Fauré: Clair de Lune, Op. 46 No. 2

Described by the New York Times as “one of America’s finest artists and singers,” Frederica von Stade continues to be extolled as one of the music world’s most beloved figures. Known to family, friends, and fans by her nickname “Flicka,” the mezzo-soprano has enriched the world of classical music for three decades. This release highlights the iconic recordings of Faure Melodies with Jean-Philippe Collard and Melisande's Song from Faure's Pelleas et Melisande with Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse under Michel Plasson.

Compelling for her intensity and integrity as much as for her unmistakeable voice, Dame Janet Baker struck a distinctive path as a performer, primarily on the concert and recital stage. Among her most celebrated recordings are her interpretations of Elgar with Sir John Barbirolli, here complemented by songs and oratorio arias by composers such as Bach, Handel, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Mahler, Strauss, Fauré, Vaughan Williams and Britten.

“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

Teresa Berganza is undoubtedly one of the greatest Spanish singers of the 20th century. She enchanted audiences in opera houses around the world. Throughout her career, she would give recitals of songs, especially the songs of her homeland. This recital includes songs by Haydn, Fauré, Respighi, Braga and Rossini.

Dame Felicity Lott, revered British soprano, says of this CD:

“ Summertime also has many of my favourite songs in English, French and German. We made the CD at a friend`s house, and the sessions were so relaxed, with no London traffic to cause endless retakes! It`s a real mix of beautiful songs of all kinds, on a summer theme. I chose songs I loved, from Gershwin to Christopher Robin….

Three centuries of song are represented here, and, as BBC Music Magazine's Hilary Finch put it “such is the skill of Johnson's programming that the entire recital seems to be a single, sustained exhalation of rapture and reflection”

She went on to say:

The upper reaches of Lott's still gleaming soprano inhabit Barber's 'Shining Night' and Fauré's Clair de lune'. And her robust English version of Schubert's 'Who is Sylvia?' finds an irresistible companion in Arne's 'Where the Bee Sucks', with its veritable midsummer night's dream of an accompaniment from Johnson. The artists' palpable sense of joy and well-being gathers momentum as they visit Berlioz's 'L'île inconnue' and as they sing on the water with Schubert. . . . And Lott and Johnson know well that the only way to face sentiment is to acknowledge its own integrity, as they do when they listen to Haydn Wood's 'Little Brown Bird' and eavesdrop with Fraser-Simson on Christopher Robin saying his prayers.

This CD features songs from a great variety of composers - Gershwin, Barber, Cole Porter, Bernstein, Brahms, Schubert, Arne, Schumann, Berlioz, and many more. A full 29 tracks of summer-themed songs!