Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Gabriel Fauré originally wrote his song cycle, La Bonne chanson, for voice and piano, but a few years after its 1894 premiere he created a version with string quintet and piano. He later questioned the wisdom of having made the arrangement, thinking perhaps he was gilding the lily by adding even more sumptuous timbral richness to a work that was already so melodically and harmonically sensuous. Few listeners are likely to complain about his arrangement, though, particularly when it is performed as well as it is here, with mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes and members of Ensemble Contraste. Deshayes has a relatively light lyric voice that still has enough fullness to put across the romantic ardor of the music and the poetry. Temperamentally, too, she sounds well suited for the songs; she conveys the delicacy and vulnerability of the protagonist as well as bold passion and energy. Deshayes is especially masterful in her nuanced shaping and coloring of Fauré's elegant phrases, which blossom with spontaneity and unforced naturalness. Ensemble Contraste plays with supple flexibility, and while their idiomatic accompaniment is beautifully expressive it avoids the kind of excessive effusion the possibility of which must have given the composer second thoughts about this version. The players step into the spotlight for the First Quartet for piano and strings, written about 15 years earlier. It was Fauré's first large-scale work, but there is nothing tentative about it; it's clearly the work of a fully assured composer with plenty to say. It has the melodic grace and harmonic sweetness, along with a subtle push at the boundaries of convention, that characterize Fauré's music and it has an irrepressible youthful energy. The players give themselves fully to its full-throated Romantic passions and its moods of bittersweet yearning. The pairing of these lovely works in these exemplary performances makes this an album that should have strong appeal for fans of late Romantic chamber and vocal music. The sound of Zig-Zag Territoires' CD is clean and nicely present, but a little on the cool side; a warmer ambience would have better shown off Deshayes' performance in particular.
© TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From 12,49€/month
Quatuor No. 1 pour piano, violon, alto et violoncelle en Ut Mineur, Op. 15 (Gabriel Fauré)
Ensemble Contraste, Performer - Geneviève Laurenceau, Performer - Maud Lovett, Performer - Arnaud Thorette, Performer - Antoine Pierlot, Performer - Johan Farjot, Performer - Yann Dubost, Performer - Gabriel Fauré, Composer
2010 Zig-Zag Territoires 2010 Zig-Zag Territoires
Ensemble Contraste, Performer - Geneviève Laurenceau, Performer - Maud Lovett, Performer - Arnaud Thorette, Performer - Antoine Pierlot, Performer - Johan Farjot, Performer - Yann Dubost, Performer - Gabriel Fauré, Composer
2010 Zig-Zag Territoires 2010 Zig-Zag Territoires
Ensemble Contraste, Performer - Geneviève Laurenceau, Performer - Maud Lovett, Performer - Arnaud Thorette, Performer - Antoine Pierlot, Performer - Johan Farjot, Performer - Yann Dubost, Performer - Gabriel Fauré, Composer
2010 Zig-Zag Territoires 2010 Zig-Zag Territoires
Ensemble Contraste, Performer - Geneviève Laurenceau, Performer - Maud Lovett, Performer - Arnaud Thorette, Performer - Antoine Pierlot, Performer - Johan Farjot, Performer - Yann Dubost, Performer - Gabriel Fauré, Composer
2010 Zig-Zag Territoires 2010 Zig-Zag Territoires
La bonne Chanson, Op. 61 (Gabriel Fauré)
Karine Deshayes, Performer - Ensemble Contraste, Performer - Geneviève Laurenceau, Performer - Maud Lovett, Performer - Arnaud Thorette, Performer - Antoine Pierlot, Performer - Johan Farjot, Performer - Yann Dubost, Performer - Gabriel Fauré, Composer
2010 Zig-Zag Territoires 2010 Zig-Zag Territoires
Karine Deshayes, Performer - Ensemble Contraste, Performer - Geneviève Laurenceau, Performer - Maud Lovett, Performer - Arnaud Thorette, Performer - Antoine Pierlot, Performer - Johan Farjot, Performer - Yann Dubost, Performer - Gabriel Fauré, Composer
2010 Zig-Zag Territoires 2010 Zig-Zag Territoires
Karine Deshayes, Performer - Ensemble Contraste, Performer - Geneviève Laurenceau, Performer - Maud Lovett, Performer - Arnaud Thorette, Performer - Antoine Pierlot, Performer - Johan Farjot, Performer - Yann Dubost, Performer - Gabriel Fauré, Composer
