The Sea - Debussy, Faure, Schubert: Songs / Neven, Eijsackers

Every so often a golden-voiced (or is it bronze?, I’m never sure) baritone comes along, one with intelligent musicianship, an ease with language (both his own and non-native), and good sense about repertoire choices. Henk Neven, a 30-something Dutch singer of recitals, oratorios, and opera, exemplifies all of those things, and he and his pianist partner, Hans Eijsackers, have put together a very fine program. Although the premise is “songs inspired by the sea”, this collection of songs by Debussy, Fauré, and Schubert makes an excellent recital regardless of its theme. Which is a good thing because apart from the texts, there’s nothing musically that joins these works, and if you don’t know the meaning of the texts, you won’t get the Read more “sea” connection. But never mind. Although, with a few notable exceptions, these are songs that don’t usually make the headline lists of recitalists, they are all first rate choices, particularly in regard to their suitability for that golden/bronzed voice that Neven displays so easily, so intelligently throughout the 24 selections. (One irritation: In most cases neither the track listing nor liner notes gives precise catalog information (opus numbers, etc.) for the songs, a detail that should not be presumed to be unimportant to listeners.)

For some reason French repertoire seems to terrify many of today’s song specialists (even French ones!), so we don’t often get to hear gems such as these representative Fauré mélodies (Poème d’un jour Op. 21; L’Horizon chimérique Op. 118; four others); nor do we find Schubert’s “Rückweg”, “Erlafsee”, “Gondelfarhrer”, or “Meeresstille” popping up except on major compilations. Neven has a tone with a true center—no fudging around the registral edges—and he maintains a flowing, facile delivery that never calls attention to any such thing as technical effort. I especially enjoyed his renditions of “Erlafsee” and the Debussy songs (“Beau soir” and three Verlaine settings), but this is overall a real pleasure—and I’ll be looking forward to more journeys from Henk and Hans, wherever they may lead.

-- David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com
Read less

1. Mélodies (3) de Verlaine by Claude Debussy

Performer: Henk Neven (Baritone), Hans Eijsackers (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1891; France

2. Beau soir by Claude Debussy

Performer: Henk Neven (Baritone), Hans Eijsackers (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: circa 1880; France

3. Poème d'un jour, Op. 21 by Gabriel Fauré

Performer: Henk Neven (Baritone), Hans Eijsackers (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1878; France

4. Mélodies (5), Op. 58 "de Venise": no 2, En sourdine by Gabriel Fauré

Performer: Henk Neven (Baritone), Hans Eijsackers (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1891; France

5. Les larmes, Op. 51 no 1 by Gabriel Fauré

Performer: Henk Neven (Baritone), Hans Eijsackers (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1888; France

6. Les berceaux, Op. 23 no 1 by Gabriel Fauré

Performer: Henk Neven (Baritone), Hans Eijsackers (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1879; France

7. La chanson du pêcheur, Op. 4 no 1 by Gabriel Fauré

Performer: Henk Neven (Baritone), Hans Eijsackers (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: ?1872; France

8. L'horizon chimérique, Op. 118 by Gabriel Fauré

Performer: Henk Neven (Baritone), Hans Eijsackers (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1921; France

9. Rückweg, D 476 by Franz Schubert

Performer: Henk Neven (Baritone), Hans Eijsackers (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1816; Vienna, Austria

10. Meerestille, D 216/Op. 3 no 2 by Franz Schubert

Performer: Henk Neven (Baritone), Hans Eijsackers (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1815; Vienna, Austria

11. Gruppe aus dem Tartarus, D 583/Op. 24 no 1 by Franz Schubert