Hahn, R: Nocturne

“It all began with Berlioz' Nuits d’été. The first time I sang this cycle I was struck by the power yet gentleness that these pieces emanate. Berlioz originally composed his work for voice and piano and I decided to champion that version for the fine chamber relationship it permits. We have aimed to convey all the intimacy of these songs, attempting extreme dynamics, passages almost in recitative, while retaining the lyricism of Berlioz's work. The next step was to find more treasures with a similar nocturnal setting. So Johanne Ralambondrainy and I, who have long been accomplices, went through the collections, discovering or rediscovering songs that appealed to us, then whittling those down to the ones we felt were absolutely essential. In some cases we have taken the liberty of removing mélodies from the cycle to which they normally belong. We have thus brought together composers we love and mélodies we find exciting and original… Finally, I asked Christian Pageault, an actor I particularly appreciate for his precision and dramatic intensity, to join me as narrator, reciting some parts of the poems. The texts you will hear were with me constantly as an inspiration throughout the conception and realisation of this project.” Isabelle Druet

This CD features a particular type of French song. All the "romances" were written after 1830 and include songs by Gounod, Bizet, Massenet, Fauré, Hahn and Poulenc. The Belgian bass-baritone Werner van Mechelen is a highly versatile artist and is particularly drawn to the lied genre.