Notes and Editorial Reviews
After the initial shock of hearing a countertenor, or male alto, in this fare, the album will grow on you. David Daniels’s instrument ranges from sultry to bright, but always richly textured and superbly controlled. Couched in suavely polished orchestral work spirited up by John Nelson—a deftly marvelous conductor who should be far better known—Daniels turns in an exquisitely expressive Nuits d’été (for once, “Sur les lagunes” is vocally encompassed without forcing at the extremities), a debonair and nuance dimpled Cinq mélodies populaires grecques, and ravishing accounts of the three Fauré mélodies, made irresistible by Gil Shohat’s sumptuous orchestral arrangements. The notion of interspersing vocals
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with orchestral pieces is a winner—if the Ravel and Fauré works are overly familiar, Nelson’s gratifying melding of flair with high finish makes them new. The pantomime from Les Troyens, on the other hand, is caviar to the general. Amid the festivities celebrating the Greeks’ departure, Hector’s widow and son appear to a muted orchestral accompaniment, place a memorial offering on the altar, and step before Priam for his blessing to a long, finely drawn, appassionato clarinet solo of which Jacques Barzun remarked, “Berlioz’ conception, poignantly brief, limns the irrevocable woes of war with greater force and finality than the loudest lament that could be said or sung.” Nelson and clarinetist Richard Vielle capture its haunted, haunting aura. Sound is glowingly immediate and detailed within a spacious aural frame. Different, but superbly accomplished and enthusiastically recommended.
Adrian Corleonis, FANFARE
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Works on This Recording
1.
Les nuits d'été, Op. 7 by Hector Berlioz
Performer:
David Daniels (Countertenor)
Conductor:
John Nelson
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Ensemble Musical de Paris
Period: Romantic
Written: 1840-1841; France
Date of Recording: 07/2003
Venue: Espace de Projection, IRCAM, Paris
Length: 30 Minutes 33 Secs.
Language: French
2.
Les troyens: Andromaque et son fils! by Hector Berlioz
Performer:
Richard Vielle (Clarinet),
David Daniels (Countertenor)
Conductor:
John Nelson
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Ensemble Musical de Paris
Period: Romantic
Written: 1856-1858; France
Date of Recording: 07/2003
Venue: Espace de Projection, IRCAM, Paris
Length: 7 Minutes 28 Secs.
Language: French
3.
Mélodies populaires grecques (5) by Maurice Ravel
Performer:
David Daniels (Countertenor)
Conductor:
John Nelson
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Ensemble Musical de Paris
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1904-1906; France
Length: 7 Minutes 51 Secs.
Language: French
Notes: Composer: Maurice Ravel.
4.
Mélodies (5), Op. 58 "de Venise": no 2, En sourdine by Gabriel Fauré
Performer:
Daniel Arrignon (Oboe),
David Daniels (Countertenor)
Conductor:
John Nelson
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Ensemble Musical de Paris
Period: Romantic
Written: 1891; France
Date of Recording: 07/2003
Venue: Espace de Projection, IRCAM, Paris
Length: 3 Minutes 42 Secs.
Language: French
Notes: Arranger: Gil Shohat.
5.
Mélodies (5), Op. 58 "de Venise": no 1, Mandoline by Gabriel Fauré
Performer:
Daniel Arrignon (Oboe),
David Daniels (Countertenor)
Conductor:
John Nelson
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Ensemble Musical de Paris
Period: Romantic
Written: 1891; France
Date of Recording: 07/2003
Venue: Espace de Projection, IRCAM, Paris
Length: 1 Minutes 50 Secs.
Language: French
Notes: Arranger: Gil Shohat.
6.
Clair de lune, Op. 46 no 2 by Gabriel Fauré
Performer:
David Daniels (Countertenor),
Daniel Arrignon (Oboe)
Conductor:
John Nelson
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Ensemble Musical de Paris
Period: Romantic
Written: 1887; France
Length: 3 Minutes 1 Secs.
Language: French
Notes: Arranger: Gil Shohat.
7.
Elégie for Cello and Piano, Op. 24 by Gabriel Fauré
Performer:
Guillaume Paoletti (Cello)
Conductor:
John Nelson
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Ensemble Musical de Paris
Period: Romantic
Written: 1880; France
Date of Recording: 07/2003
Venue: Espace de Projection, IRCAM, Paris
Length: 7 Minutes 28 Secs.
8.
Pavane pour une infante défunte by Maurice Ravel
Performer:
Daniel Catalanotti (French Horn)
Conductor:
John Nelson
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Ensemble Musical de Paris
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1899; France
Date of Recording: 07/2003
Venue: Espace de Projection, IRCAM, Paris
Length: 6 Minutes 7 Secs.
Notes: Version: 1910
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