2010 Zig-Zag Territoires 2010 Zig-Zag Territoires
Karine Deshayes, Performer - Ensemble Contraste, Performer - Geneviève Laurenceau, Performer - Maud Lovett, Performer - Arnaud Thorette, Performer - Antoine Pierlot, Performer - Johan Farjot, Performer - Yann Dubost, Performer - Gabriel Fauré, Composer
2010 Zig-Zag Territoires 2010 Zig-Zag Territoires
Karine Deshayes, Performer - Ensemble Contraste, Performer - Geneviève Laurenceau, Performer - Maud Lovett, Performer - Arnaud Thorette, Performer - Antoine Pierlot, Performer - Johan Farjot, Performer - Yann Dubost, Performer - Gabriel Fauré, Composer
2010 Zig-Zag Territoires 2010 Zig-Zag Territoires
Karine Deshayes, Performer - Ensemble Contraste, Performer - Geneviève Laurenceau, Performer - Maud Lovett, Performer - Arnaud Thorette, Performer - Antoine Pierlot, Performer - Johan Farjot, Performer - Yann Dubost, Performer - Gabriel Fauré, Composer
2010 Zig-Zag Territoires 2010 Zig-Zag Territoires
Karine Deshayes, Performer - Ensemble Contraste, Performer - Geneviève Laurenceau, Performer - Maud Lovett, Performer - Arnaud Thorette, Performer - Antoine Pierlot, Performer - Johan Farjot, Performer - Yann Dubost, Performer - Gabriel Fauré, Composer
2010 Zig-Zag Territoires 2010 Zig-Zag Territoires
Karine Deshayes, Performer - Ensemble Contraste, Performer - Geneviève Laurenceau, Performer - Maud Lovett, Performer - Arnaud Thorette, Performer - Antoine Pierlot, Performer - Johan Farjot, Performer - Yann Dubost, Performer - Gabriel Fauré, Composer
2010 Zig-Zag Territoires 2010 Zig-Zag Territoires
Karine Deshayes, Performer - Ensemble Contraste, Performer - Geneviève Laurenceau, Performer - Maud Lovett, Performer - Arnaud Thorette, Performer - Antoine Pierlot, Performer - Johan Farjot, Performer - Yann Dubost, Performer - Gabriel Fauré, Composer
2010 Zig-Zag Territoires 2010 Zig-Zag Territoires
Albumbeschreibung
Gabriel Fauré originally wrote his song cycle, La Bonne chanson, for voice and piano, but a few years after its 1894 premiere he created a version with string quintet and piano. He later questioned the wisdom of having made the arrangement, thinking perhaps he was gilding the lily by adding even more sumptuous timbral richness to a work that was already so melodically and harmonically sensuous. Few listeners are likely to complain about his arrangement, though, particularly when it is performed as well as it is here, with mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes and members of Ensemble Contraste. Deshayes has a relatively light lyric voice that still has enough fullness to put across the romantic ardor of the music and the poetry. Temperamentally, too, she sounds well suited for the songs; she conveys the delicacy and vulnerability of the protagonist as well as bold passion and energy. Deshayes is especially masterful in her nuanced shaping and coloring of Fauré's elegant phrases, which blossom with spontaneity and unforced naturalness. Ensemble Contraste plays with supple flexibility, and while their idiomatic accompaniment is beautifully expressive it avoids the kind of excessive effusion the possibility of which must have given the composer second thoughts about this version. The players step into the spotlight for the First Quartet for piano and strings, written about 15 years earlier. It was Fauré's first large-scale work, but there is nothing tentative about it; it's clearly the work of a fully assured composer with plenty to say. It has the melodic grace and harmonic sweetness, along with a subtle push at the boundaries of convention, that characterize Fauré's music and it has an irrepressible youthful energy. The players give themselves fully to its full-throated Romantic passions and its moods of bittersweet yearning. The pairing of these lovely works in these exemplary performances makes this an album that should have strong appeal for fans of late Romantic chamber and vocal music. The sound of Zig-Zag Territoires' CD is clean and nicely present, but a little on the cool side; a warmer ambience would have better shown off Deshayes' performance in particular.
© TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 13 track(s)
- Total length: 00:53:21
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Karine Deshayes Ensemble Contraste
- Composer: Gabriel Fauré
- Label: Zig-Zag Territoires
- Genre: Klassiek
2010 Zig-Zag Territoires 2010 Zig-Zag Territoires
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.