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

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This is a nicely programmed album consisting of French song cycles spaced several decades apart from the 19th and early 20th centuries. One of them, the Mélodies Persanes ("Persian Songs") of Saint-Saëns, is not a common item; with its bouncy text-setting, nobody would compare it to the deep Eastern influences woven into various Ravel works, but then, Ravel was inspired to execute those by listening to Saint-Saëns. In Berlioz's Les nuits d'été and Ravel's Shéhérazade, contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux has plenty of competition, but there is less for the Saint-Saëns. Another attraction is the work of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo under conductor Kazumi Yamada, neither a household name. The group is velvety smooth in the Berlioz cycle, with quiet and perfectly controlled string sound throughout. The strings match the voice of Lemieux beautifully; both have a luxuriance that fits the extravagantly Romantic texts of the Berlioz. So, everything is in place here, and listeners' reactions to the whole are likely to come down to their feelings about Lemieux's voice itself. It has a rapid, confident vibrato that is remarkably pitch-accurate as it moves up and down within her range. To these ears, it is beautiful. It also doesn't vary much according to the text; the Saint-Saëns songs and Ravel's Asie, which are intended to evoke exotic melodic traits, sound much like the Berlioz. A bit of sampling will likely determine one's enjoyment of the album in general, and there are certainly many things to like here.© James Manheim /TiVo

Over the past 15 years, Tunisian oud master Anouar Brahem has assembled a relatively small but profound body of work. A skilled improviser who refuses to be part of the historical authenticity argument, Brahem works from the same trio setting that performed on Le Pas du Chat Noir in 2002, with pianist François Couturier and accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier. The dialogue between these players is, despite the sparseness of the music and the considerable space employed, intense. The deep listening necessary in the improvised sections allows for a natural flow of ideas to emerge from silence. The compositions themselves are skeletal, with repeating, slowly evolving vamps and lyric lines. They offer, on the surface, a contemplative approach, and indeed can be heard that way. However, when dynamics, timbre, and chromatics are listened for, what takes place is rather astonishing. Each player walks to the middle of a composition, steps back and reenters after ideas by the others are introduced, producing a kind of organic improvisation seldom heard. This is not to say that the most structured works here, such as "Vague/E la Nave Va," aren't full of meditative delight as well. They are, and there are vast spaces into which the listener can enter and disappear for a while -- not so much to drift and dream as to be absorbed in their hypnotic and repetitive beauty. "Les Jardins de Ziryab" begins with Matinier's accordion, which is answered by the oud and Brahem's voice, accompanying them both. It unfolds from the center out. "Le Chambre, Var." begins, for this ensemble, at a trot. Couturier's chord voicing and Brahem's percussive approach create a winding musical narrative that Matinier's accordion underscores rhythmically. The keyboard and air pulse create a terrain where intricate melodic lines come out of modal and chromatic tensions. Ultimately, Brahem has given listeners another of his wondrous offerings, full of deceptively simple compositions that open into a secret world, one where beauty is so present that it is nearly unapproachable, and it is up to the listener to fill in the spaces offered them by this remarkable trio.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

This release is part of a Berlioz series by conductor John Nelson and the Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg, but it is the soloists who shine here. Tenor Michael Spyres, who is really hitting his stride, has a voice pleasantly suited to French music, rounded and subtle, but there is more; Berlioz suggested that several singers perform the orchestral song cycle Les nuits d'été, Op. 7, but Spyres takes all the songs himself. Moreover, he does them in the original keys, which is rarer still. This calls for a singer with exceptional control of dynamic extremes in different parts of his range, and Spyres is exceptionally flexible in this regard. There is a confidence and nonchalance to this performance that grows on the listener as the performance proceeds, even as the sound engineering puts Spyres too far front and center to the detriment of the orchestra's contributions. This isn't so pronounced in the anti-concerto Harold en Italie, Op. 16, and here again, there is a standout soloist; Timothy Ridout offers a rich sound and a real narrative quality that seems to evoke the score's source in Lord Byron's long poem. This exceptionally satisfying Berlioz album hit best-seller charts in late 2022.© James Manheim /TiVo

Bernard Coulais, who is admired for his scores for Winged Migration and Microcosmos, is again showing his resourcefulness in using instruments that are available to him. The soundtrack for the popular European film Les Choristes combines songs, sung by the boys' choir in the story, and regular soundtrack music to accompany the action of the film. Christophe Barratier, the film's director and a classical guitarist, wrote the main theme of the film, "Cerf-Volant," which is woven into the first track "Les Choristes." But Coulais composed and arranged most of Les Choristes' score. Themes from the songs are woven into underscore tracks, which are written along the lines of scores by Rachel Portman or Danny Elfman, and they demonstrate Coulais' facility with instrumental and vocal color. Affecting melodic material is tied to rhythmic accompaniments, primarily using strings and light woodwinds, with brass and percussion providing reinforcement at times. Other tracks add the choir or harp, piano, or celesta to the mix. The opening "Les Choristes" is similar to Fauré's Pavane, with a soloist singing with the accompaniment of the choir and pizzicato strings. "Action Réaction" is an adagio for strings, beginning in unsettling dissonances and ending in dark unison. Songs written for the film have memorable melodies, easy lyrics and generally easy harmonies, perfect for a chorus of schoolboys (not to mention soundtrack sales). These include a very brief, jolly arrangement of a folk song about a legendary highwayman, "Compere Guilleri." "In Memoriam" tests the boys' part-singing skills with its frequent passing dissonances in its harmonies, which remind you of Mozart's choral writing. The boys are not always pitch perfect or together, but then they shouldn't be, as they are portraying a group of boys just beginning music lessons. Nor do they sound like a crystalline English boys' choir, but the unpolished dimension of their voices blends well with the rich orchestral writing. While there are a few tracks that obviously are film music and do not quite stand up by themselves, the soundtrack as a whole is charming and listenable, with an appeal of its own that should attract more than just fans of the film.© TiVo

