru Zane

Hi-Res Booklet
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
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En noires et blanches (Parce que - La Collection)

Louis Chedid

French Music - Released March 11, 2022 | [PIAS] Le Label

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Françoise Hardy (Tous les garçons et les filles)

Françoise Hardy

French Music - Released October 28, 2022 | Vogue

Distinctions The Qobuz Ideal Discography

L'album de sa vie

Alain Bashung

French Music - Released March 8, 2024 | Universal Music Division Barclay

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Sanson comme ils l'imaginent... (Live aux Francofolies 1994)

Véronique Sanson

French Music - Released December 18, 2020 | Warner (France)

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Mockba/Moscou

Jean-Louis Murat

French Music - Released June 18, 2021 | [PIAS] Le Label

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Meyerbeer: Robert le Diable

Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine

Classical - Released September 23, 2022 | Bru Zane

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Gramophone: Recording of the Month
For his last season at the helm of the Opéra de Bordeaux, Marc Minkowski—always keen to conduct forgotten works which have, in some way, marked the history of music—sets his sights on Robert le Diable, Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera which was a true social phenomenon in 19th century France. The Palazzetto Bru Zane - Centre de musique romantique française has followed suit by officially publishing this concert version, which also features some excellent vocal soloists. Admired by Balzac, Sand and Dumas, this ‘grand opéra à la française’ (great French opera) faded into obscurity after the First World War. Its creator became a sort of pariah – one met with both condescension and mockery. With its ‘seductive and haunting melodies’ (Alexandre Dratwicki), it’s nevertheless a flamboyant work that greatly inspired his contemporaries, such as Verdi, who referred to it in La Traviata. The extraordinary impact of Robert le Diable was such that it was performed a great many times on every continent. A true one-man band, Marc Minkowski has invested himself entirely in this undertaking, learning this vast score practically by heart and conducting it with his usual power and conviction. The international cast is full of surprises thanks to their deep understanding of the work and the protagonists’ fantastic pronunciation. This new release, to the credit of the Bru Zane label, revitalises our knowledge of this work that’s scarcely mentioned in specialised dictionaries. © François Hudry/Qobuz
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Nino Ferrer

Nino Ferrer

Pop - Released January 1, 1966 | Universal Music Division Barclay

Deeply influenced by R&B and his years spent alongside Nancy Holloway, Nino Ferrer acknowledges his debt with this album. Like so many other French artists of that period, he covers some American hits, adding lyrics of his own. In particular, James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" and the classic "Nobody Knows You (When You're Down and Out)," respectively, become "Si Tu M'Aimes Encore" and "Le Millionnaire." However, it should be noted that Ferrer is conscious of his limitations. On the opener "Je Veux Etre Noir" (I want to be Black), he humbly asks Ray Charles, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, and B.B. King what is their secret. Moreover, he should not be strictly considered a copycat for he has too much respect and love for R&B music. His voice also has enough grit to give the songs the necessary soulfulness. Musically, the songs appropriately feature some nice Hammond B-3 accents and are supported by a spirited horn section. The lyrics can be very facetious and nonsensical and they contributed to Ferrer's sudden success, but also wrongly cast him as a humorist, a reputation he would have a hard time shaking off later on.© Alain Drouot /TiVo