Chants D'auvergne 2

Véronique Gens (soprano) & Orchestre National de Lille, Serge Baudo

Sinds zijn dood in 1957 is Canteloube wijd en zijd bekend geworden door zijn vele volksliedbewerkingen, met name de betoverende Chants d'Auvergne. Deze tweede Canteloube CD met Véronique Gens, zelf afkomstig uit de Auvergne, completeert de Naxos cyclus van de complete Chants d'Auvergne begeleid door volledig orkest. Het bevat ook twee zelden uitgevoerde werken: uittreksels uit Chants de France, een andere bloemlezing van volksliedjes die vervolgens geharmoniseerd en georkestreerd zijn, en de Triptyque, drie prachtige zettingen die het waard zijn te worden gerangschikt naast de grootste liederen van Chausson en Ravel. Deel 1 van de Chants d'Auvergne is verkrijgbaar op Naxos 8.557491.

Canteloube:
 Chants de France (Selection)
 Songs of the Auvergne (selection)
 Triptyque

"In her second volume, including 'Chut, Chut' and 'Lo Fiolairé', Véronique Gens does more than confirm her credentials. The voice is bright, forward, notably clear in diction and lightly responsive to nuance, backed by prominent woodwind and lean strings."
BBC Music Magazine - November 2007 ****

"For her second CD devoted to Joseph Canteloube's vocal music, Véronique Gens has looked beyond the celebrated, much-recorded Chantsd'Auvergne, and back to Tryptique, composed in 1913. Canteloube dedicated this to Maggie Teyte but the First World War interrupted its progress, and it was not until 1923 that Jane Campredon gave the premiere, with the Colonne orchestra conducted by Gabriel Pierné. A setting of three poems by Roger Frêne, its lush, not to say extravagant orchestration anticipates Canteloube's later folksong settings. The influence of both Ravel and Debussy is obvious, maybe also Stravinsky (it was, after all, the year of The Rite of Spring). The first section, 'Offrande à l'été' is an ardent love song, with some pretty giddy scoring for harps. The central 'Lunaire' has a more mysterious, yearning feel, with a lovely little dissonance at the word 'cendre', as the poet imagines the leaves turning to ash. The finale, 'Hymne dans l'aurore' is an ecstatic prayer to Pan, celebrating every wonder of nature. The final cry, 'Mon âme s'ouvre ainsi qu'une aube étincellante! O Pan!' is marked in the score crescendo en grandissant, and Gens, Serge Baudo and the Lille orchestra rise to the moment with splendid force. It is really surprising that this work has not become better known; any soprano wanting to look beyond the obvious repertory should welcome it. The rest of the disc is taken up with those remaining Auvergne songs not included on the earlier issue, conducted by Jean-Claude Casadesus. Once again, Gens proves that an authentic knowledge of the dialect is a great advantage. The much later group from Chants de France makes a pleasant end to the recital, but it is Tryptique that has to be heard."
Gramophone - Classical Music Guide 2010