Ravel: Rêves

The mélodies presented here were written between 1903 and 1927. They display in exemplary fashion the different facets of the art of Ravelian song. Some malcontents have declared them 'unclassifiable'. In fact, what is striking here is the diversity, the eclecticism, the independence of the composer when he chooses, as encounters and opportunities crop up, to illustrate a poem by Verlaine, to set to music the prose of Jules Renard, or to harmonise a Greek or Hebrew tune.

This footloose stroll through different times and cultures gives us an insight into the composer's inquiring mind, his determination to follow his wishes and desires, without noisily drawing attention to himself, yet tranquilly standing his ground in his personal world while apparently indifferent to the scandals he quite involuntarily provoked. The song texts reflect Ravel's literary culture, his interest in and respect for literature, which had been as Integral a part of his life as music ever since his adolescence, when, in the company of Ricardo Vines (great-great-uncle of Nora Gubisch), he frequented the bookshops and the second-hand booksellers along the Seine.

After musical studies at the Radio France Maîtrise and piano study with Catherine Collard, mezzo-soprano Nora Gubisch was awarded first prize for singing at the Paris Conservatoire, going on to study with Vera Rózsa, who became her principal teacher and mentor. She quickly earned leading rôles with the Paris Opéra, La Scala, Milan, San Francisco Opera, Salzburg, Aix-en-Provence and the BBC Proms. She has been a guest of the Vienna, New York and Munich Philharmonic Orchestras, Dresden Staatskapelle, Orchestre de Paris and London Symphony Orchestra, with conductors including Sir Colin Davis, Lorin Maazel, Georges Prêtre and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. She has formed a duo with pianist and conductor, Alain Altinoglu, now her husband, and has recorded many songs.

Teodora Gheorghiu's second album for Aparte is 'Art Nouveau': the core is Richard Strauss' Op. 22 and 67, framed by a selection of songs from different cultural groups, linguistically and aesthetically. Gheorghiu's homage to 18th-century soprano Anna de Amicis included mostly premiere recordings of arias by Mozart, Gluck, Borghi, Cafaro and Myslivecek and was named Disc of the Month by International Record Review, by Opera magazine, and was BBC Radio Three’s Disc of the Week.

Teodora appears at Glyndebourne this summer, singing the role of Zerbinetta, Strauss again, in a new production of 'Ariadne auf Naxos' with Soile Isokoski. Live broadcast to cinemas and online on 4 June 2013.

The four previous releases that have been combined to form this new 7-CD boxed set were each released by Naïve to mark major exhibitions of the work of the four featured painters, Monet, Chagall, Courbet, and Picasso. Each of these releases was collections of music that was either an inspiration to that particular artist or representative of where and when they produced their greatest work.

28th December 2012 marks the 75th Anniversary of the death of Maurice Ravel, the great French composer, best-known for his beautiful melodies, orchestral & instrumental textures and mesmeric compositional effects.

Many consumers will know Ravel through his masterpieces, such as: Boléro, Pavane pour une infant défunte, Rapsodie espagnole, Gaspard de la nuit, Ma Mère l’oye, Daphnis et Chloë, Le Tombeau de Couperin and La Valse.

For the first time ever, a 14-CD Box Set containing the COMPLETE EDITION of Ravel’s compositions. This is the flagship product, the first time ever that a complete Ravel Box has been issued by any classical label.

In addition to detailed tracklists and artist information to Decca’s high house standard, the 184 page booklet offers full sung texts in original French and with English translation. A 3000-word appreciation of Ravel by Nigel Simeone appears in English, French and German.