Americans who are finally getting used to the idea of their own country as multicultural are often surprised to find that France is undergoing the same stresses and gaining the same musical benefits. Les Negresses Vertes is a magnificent example of the latter. This group's cultural roots are partly in Paris, partly in Algeria and Spain, with healthy amounts of influence from Nashville and urban America. To all these should be added the theatricality of circus music -- three of the original members had worked in the Zingaro Horse Circus in Southern France, while a fourth was a professional clown. The combination of all these influences is jazzy, street-smart, and very danceable. While some members of the band were less than virtuosos on their instruments, they made up for this deficiency by laying down a boisterous party groove backed by a propulsive brass section. The alternation between Noel Rota's fast and furious solo vocals and the ragged choruses provided by the rest of the band adds to the complex dynamic of the group. Add to this the fact that Rota had a real gift as a songwriter and arranger, and you have a hit machine in the making. Mlah got an excellent reception from critics in Britain and the U.S., and several tracks even managed to get airplay despite the American tendency to ignore anything not sung in English. It was a great start for the band, though it is arguable that they never again approached this level of entertainment.© Richard Foss /TiVo

The late Joe Dassin was a very successful singer in his adopted France, and this collection, released by Sony/BMG France in 2005 contains 23 of his biggest tunes. This particular edition lacks the second disc of material associated with other releases, but still captures this singer's best moments. Includes "Et si Tu n'Existais Pas," "Les Champs-Elysees," and "Le Chemin de Papa."© Chris True /TiVo

The vocal works of Hector Berlioz are less familiar than his gigantic orchestral pieces, but in the right hands they're delightful. This release by French soprano Véronique Gens, who is at the absolute peak of her powers, has all you could ask. It has the sheer creamy goodness of Gens' voice, made still tastier by her obvious enthusiasm for the likes of Ravel's Asie (Asia) from the Shéhérazade set. It offers a distinction from earlier traversals of the same material: the song cycle Les Nuits d'été (Summer Nights), especially, has been the province of big dramatic sopranos, but Gens' reading is more chamber-sized, and indeed more in line with the medium-sized halls Berlioz would have known in material of this kind. The album has a novel item: the early Berlioz cantata Herminie, written in 1828 as one of his unsuccessful attempts to capture the Prix de Rome. (He finally succeeded with Sardanapale in 1830.) The music of this piece has links to the Symphonie fantastique, and in general it has the fearlessly showy lyricism that makes the music of the young Berlioz so attractive. The album boasts excellent orchestral support from the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire under conductor John Axelrod, who fully merits his full-page picture in the CD version's booklet. Sound ideally suited to the dimensions of Gens' voice is just a bonus by this time. This is state-of-the-art Berlioz (and Ravel). © TiVo

Issued in 2005, Matador was the fifth record by French pop rock trio Mickey 3d. Named after lead singer Mickey and his previous band 3dk, Mickey 3d play a relaxed semi-acoustic brand of melodic rock that in its deliberate simplicity recalls the work of Manu Chao. In French-speaking countries, Mickey 3d are moderately successful due to their socially oriented ironic lyrics and energetic live performances.© Sergey Mesenov /TiVo

Just over a year after releasing their first CD for Mirare (which we proudly awarded a Qobuzissime!), the Geister Duo is back to present us with its little brother: an album dedicated to the modernisms of the 1900s and two of its most illustrious representatives, Debussy and Stravinsky. Musically, the end of the 20th century was marred by departures and farewells, particularly to the late Romantics and post-Wagnerism. The journey towards new musical horizons, tonalities and modern forms had begun. It was during this time that a trio of talented composers joined forces. Debussy published his Six Epigraphes antiques in 1915, but their beginnings date back to 1900 when his close friend Pierre Louÿs commissioned him to write music for his Chansons de Bilitis. The six titles describe, in a poetic and ethereal fashion, a musical antiquity similar to that of Pelléas and Mélisande. Maurice Ravel was in the audience during the first performance of Debussy’s Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune in 1894. This audience, including a captivated young Ravel, were left with nothing but high praise for Debussy. Ravel made it his duty to create a transcription that would perfectly “orchestrate” the piano four hands. Though Stravinsky’s Petrushka was received with slightly more criticism, it still ensured the composer’s international success. A far cry from late Romanticism, the emphasis here is on clear forms, sharp edges and diatonic pronunciation. The three works are uniquely presented in their chamber music version for piano. With only their four hands, David Salmon and Manuel Viellard manage to recreate an entire orchestra, transporting the listener to a musical era bursting with opportunity. The aural symbiosis of the two pianists seems even more refined than in their last recording and demonstrates that the duo still have a bright future ahead of them. © Lena Germann/ Qobuz

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A new aesthetic calls for new forms: such is the challenge the composer set for himself in the two works presented here. In Les Nuits d’été, Berlioz pioneered, well before Mahler and Ravel, a song cycle for voice and orchestra. In Harold in Italy, scored for large orchestra and solo viola, he experimented with the symphonic genre. These period-instrument performances by Les Siècles, led by François-Xavier Roth, with violist Tabea Zimmermann, also feature Stéphane Degout in the vocal cycle, heard here in the composer’s own version for baritone. File under: out of the ordinary. © harmonia mundi