The soprano voice of Véronique Gens aged nicely into French Romantic music from the Baroque works in which she specialized for the first part of her career, and by 2024 when this album appeared on classical best-seller lists, she seemed unable to do wrong. Not only is she still in splendid voice, but the album has the feel of a program she pulled together and fully controlled. Not that the role of conductor Hervé Niquet (another Baroque specialist) and the Munich Radio Orchestra is minimized; the orchestra gets several instrumental interludes alone, and they are done with lush grace. Sample the "Solitude" section from Massenet's Sapho, but it is Gens who confidently steps from one piece to another, giving the whole the flavor of a little drama of which the subject remains unknown. There are some familiar composers, such as Fauré, Gounod, and Reynaldo Hahn, one of whose songs lends the album its title. However, Gens also delves into the much less familiar Théodore Dubois, who is in the books as a church composer and as director of the Conservatoire de Paris, but hardly at all for songs. Sample the charming pair of Petits rêves d'enfant ("Little Dreams of a Child"). The Alpha label (working with the neglected-repertory specialists Palazzetto Bru Zane) contributes nicely balanced, transparent sound from a Bayerischer Rundfunk studio, and here, as so often lately, the best advice is to enjoy this golden age of Gens' voice.© James Manheim /TiVo

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The titular "Iconic" nature of the program here is twofold. First, stardom-groomed violinist David Garrett pays tribute to violin icons of the past. Primary among them is Fritz Kreisler, who is represented several times on the program, including by the familiar Schön Rosmarin (which is not among the bonus tracks for those who purchase the deluxe physical edition but is an additional bonus track available to streaming listeners). One of the icons, Itzhak Perlman, even makes a personal appearance in a Shostakovich duet, and other guests include tenor Andrea Bocelli and the single-named flutist Cocomi. What Garrett calls the second thread of his program deals not with performers but with music; what he has put together here is an example of the classic program of encores. He has done his job well, arranging a lot of the music for himself and changing up the sentimental tunes that can sink a project like this if too relentless with more unusual fare (Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair) and upbeat numbers like Dinicu's Hora Staccato and a reminder of his earlier virtuoso ways with Paganini's Moto Perpetuo, Op. 11. The end result is an entertaining example of the venerable all-encore genre, marred only by oddly too-close studio sound from Deutsche Grammophon.© James Manheim /TiVo

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Mylène Farmer's most electronic dance-oriented full-length studio album to date, Point de Suture is a full-fledged electro-pop effort. Though impressive and filled with highlights, not all fans will welcome the change in stylistic direction. While Farmer's previous album, Avant Que l'Ombre... (2005), is notable for its ambient electronica style, there's nothing ambient about Point de Suture. The dance beats are hard hitting, and the rhythms are propulsive and often unceasing. The music cries out for club play. As a matter of fact, Point de Suture seems tailor-made for Farmer's stadium-packed concert extravaganzas. The sound here is massive, and the louder one plays it, the better it is. However, Farmer loses some nuance in the process. There are only a couple downtempo songs on Point de Suture, "Point de Suture" and "Si J'Avais au Moins...," both standout ballads comprised of uplifting string arrangements and delicate vocal melodies rather than hard-hitting dance beats. Moreover, some fans will lament the absence of electric guitars and rock motifs à la Innamoramento (1999). "Paradis Inanimé," another of the many standout songs on Point de Suture, is the only song that rocks to any extent. The remainder of the disc is thoroughly electro-pop in style, and fortunately, most of these electronic dance-oriented songs are impressive, "Dégénération," "Appelle Mon Numéro," "Je M'Ennuie," and "C'Est dans l'Air" in particular. The odd song out is "Looking for My Name," an English-language duet with Moby that is a total drag at track five. With so many highlights, there's a lot to like about Point de Suture. It's nevertheless not one of Farmer's best albums. Longtime producer and composer Laurent Bouttonnat makes invigorating electro-pop, but it's far from cutting edge. Likewise, Farmer comes up with lyrics that are deep as far as electronic dance music goes, but the electro-pop style doesn't allow for the richness that many fans expect from her.© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo

Gilbert Bécaud was one of the most dynamic performers on the French cabaret scene, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his passionate and charismatic performing style, and he played to rapt audiences from his commercial breakthrough in 1955 up to his final public appearances in 2000. Bécaud was also an accomplished songwriter, whose 1961 hit "Et Maintenant" became an international sensation in its English-language version, "What Now, My Love." "Et Maintenant" is one of 20 songs by Bécaud featured on this collection, devoted to recordings of his finest songs. 20 Chansons d'Or also includes the tunes "La Pianiste de Varsovie," "L'important C'est la Rose," "C'est en Septembre," "Mes Mains," and more.© Mark Deming /TiVo

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Mylène Farmer's fifth live album to date, No.5 on Tour, documents her 2009 tour of France in support of her most recent studio album, Point de Suture (2008). The standard edition of album includes 20 songs spread across two discs, including a bunch of her greatest hits performed in the electro-rock style of Point de Suture. Though some of these songs are also included on her previous live albums, most recently Avant Que l'Ombre...A Bercy (2006), N°5 on Tour stands apart from its in-concert predecessors on account of its new arrangements, abundance of new material, and recording quality so pristine that it sounds as though the album were recorded in a studio with overdubbed interjections of audience noise and stage banter. Known as a dazzling concert performer with a flair for provocation, Farmer performed more or less the exact same set list for much of her tour. N°5 on Tour follows the standard set list, which is broken up into several different acts. The album opens with "D'Entre les Morts," an instrumental studio recording, before the in-concert material commences with "Paradis Inanimé," one of seven songs from Point de Suture. Farmer balances the new material with a bunch of greatest hits, including "L'Âme-Stram-Gram" (1999), "XXL" (1995), "À Quoi Je Sers..." (1989), "Pourvu Qu'Elles Soient Douces" (1988), "Rêver" (1995), "Ainsi Soit Je..." (1988), "Libertine" (1986), "Sans Contrefaçon" (1987), "Je Te Rends Ton Amour" (1999), and "Désenchantée" (1991). The newly arranged songs from the '80s are all highlights. Several of the Point de Suture songs are also highlights, in particular "Je M'Ennuie," "Dégénération," "C'est dans l'Air," and "Si J'Avais au Moins...," the latter two of which close the album on a high note. The pristine sound quality of N°5 on Tour is also notable. The audience noise can be heard only between songs, and the vocals and music are so perfect, it begs the question of how much editing was done in the studio. The integrity question aside, No.5 on Tour is far and away the best-sounding of Farmer's live albums to date. Longtime fans might wish that the set list wasn't weighted so heavily toward Point de Suture, and they also might find themselves recoiling from the new arrangements. As a representative document of Farmer's 2009 tour, however, N°5 on Tour could hardly be better. The collector's edition adds a three-track DVD of trivial value.© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo

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Sabine Devieilhe and Alexandre Tharaud bring their customary clarity, finesse and insight to the works of four composers who defined the path of French art song or "mélodie" from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. In an imaginatively balanced recital, the two French luminaries perform Fauré, Debussy, Ravel and Poulenc. Their programme, built around Ravel's Cinq Chansons populaires grecques and Debussy's Verlaine setting Ariettes oubliées, takes up the themes of love, war and death and offers both favourite songs like Fauré's Après un rêve and some rarer treasures. © Erato