¿¿ la lumiere: Saint-Sa¿¿ns, Hahn

by Accentus, Christophe Grapperon, Eloise Bella Kohn

Overview

Is there a more neglected repertory in classical music than the partsongs and songs for small chorus of the Romantic era? In the German neighborhoods of, say, Cleveland in the later 19th century, the partsongs of Schubert would have been common indeed, yet now they are hard to find. The French repertory is, if anything, even more obscure, even though the music performed on this release by the choir Accentus is in no way perfunctory but achieves quite a bit of depth. Sample the intricate title track by Reynaldo Hahn for a taste. Various French composers wrote these works, but the Saint-Saens/Hahn pair is especially effective; the two composers share a common language in this repertory, but Hahn's version is more elaborate. The Saint-Saens songs mostly have the charm that marks his best music. Accentus, here directed not by founder Laurence Equilbey but by Christophe Grapperon, has a reputation for unusual programming, singing, for example, vocal transcriptions of symphonic works. Here, the group sings music in the form it was written, but this is indubitably an original program, and the performances are transcendent. Might this be good enough to add a new strand to the established choral repertory? It just might. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	08/26/2022
Label:	Alpha
UPC:	3760014198649
Rank:	145619

Tracks

1. Romance du soir, Op. 118
2. Choruses (2) for chorus with piano ad lib, Op. 68~1. Calme des nuits
3. Choruses (2) for chorus with piano ad lib, Op. 68~2. Les Fleurs et les arbres
4. Choruses (2), Op. 141~1. Des pas dans l'all¿¿e
5. Saltarelle Op. 74
6. Chansons et madrigaux~Vivons, mignarde! (sur un rythme de Lully)
7. Chansons et madrigaux~Pleurez avec moi!
8. Chansons et madrigaux~Les Fourriers d'¿¿t¿¿
9. L' obscurit¿¿
10. ¿¿ la lumi¿¿re
11. Rondels~No. 1, Le jour
12. Rondels~No. 11, La nuit
13. Aubade ath¿¿nienne

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Accentus   Primary Artist,Choir/Chorus
Christophe Grapperon   Primary Artist,Conductor
Eloise Bella Kohn   Primary Artist,Piano
Didier Martin   Director
Genevieve Cirasse   Alto (Vocals)
Marie Picaut   Soprano (Vocal)

Technical Credits

Guillaume Leplege   Technician
Juliette Journaux   Rehearsal Coach
Mario Le Sergent   Photography
Stephan Etcharry   Liner Notes
Victor Hugo   Text
Camille Saint-Saens   Text,Composer
John Thornley   Liner Note Translation
Valerie Lagarde   Design,Artwork
Reynaldo Hahn   Composer
Jean-Antoine de Baif   Text
Theodore de Banville   Text
Allison Ascrizzi   Post Producer
Anatole France   Text
Charles d'Orleans   Text
Christophe Grapperon   Liner Notes
Cyril Mordant   Piano Technician
Jean-Louis Croze   Text
Agrippa d'Aubigne   Text
Emile Deschamps   Text
Susanne Lowien   Liner Note Translation
Paul Reboux   Text
Maurice Boukay   Text
Jean-Louis Deloncle   Engineer
Amelie Boccon-Gibod   Editorial Coordinator
Aline Lugand-Gris Souris   Artwork,Design
Louise Burel   Producer
Mikael Lafontan   Cover Photo