Search - Gabriel Faure, Dalton Baldwin, Gérard Souzay :: Fauré: Mélodies

Limpid, refined, elegant music.

John Austin | Kangaroo Ground, Australia | 04/04/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This famous set provides on 4 CDs the complete songs (mélodies, he preferred to call them) by Faure. They are entrusted to the native French baritone, the Dutch soprano, and their accompanist Dalton Baldwin, and were recorded in the early 1970s. The set is not inexpensive, so I shall try to outline its merits. The music itself is enthralling. Faure set, over a period of sixty years, texts by French poets. Limpid, refined, elegant music, it repays repetition and close listening. One reviewer has suggested that no listener will want to listen to umpteen of these mélodies in one sitting, but I have never had too much of them. If slow tempi and arpeggio accompaniments begin to pall, listen to "Nell" (CD 2, Track 4). The performers satisfy on all counts. Souzay's contribution reflect a life time's association with the music, and a tradition that goes back through his teachers to the time of Faure himself. His definitive version of "La bonne Chanson" is especially fine. If his style is more suited to the impassioned, ardent items, it balances well with the cooler, more detached singing of Elly Ameling. So that you will not be disappointed, I should also mention that translations of the texts are not provided. I also wish that the balance had been better engineered. Sometimes Souzay seems to have the microphone in his mouth, and always the piano seems too distant. These are but minor flaws, however, in a long necklace of priceless pearls."

Elly Ameling steals the show

John Austin | 02/04/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a collection I keep close to my CD player. Because it is comprehensive, you can listen to Faure develop his songcraft into stranger and richer and more wonderful harmonic territory. First his songs are simple and charming, but they become increasingly demanding and spare -- and yet, because his counterpoint is always clear, they never become impossible to follow, just... surprising. To convey musical development like this convincingly, a collection needs versatile singers and a walking encyclopedia of piano technique. Incredibly, this is what this collection almost always brings forward -- "almost" because while Souzay does the early, brooding, romantic stuff well, he is far less convincing in the later work, which seems to require a certain detachment. Elly Ameling is exquisite across the board in this respect, and it is her contributions to this project that make it worth every last penny. Her control, pitch, range, and emotional sensitivity are so beautiful you can hardly bear it. On each of these four, full discs, you're likely to find a half a dozen favorites on each. Take a long walk in the garden of this unfortunately neglected master."

Le parfum d'extase

Ingrid Heyn | Melbourne, Australia | 05/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 4-CD set receives five stars from me in spite of some flaws. I'll outline those flaws first.



Firstly (a flaw to me, perhaps not to others), I'm not very fond of Gérard Souzay's voice and vocal approach. He frequently sounds blustery and the timbre does not really appeal to me. Yet his commitment to these beautiful songs is impeccable, and he has a wealth of experience, beautifully authentic French (of course!) and occasionally the singing is very effective indeed. I agree that the "La bonne chanson" set is sensitive and moving - it's Souzay at his best. But in general... Souzay is not one of my favourite baritones.



Secondly, as other reviews have mentioned, no translations are included. However, the full text of each song is contained in the accompanying booklet, and for those who don't read French well enough to translate, there are translations on-line of all of the poems set by Fauré. I agree this is not an ideal solution, and that the boxed set would have been improved by translations.



Thirdly, one is sometimes overwhelmed by the balance of the voice compared to that of the piano - this is particularly noticeable in Souzay's singing. However, the piano is still audible. The solution is mostly to turn down the volume for one or two tracks.



Let me now explain why, in spite of the above faults, I still consider this a superb set.



Firstly, the truly lovely singing of Elly Ameling. What a gloriously pretty sound - and I mean "pretty" without any denigration whatsoever. It's not JUST pretty - it's beautiful as well. This is a lovely gleaming sound, perfectly placed, and with a wealth of intrinsic and elegant interpretation that is native to Elly Ameling's singing. She's a miracle - no matter what she sings, it sounds "sung in" and perfectly understood, perfectly interpreted. (I admit Ms Ameling's French is slightly accented at times, but it's completely understandable and very good. It doesn't impair the performance of these songs at all.)



Secondly, Dalton Baldwin's playing is sensitive and impassioned in turns - always lyrical, always attuned to the requirements of each song. What a huge amount of work must have gone into this mammoth 4-CD task!



Thirdly, these vocal compositions are exquisite. Several of them are justly famous as works of genius, and fall so delightfully upon the ear that it seems they have always existed, perfect and full of wonder... that Fauré plucked them out of semi-existence to give them reality.



Fourthly... it's 4CDs of Fauré's vocal works. For those who love French vocal music, it's an extravagant delight to have such a thorough and wide-ranging collection. For singing students, how marvellous to have such a collection to hand to help when choosing songs. For fellow singers, what joy to have all of these songs in such a fine collection in order to note details and particularly admirable points.



In short - this is a set I wouldn't be without. While it's not flawless, it's full of delights. Ameling's singing of "La rose" is one of the highlights, and Fauré's three exquisite duets are all represented here. Highly recommended."