Poulenc: Melodies

This is a fantastic collection. 4CDs of Poulencs "Melodies", over 150 songs. The singers are excellent: Lott, Dubosc and Cachemaille. The pianist Pascal Roge is a real Poulenc specialist. The recording is excellent: the CD was released in 2007 and all the recordings (from the mid 1990s) are well done. Poulenc is the greatest classical song writer of the 20th Century in my book. Imagination, invention, humour - and of course the wonderful lush French harmonies. He is a real descendent of Faure. An added bonus: there is a booklet which includes English translations of ALL of the songs. Happy hours of listening ahead.

The local library had this set - it had been donated. (How did the donor ever part with it?) It mysteriously disappeared about 3 years ago. How have I lived without it? Felicity Lott is an old friend of mine, since I first heard her on the radio explaining about Hugo Wolf and how much he depended on the poet for his musical inspiration. She obviously understands Poulenc just as well. But I am quickly learning to enjoy the variety of different voices in this amazing set.

By the end of 2013 - the 50th anniversary year of Francis Poulenc's death - lovers of the composer's songs should have no fewer than four "intégrales" to choose from, each spearheaded by a distinguished pianist: Dalton Baldwin (EMI), Pascal Rogé (Decca), Malcolm Martineau (Signum) and Graham Johnson (Hyperion). They vary in their idea of "completeness," their choice of voice types and their ordering of the songs.These Decca recordings date from 1992, 1996 and 1998. The programming is odd, and suggests that initially there was no intention of making a comprehensive survey. Thus CD1 is divided between soprano Catherine Dubosc and baritone Gilles Cachemaille; soprano Felicity Lott and baritone François Le Roux each get one CD apiece (CD2 & CD3); and Cachemaille and Le Roux split CD4 (with mezzo-soprano Urzula Kryger dropping by for the Eight Polish Songs). Several paired songs are split up, which is unfortunate, and "Je nommerai ton front" is inexplicably omitted. On the other hand, unlike the pathbreaking EMI set, this one includes the posthumously published songs, as well as "Les Chemins de l'amour" and "Fancy." And the sequencing on each CD, jumping back and forth in time over the whole of Poulenc's career, is effective and carefully thought out.The fact that three of the four major singers are Francophone, and the fourth, Felicity Lott, might as well be, is what sets this edition apart from the other three. Lott and Cachemaille, both artists blessed with beautiful voices, secure techniques, intelligence and refined taste, give excellent accounts of all the songs assigned to them. I find Le Roux uneven: there's no denying his commitment and vivid response to the poetry, but some of the interpretations come across as fussy or jumpy. Dubosc is a bit of a disappointment, especially in light of her excellent Blanche on the Nagano recording of Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites. At her best, she sings simply, cleanly and with an attractive reserve; elsewhere, I find her rather too reticent, and there are a few spots of iffy intonation.Despite these reservations, this is a set I would not be without, especially for Lott and Cachemaille's wonderful contributions, not to mention Rogé's expert and committed playing. Unlike the EMI, this comes with not only French texts but English translations as well.

This box contains all solo songs by Poulenc - in good and very good interpretations by intelligent singers (Cachemaille!) and brillant pianist. All texts included.