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Track(s) taken from SIGCD263

Trois chansons de F García Lorca, FP136

composer
1947
author of text
Canciones 1921-1924
translator of text

Lorna Anderson (soprano), Malcolm Martineau (piano)
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
CD-Quality:
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CD-Quality:
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Recording details: September 2010
St Michael's Church, Summertown, Oxford, United Kingdom
Produced by John H West
Engineered by Andrew Mellor
Release date: May 2011
Total duration: 5 minutes 9 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

Susan Bickley (mezzo-soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Reviews

'This is very much the mixture as before in the first of Signum's projected cycle of the complete Poulenc songs … Lorna Anderson sings delightfully the three Lorca songs, very simple in their lyricism … Felicity Lott demonstres her mastery of French operetta style. Signum again provides excellent notes by Roger Nichols and full texts and translations' (Gramophone)

'This second volume of a projected complete survey of Poulenc's songs 'a delightful prospect' begins with one of his earliest and longest examples, the waltz-song Toreador, which Poulenc described as a caricature of a music-hall song. Christopher Maltman sings it stylishly, with Malcolm Martineau contributing his usual artistry in conjuring a whole world of colours and moods from the piano part … singers score pretty high in their projection and pronunciation of diverse texts, and their all-round musicianship … overall this album is guaranteed to bring hours of pleasure—a must-have for Poulenc fans' (MusicWeb International)» More
Federico García Lorca (1898–1936) was one of the greatest of Spanish poets and playwrights, renowned for his lyrical vision and power. He was born near Granada, and his Andalusian roots (including his friendship with Manuel de Falla and his discovery of the cante jondo) are to be traced in much of his work. He was also a gifted pianist and painter, admired as much for his personality as for his prodigious literary talents. He was murdered by the Nationalists at the outset of the Spanish Civil War, whether on account of his political leanings or homosexuality, or both, is not certain. Without ever having met Lorca personally, Poulenc felt a profound affinity with the Spanish poet and dedicated his Violin Sonata (FP119, 1942) ‘à la mémoire de Federico García Lorca’.

All three of these are early poems by Lorca (in a translation by Félix Gattegno) and were included in Canciones 1921–1924, published in 1927. The section subheadings for each of the poems are: (i) ‘Au delà du monde’, (ii) ‘Andalouse’, and (iii) ‘Chansons pour finir’—indeed, the Chanson de l’oranger sec is the last poem in the collection. ‘What difficulty I have in proving musically my passion for Lorca!’, wrote Poulenc in JdmM. ‘My sonata for violin and piano … is, alas, very mediocre Poulenc, and these three songs are of little importance in my vocal work.’

from notes by Graham Johnson © 2013

Other albums featuring this work

Poulenc: The Complete Songs
CDA68021/44CDs Boxed set (at a special price)
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