Search - Camille Saint-Saens, Anne-Marie Rodde, Noel Lee :: Camille Saint-Saens: Melodies (Soprano & Piano) (Etcetera)

Charming and often very beautiful

Ingrid Heyn | Melbourne, Australia | 07/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The songs of Saint-Saëns deserve wider acclaim than they have - Saint-Saëns was a highly accomplished composer with a true gift for melody, and it's a shame he is remembered mostly for a handful of pieces such as Danse Macabre and Carnival of the Animals.



The songs are mostly small masterpieces, exhibiting the same gift for truly charming melody that made "Les cygnes" so strongly associated with Saint-Saëns' style. They are not complicated or taxing songs, but as miniatures of French song composition, they are truly delightful.



The singing by French soprano Ann-Marie Rodde is also charming. While not being a world-class interpreter, Ms Rodde's voice is pretty, agile, light and extremely listenable. She is to be applauded for choosing such rarely-recorded repertoire.



I do not consider this a perfect recording, but it is a lovely one. The interpretation is not deep, that is true, but the charm of the repertoire and the often truly delightful singing of Ms Rodde makes this an essential recording for all who love French mélodies."