Debussy The Forgotten Songs
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Claude Debussy
Label: Sony Classical
Magazine Review Date: 7/1997
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 74
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: SK67190
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Pantomime |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano James Levine, Piano |
| En sourdine |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano James Levine, Piano |
| Mandoline |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano James Levine, Piano |
| Clair de lune |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano James Levine, Piano |
| Fantoches |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano James Levine, Piano |
| Coquetterie posthume |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano James Levine, Piano |
| Silence ineffable |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano James Levine, Piano |
| Musique |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano James Levine, Piano |
| Paysage sentimental |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano James Levine, Piano |
| Voici que le printemps |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano James Levine, Piano |
| (La) Romance d'Ariel |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano James Levine, Piano |
| Regret |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano James Levine, Piano |
| Ariettes oubliées |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano James Levine, Piano |
| (5) Poèmes de Charles Baudelaire |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano James Levine, Piano |
Author: Patrick O'Connor
One doesn’t think of Debussy as being a jolly fellow. Yet the opening song here, Pantomime, with its trilling piano part and images of a harlequinade, immediately takes one to the 19-year-old who composed 12 songs for his friend – many have said lover – Marie-Blanche Vasnier, which are collected together as the Vasnier songbook. Her portrait by Jacques-Emile Blanche is on the reverse of the booklet, and if these songs were tailor-made for her voice, she must have been a remarkable artist. The earlier versions of melodies that Debussy later recomposed on poems by Verlaine (Mandoline, Clair de lune, Fantoches) are all here given a flashier feel, often with high-lying, almost operatic cadenzas to finish off.
The obvious comparison for this disc is the recital by Anne-Maria Rodde, accompanied by Noel Lee (Etcetera, 2/85 – nla) where they included several of these songs, including some with words by Paul Bourget,La romance d’Ariel and Regret. Upshaw is more secure in the flights of coloratura, Rodde more incisive of diction.
The Vasnier songbook dates from 1882-4, Ariettes oubliees from a couple of years later (though they weren’t published together until 1903, when they were dedicated to Mary Garden, the first Melisande, and a very different type of singer). The Baudelaire songs are the latest and it is the longest of these, “Le jet d’eau” which puts the greatest demands on the singer. Is it to sound sad, post-coital, or merely languorous? Certainly the line “En un flot de triste langueur” seems to be the mood that dictates most performances. Upshaw and James Levine go for a fairly slow tempo, “tired but happy” are the words that come to mind – there seems to be nothing troubling this lover, except the sound of the water keeping sleep away. It comes as a bit of a shock to listen to singers of the old school, with less luxurious voices, invest this song with overtones of melancholy, premonition, regret and mystery. (Maggie Teyte, Claire Croiza, Nan Merriman and Gerard Souzay all took their turn in the studio; of course Souzay has the advantage that the words are meant to be said by a man, but he can get more out of the language than any of them – even Croiza.)
Any recital of Debussy is a 50-50 effort, and Levine’s contribution here is very fine. He and Upshaw seem to be placed rather far apart, with her closely recorded, almost like a pop singer. I’m not sure that this helps her. Obviously, as a way of getting to know some very unusual Debussy songs – the Vasnier songbook is done with feeling and ravishing sound – this is a recommendation. But in the later, very well-known and frequently recorded Ariettes oubliees and Baudelaire melodies, I found myself wanting what Maggie Teyte called “more weight to the enunciation of the words” and less to the resonance of the notes. But of course it’s a lovely voice and Upshaw’s admirers won’t be disappointed.'
The obvious comparison for this disc is the recital by Anne-Maria Rodde, accompanied by Noel Lee (Etcetera, 2/85 – nla) where they included several of these songs, including some with words by Paul Bourget,
The Vasnier songbook dates from 1882-4, Ariettes oubliees from a couple of years later (though they weren’t published together until 1903, when they were dedicated to Mary Garden, the first Melisande, and a very different type of singer). The Baudelaire songs are the latest and it is the longest of these, “Le jet d’eau” which puts the greatest demands on the singer. Is it to sound sad, post-coital, or merely languorous? Certainly the line “En un flot de triste langueur” seems to be the mood that dictates most performances. Upshaw and James Levine go for a fairly slow tempo, “tired but happy” are the words that come to mind – there seems to be nothing troubling this lover, except the sound of the water keeping sleep away. It comes as a bit of a shock to listen to singers of the old school, with less luxurious voices, invest this song with overtones of melancholy, premonition, regret and mystery. (Maggie Teyte, Claire Croiza, Nan Merriman and Gerard Souzay all took their turn in the studio; of course Souzay has the advantage that the words are meant to be said by a man, but he can get more out of the language than any of them – even Croiza.)
Any recital of Debussy is a 50-50 effort, and Levine’s contribution here is very fine. He and Upshaw seem to be placed rather far apart, with her closely recorded, almost like a pop singer. I’m not sure that this helps her. Obviously, as a way of getting to know some very unusual Debussy songs – the Vasnier songbook is done with feeling and ravishing sound – this is a recommendation. But in the later, very well-known and frequently recorded Ariettes oubliees and Baudelaire melodies, I found myself wanting what Maggie Teyte called “more weight to the enunciation of the words” and less to the resonance of the notes. But of course it’s a lovely voice and Upshaw’s admirers won’t be disappointed.'
Debussy The Forgotten Songs
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