This recital includes songs by Fauré, Ravel, Debussy, Poulenc, Honneger and Vuillermoz and was first released in 1999. Karina Gauvin is Canada’s superstar soprano and impressed audiences and critics the world over with her luscious timbre, profound musicality and wide vocal range.
“One of the many joys of this fine disc is the absolute refusal of either singer or accompanist either to wallow in sentiment or to indulge in wayward self-promotion. Karina Gauvin's voice is one of rare beauty, with a high register fully integrated with the middle...Not all virtuoso pianists can accompany sensitively, but Marc-André Hamelin is superb - technically impeccable and with a wide tonal range.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2011 *****
“Karina Gauvin is a remarkable Canadian soprano with a wonderfully fresh and firm voice. Francophone herself, she is ideally suited to sing this ambitious collection of French songs, perfectly supported by pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin...Altogether a most satisfying recital, not just superbly performed but very well recorded, if with the balance slightly favouring the singer.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2011
“If this disc is something of a calling-card...then it highlights on the part of the singer both an evident sympathy with this French repertoire and a sharp musical intelligence at work...hardly surprisingly, Marc-André Hamelin dispatches even the trickiest of all the accompaniments with ease, even nonchalance: this is luxury casting.” International Record Review, April 2011
