Notes and Editorial Reviews
BERLIOZ
Mélodies irlandaises:
La belle voyageuse;
2,6
Chant sacre;
3,5,6
Hélène.
5,6
La captive.
2,6
La jeune pâtre Breton.
1,6
Zaïde.
1,6
Sara la baigneuse.
2,6
Tristia:
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class="ARIAL12i">Méditation religieuse; La mort d’Ophélie; Marche funèbre pour la dernière scène d’Hamlet.
5,6
Le ballet des ombres
4,5
•
Sylvain Cambreling, cond; Laura Aikin (sop);
1
Lani Poulson (mez);
2
Alexander Yudenkov (ten);
3
Florian Hölscher (pn);
4
Southwest German R Vocal Ens Stuttgart;
5
Southwest German RSO Baden-Baden/Freiburg
6
•
HÄNSSLER 93.210 (61:24)
Berlioz’s seldom heard arrangement of
Sara la baigneuse
for two female voices is a piquant novelty, while everything else in Cambreling’s program has appeared on CDs before, occasionally several times. The
Tristia
collection, for instance, has become a favorite, recorded as a pendent to John Eliot Gardiner’s tilt at
Harold en Italie
, Boulez’s
Fantastique
, and Dutoit’s
Fantastique/Lélio
(Decca 458 011,
Fanfare
25:4), to say nothing of Plasson’s go, in a fine collection of choral works and cantatas (EMI 57499,
Fanfare
27: 5), or the classic performances of Sir Colin Davis. Dutoit finds more emotional depth in these pieces than does Cambreling, lending the “Marche funèbre pour la dernière scène d’Hamlet,” for instance, a somber dignity scanted in other tilts, where Horatio’s direction to bear Hamlet’s corpse to the stage is seemingly accomplished in track shoes.
Chez
Cambreling, we trade dignity for dramatics, quite effective, whatever else one may feel about it.
Le ballet des ombres
is an anomaly—the only piece lacking an orchestration. Its lagging tempo is a creepy-crawly take on the macabre, where Bernard Tetu’s rendering, in a pioneering and divinatory collection of Berlioz’s choral fare with piano accompaniment from two decades ago, spooks up a surer
frisson
at a skipping gait (Harmonia Mundi 901293,
Fanfare
13:2). Which is to say that if you’ve collected this fare, you’re probably sitting on favorite readings that these may rival but not always eclipse. On the other hand, these are serviceable performances given with straightforward commitment, graced with fresh young voices, and couched in close, crisply detailed, gutsy sound. The only false note is the absence of English translations—liner copy was felt worthy of English translation but the poems are given in French and German only. How odd. Recommended, anyway.
FANFARE: Adrian Corleonis
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Works on This Recording
1.
Mélodies irlandaises, Op. 2: no 4, La belle voyageuse by Hector Berlioz
Performer:
Laura Aikin (Soprano),
Lani Poulson (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Sylvain Cambreling
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Baden-Baden Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Stuttgart Southwest German Radio Vocal Ensemble
Period: Romantic
2.
La captive, Op. 12 by Hector Berlioz
Performer:
Laura Aikin (Soprano),
Lani Poulson (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Sylvain Cambreling
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Baden-Baden Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Stuttgart Southwest German Radio Vocal Ensemble
Period: Romantic
Written: 1832; France
3.
Le jeune pâtre breton, Op. 13 no 4 by Hector Berlioz
Performer:
Laura Aikin (Soprano),
Lani Poulson (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Sylvain Cambreling
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Baden-Baden Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Stuttgart Southwest German Radio Vocal Ensemble
Period: Romantic
Written: 1833; France
4.
Zaïde, Op. 19 no 1 by Hector Berlioz
Performer:
Laura Aikin (Soprano),
Lani Poulson (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Sylvain Cambreling
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Baden-Baden Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Stuttgart Southwest German Radio Vocal Ensemble
Period: Romantic
Written: 1845; France
5.
Sara la baigneuse, Op. 11 by Hector Berlioz
Performer:
Laura Aikin (Soprano),
Lani Poulson (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Sylvain Cambreling
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Baden-Baden Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Stuttgart Southwest German Radio Vocal Ensemble
Period: Romantic
Written: 1834/1850; France
6.
Tristia, Op. 18 by Hector Berlioz
Performer:
Laura Aikin (Soprano),
Lani Poulson (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Sylvain Cambreling
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Baden-Baden Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Stuttgart Southwest German Radio Vocal Ensemble
Period: Romantic
Written: 1831/1848; France
7.
Mélodies irlandaises, Op. 2: no 6, Chant sacré by Hector Berlioz
Performer:
Laura Aikin (Soprano),
Lani Poulson (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Sylvain Cambreling
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Baden-Baden Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Stuttgart Southwest German Radio Vocal Ensemble
Period: Romantic
8.
Mélodies irlandaises, Op. 2: no 2, Hélène by Hector Berlioz
Performer:
Laura Aikin (Soprano),
Lani Poulson (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Sylvain Cambreling
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Baden-Baden Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Stuttgart Southwest German Radio Vocal Ensemble
Period: Romantic
9.
Le ballet des ombres, Op. 2 by Hector Berlioz
Performer:
Laura Aikin (Soprano),
Lani Poulson (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Sylvain Cambreling
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Baden-Baden Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Stuttgart Southwest German Radio Vocal Ensemble
Period: Romantic
Written: 1828; France
Sound Samples
9 Melodies, Op. 2, "Irlande": No. 4. La Belle Voyageuse
La captive, orientale, Op. 12: La captive, Op. 12
Le jeune patre breton, Op. 13, No. 4: Fleurs des landes, Op. 13: No. 4. Le Jeune Patre Breton
Feuillets d'album, Op. 19: No. 1. Zaide (version for soprano and orchestra)
Sara la baigneuse, Op. 11
Tristia, Op. 18: No. 1. Meditation religieuse
Tristia, Op. 18: No. 2. La mort d'Ophelie
Tristia, Op. 18: No. 3. Marche funebre pour la derniere scene d'Hamlet
9 Melodies, Op. 2, "Irlande": No. 6. Chant sacre
9 Melodies, Op. 2, "Irlande": No. 2. Helene
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