Opium: Mélodies francaises
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CD Details
Performer: Philippe JarousskyPerformer: Jérôme Ducros
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Enhanced
CD Release Date: 2009-04-07
Music Label: Virgin Classics
Soundtracks:
- Ã? Chloris
- Sombrero (1894)
- Elégie (1869)
- Nell Op.18 No.1 (1880)
- Le Colibri Op.2 No.7
- Automne Op.18 No.3 (1880)
- Mignonne (1894)
- Fêtes galantes (Mandoline) (1892)
- Le temps de lilas
- Les Papillons Op.2 No.3
- Viens, une flûte invisible (1900)
- Les heures Op.27 No.1
- Quand je fus pris au pavillon (Douze rondels, no.8)
- Offrande (1891)
- Tournoiement 'Songe d'opium' Op.26 No.6 (Mélodies persanes, 1870)
- Romance (Deux Romance No.2, 1891)
- Sonnet (Amours, Premier Livre, CLXIX)
- Nuit d'Espagne (1869)
- Sur une tombe (Trois poèmes, No.1 - 1892)
- Violons dans le soir (1907)
- Nocturne (1884)
- Les donneurs de Sérénade (Mandoline) (1901)
- Lied maritime Op.43
- L'heure exquise (Chansons grises, no.5)
Music reviews of Opium: Mélodies francaises
Music Review: Having a good voice does not help Philippe in these repertoire.
Rating: 3 Stars
Melodies francaises - with these, I think we are entering the territory of French art songs.
There are some top countertenors who specialises in art songs or lieder - to name but two outstanding ones, the musically superb Andreas Scholl (who could sing almost ANYTHING for an alto voice), and the quite wonderful male soprano Jorg Waschinski (who has recently released a Schumann lieder album).
As for Mr. Jaroussky, we are much more familiar with his post-renaissance and early baroque vocal repertoire, and he is justly famous for such works.
For a change, he issued this album from romantic and early contemproary composers of his native country.
I have heard some of the works here sung by other sopranos. To measure the success of Jaroussky's performance, one inevitably draws comparison from other soprano performances.
I personally have strong reservations for the ability of a countertenor or male soprano to 'substitute', so to speak, a woman soprano. The reason is simple - the countertenor technique employs a vastly different approach of vocal production from women sopranos. The countertenor focuses almost solely on the head voice, and the volume in this area is inevitably limited, lending very little room for dynamic expressions.
The same old problem certainly soils the performance in these works.
While the limitation in dynamic scope is not as apparent or important in baroque compositions and early music, which are mostly contrapuntal and do not require a vastly dynamic melodic line, in these romantic pieces the lack of a dynamic range rings its toll on even the best male soprano voice.
However, given such limitation, I am inclined to the view that the German counterpart of male soprano Jorg Waschinski is by comparison more able to express the musical requirements in his Schumann album than Jaroussky in this French album. And this is an interpretive and not purely vocal aspect that the serious listener must admit, even by the most ardent Jaroussky fan.
Description of Opium: Mélodies francaises
Acclaimed countertenor Philippe Jaroussky makes the leap from the Baroque to the Belle Époque for this program of French songs. In his company are four of the leading French instrumentalists of the younger generation: Jérôme Ducros, Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon,and Emmanuel Pahud!With over 200,000 sales worldwide, Jaroussky is an international star, and the ethereal, sensuous beauty of his voice lends itself perfectly to the voluptuous, decadent music in these songs -- including a number of rarities by composers such as Dukas, Caplet, and Chaminade, as well as betterknown numbers by figures like Fauré, Chausson, and Hahn.
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