Benjamin Godard - Mélodies (Tassis Christoyannis; Jeff Cohen)

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Composer: Benjamin Godard

1. Te souviens-tu
2. Le banc de pierre
3. Je ne veux pas d'autres choses
4. Dieu, qui sourit et qui donne
5. Jacotte
6. Six Fables de La Fontaine: La Laitière et le Pot-au-lait
7. Six Fables de La Fontaine: La Cigale et la Foumi
8. Six Fables de La Fontaine: Le Renard et le Corbeau
9. Six Fables de La Fontaine: Le Coche et la Mouche
10. Six Fables de La Fontaine: Le Renard et les Raisins
11. Six Fables de La Fontaine: Le Rat de ville et le Rat des champs
12. L'Invitation au voyage
13. Les Adieux du berger
14. Elle
15. Chanson du berger
16. Nouvelles Chansons du vieux temps: Suis-je belle ?
17. Nouvelles Chansons du vieux temps: Printemps
18. Nouvelles Chansons du vieux temps: Menuet
19. Nouvelles Chansons du vieux temps: Chanson de Malherbe
20. Nouvelles Chansons du vieux temps: Vaudeville
21. Nouvelles Chansons du vieux temps: J'ai perdu ma tourterelle
22. Printemps
23. Guitare
24. Chanson
25. Le Ménétrier
26. Message

Tassis Christoyannis, baritone

Jeff Cohen, piano

Date: 2016

Label: Aparté / Palazzetto Bru Zane

https://bru-zane.com/en/pubblicazione/melodies-5/

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Review

Tassis Christoyannis and Jeff Cohen’s Benjamin Godard album forms a sequel to their surveys of Félicien David and Edouard Lalo (2/16) as part of Aparté’s series, ongoing one hopes, devoted to the lesser-known 19th-century French song composers. Godard (1849 95) was prolific in the genre, producing over 160 mélodies in the course of his shortish career. Most were written before 1876, when he began to gravitate towards larger forms.

Wary of the Wagnerism that infiltrated French music from the 1860s onwards, Godard was something of a traditionalist, in the best sense of the word, preferring strophic forms over experimental word-setting. He was a wonderful melodist, always allowing the vocal line to carry the primary meaning, and his accompaniments, telling if uncomplicated, became more sparse with time: among his last songs ‘Message’, with which the recital closes, supports the singer with the barest of arpeggiated chords.

The two cycles round which the disc is structured – the Six Fables de La Fontaine (1872) and the Nouvelles chansons du vieux temps (1874) – recall French 17th-century and Renaissance traditions respectively, both in choice of text and musical allusion. Elsewhere, a discreet eroticism prevails in his choice of Romantic poets, Victor Hugo above all, though he also attempted a setting of Baudelaire’s ‘L’invitation au voyage’, very different from Duparc’s more familiar version, both in its urgency of mood and its avoidance of chromatic density.

Christoyannis is superb throughout. He proves a natural story-teller in the La Fontaine fables, with each of the characters, animal or human, subtly yet sharply delineated. The Nouvelles chansons glitter with elegance and bawdy wit and his intimate, caressing way with the Hugo and Baudelaire settings is utterly captivating and at times very sexual. Cohen has less chance to shine but plays everything with admirable limpidity and poise. Genuine charm is a rare quality, but it’s one that Godard and Christoyannis possess in spades. A beautiful disc, highly recommended.

-- Tim Ashley, Gramophone

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Benjamin Godard (18 August 1849 – 10 January 1895) was a French violinist and composer. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris under Henri Vieuxtemps (violin) and Napoléon Henri Reber (harmony). Godard's long list of works includes eight operas, five symphonies, two piano concertos, three string quartets, four sonatas for violin and piano, a sonata for cello and piano, two piano trios, and various other orchestral works. Godard was opposed to the music of Richard Wagner and also highly critical of Wagner's antisemitism. His style was more in tune with those of Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Godard

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Tassis Christoyannis (born Piraeus , 1967) is a Greek operatic baritone. He studied conducting and composing at the Athens Conservatory and singing with Aldo Protti, winning the Aldo Protti Gold Medal in 1994. Since 1989 he has been singing with the Greek National Opera, at the Athens Concert Hall and at the most prestigious theatres worldwide. In addition to operatic roles he is known for his recordings of French melodies with American pianist Jeff Cohen, primarily for the Palazzetto Bru Zane and Aparté. Since February 2024 he has been artistic director of Olympia City Music Theatre “Maria Callas”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tassis_Christoyannis

https://www.nationalopera.gr/en/syntelestes/item/1866-tassis-christoyannis

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