Mélodies - Mozart - Brummel - Malvina - Pastorale de noël - 7 CD

Description

Who would think to count Reynaldo Hahn, composer, pianist, conductor, music critic and figure of the literary and artistic world of the Belle Epoque, among the Great Voices of this century? No one, certainly, and the man himself least of all. Far too knowledgeable to be taken in by the honor that the famous “His Master’s Voice, Record of Singing” collection will reserve for him, by placing him alongside George Thill, César Vezzani and Vanni-Marcoux, in the company, it is true, of Yvonne Printemps, the delightful interpreter of his Mozart. Listening to the two arias from Offenbach’s “La Boulangère a des écus” chosen by the English publisher, a careful ear will indeed be sensitive to the rare quality of his fine delivery, rhythmic precision and the chic of this natural, sprightly singing. It will also notice the slenderness of this discreetly tenor-like voice, that of a light baryton Martin. Yet this singer, sketched by Cocteau while he performs, cigarette at his lips and accompanying himself at the piano, Chabrier’s L’Ile Heureuse, must have played his part in the vocal concert of the time for his name to reappear regularly under the pen of the best French or foreign music writers. The latter, such as Rodolfo Celletti, certainly revere the theorist of singing more than the practitioner, the composer more than the performer, and on occasion the conductor. This record has no other ambition than to show how much these different faces of the artist are one and the same. Listening to these miraculous recordings where popular art stands alongside the sweetest salon gems, and whose lesson continues through those of Guy Ferrant, the friend and disciple, the sensitive listener will gather with emotion the vocal testament of an artist whose infinite plurality of gifts has not finished being rediscovered. Before going on to discover an instrumental output and countless writings of equal richness. Jean CABOURG