Claude Debussy - Mélodies (Karthäuser; Degout; Asti; Planès)

Information

Composer: Claude Debussy

CD1

1. Nuit d'étoiles
2. Trois Mélodies: 1. La mer est plus belle que les cathédrales
3. Trois Mélodies: 2. Le son du cor s'afflige vers les bois
4. Trois Mélodies: 3. L’échelonnement des haies moutonne à l'infini
5. Mandoline, L. 29
6. Fêtes galantes Livre I: 1. En sourdine (2e version)
7. Fêtes galantes Livre I: 2. Fantoches (2e version)
8. Fêtes galantes Livre I: 3. Clair de lune (2e version)
9. Fêtes galantes Livre II: 1. Les Ingénus
10. Fêtes galantes Livre II: 2. Le Faune
11. Fêtes galantes Livre II: 3. Colloque sentimental
12. Images oubliées, suite: 2. Sarabande
13. Chansons de Bilitis: 1. La Flûte de Pan
14. Chansons de Bilitis: 2. La Chevelure
15. Chansons de Bilitis: 3. Le Tombeau des naïades
16. Trois Chansons de France: 1. Rondel, Le temps a laissé son manteau
17. Trois Chansons de France: 2. La Grotte
18. Trois Chansons de France: 3. Rondel, Pour ce que Plaisance est morte
19. Trois Ballades de François Villon: 1. Ballade de Villon à s'amye
20. Trois Ballades de François Villon: 2. Ballade que Villon feit à la requeste de sa mère pour prier Nostre-Dame
21. Trois Ballades de François Villon: 3. Ballade des femmes de Paris

CD2

1. Romance, L'âme évaporée
2. Les Cloches
3. Les Angélus
4. Dans le jardin
5. Images oubliées, suite: 1. Lent
6. Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé: 1. Soupir
7. Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé: 2. Placet futile
8. Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé: 3. Éventail
9. Beau Soir
10. Romance, Voici que le printemps
11. Paysage sentimental
12. Images oubliées, suite: 3. Quelques aspects de "Nous n'irons plus au bois"
13. Fleurs des blés
14. La Belle au bois dormant
15. Le Promenoir des deux amants: 1. Auprès de cette grotte sombre
16. Le Promenoir des deux amants: 2. Crois mon conseil, chère Climène
17. Le Promenoir des deux amants: 3. Je tremble en voyant ton visage
18. Les soirs illuminés par l'ardeur du charbon
19. Cinq Poèmes de Charles Baudelaire: 1. Le Balcon
20. Cinq Poèmes de Charles Baudelaire: 2. Harmonie du soir
21. Cinq Poèmes de Charles Baudelaire: 3. Le Jet d'eau
22. Cinq Poèmes de Charles Baudelaire: 4. Recueillement
23. Cinq Poèmes de Charles Baudelaire: 5. La Mort des amants

Sophie Karthäuser, soprano

Stéphane Degout, baritone

Eugene Asti, piano

Alain Planès, piano

Date: 2018

Label: harmonia mundi

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Review

Harmonia Mundi has decided to mark the centenary of Debussy’s death this year not by issuing a bumper box of everything he ever composed but simply by inviting artists on its roster to record works they wanted to a record. This attempt to ‘exalt the father of modern music’ has led to an eclectic mix of discs – I particularly enjoyed Alexander Melnikov’s second book of Préludes and the two-piano transcription of La mer (8/18). This new two-disc addition to the series, under the title ‘Harmonie du soir’, is the only one to feature vocal music.

The Belgian soprano Sophie Karthäuser and French baritone Stéphane Degout share a delicious recital, accompanied by Eugene Asti and Alain Planès respectively. There are songs inspired by two of Debussy’s lovers, Marie Vasnier and Emma Bardac, but this is also a programme which celebrates his love for the poetry of Paul Verlaine, Paul Borget, Stéphane Mallarmé and Charles Baudelaire. Several sets of songs are included, each taken by one singer alone. So of the two sets of Verlaine’s Fêtes galantes, Karthäuser takes the earlier set (in its revised form), including a rapturous ‘En sourdine’, Degout taking the later set, composed in 1904 after he fell head over heels in love with Emma Bardac.

Karthäuser’s dewy soprano is light and fresh and she floats lines in ‘Le tombeau des naïades’ with ease. ‘Beau soir’ is almost sung on a half-breath. Degout is a singer of pure class. He has recorded six of these songs before (a recital on Naïve, 4/11), since when his high baritone has darkened. It’s now a touch more oaken (he said farewell to Pelléas recently and undertook his first Verdi role – Rodrigue – this year in Lyon) but it’s still an elegant, polished instrument. ‘Soupir’, the first of the Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé, is gorgeously sung, bathed in autumnal melancholy.

The only significant set of songs missing (but surely not forgotten!) are the Ariettes oubliées, although Alain Planès plays the three Images oubliées in brief piano solos which act as occasional instrumental palate cleansers. Planès – whose terrific Harmonia Mundi set of Debussy’s complete works for solo piano, many on period instruments, is a treasure of my collection – plays exquisitely, both here and when partnering Degout. Asti is no less wonderful, a winning light touch to his guitar-strumming in ‘Mandoline’, while his phrasing in ‘La flûte de Pan’ is especially limpid. Two blissful hours from four winning advocates for Debussy.

— Mark Pullinger

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Claude Debussy (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer who was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His orchestral works include Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (1894), Nocturnes (1897–1899), Images (1905–1912), and La mer (1903–1905). His piano works include sets of 24 Préludes and 12 Études. Throughout his career Debussy also wrote mélodies based on a wide variety of poetry, including his own. His works have strongly influenced a wide range of composers including Béla Bartók, Olivier Messiaen, George Benjamin, and the jazz musician Bill Evans.

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Sophie Karthäuser (born May 1974) is a Belgian soprano. Trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under Noelle Barker, she gained early acclaim performing roles such as Pamina and Susanna with renowned conductors including René Jacobs and William Christie. Her career spans leading opera houses and festivals across Europe, with notable performances in works by Mozart, Handel, Rameau and Berlioz. Karthäuser is also a distinguished recitalist and concert soloist, collaborating with major orchestras and conductors worldwide. In addition to her stage success, she has released numerous award-winning recordings.

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Stéphane Degout (born 9 June 1975 in Bourg-en-Bresse) is a French baritone. A graduate of the Lyon National Music Conservatoire and former member of the Lyon Opera's Lyric Workshop, he gained international recognition after his debut as Papageno at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence. He also attended master classes of Régine Crespin and Gundula Janowitz, among others. Degout has since performed at major opera houses worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera and La Scala. Acclaimed for roles such as Pelléas, Hamlet and Count Almaviva, he is also noted for his expressive recital performances.

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