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Track(s) taken from SIGCD272

Miroirs brûlants, FP98

composer
1938
author of text
Nous sommes and Vertueux solitaire, from Mesures, published 15 July 1938

Sarah Fox (soprano), Malcolm Martineau (piano)
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
CD-Quality:
Studio Master:
CD-Quality:
Studio Master:
Recording details: September 2010
St Michael's Church, Summertown, Oxford, United Kingdom
Produced by John H West
Engineered by Andrew Mellor
Release date: November 2011
Total duration: 5 minutes 29 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

Christopher Maltman (baritone), 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. The team of British singers accompanied by Malcolm Martineau is the same as before, the sopranos tending to outshine the male singers, though Felicity Lott in one or two of her contributions—as for example the Lafanne poems—is not in quite such fresh voice as before, even if the difference is marginal and her artistry and feeling for the French language remain as impressive as ever' (Gramophone)

'This is the third volume in the impressive coverage of all Poulenc's songs masterminded by the superb pianist Malcolm Martineau … the present set any slight piano dominance comes from the sheer character of Martineau's playing. This is immediately effective in the opening group of four Airs chantes, sung with engaging character and immediacy by Sarah Fox. In 'Colloque', which follows, Loma Anderson is joined by Thomas Oliemans, which brings most beautiful singing in a nostalgic love duet' (Gramophone)
Poulenc found the texts for both these songs in Mesures, a review published in a yellow paperback, and dated 15 July 1938. The composer picked it up from the bookshop below his apartment in the Rue de Médicis before embarking on a train journey to Nevers. From there Bernac met him in a car and they drove together to Anost, a town to the west of the Côte d’Or in Burgundy, nestling in the mountains of the Morvan, where Poulenc found he could work with ‘lightness and oxygen’ in the summer break. Four new Éluard poems were printed in Mesures (pp 89–92), the first and the last of which (entitled Nous sommes and Vertueux solitaire) became the Miroirs brûlants—a title later supplied by Éluard. Poulenc was astounded that the sunset described in the poem was exactly that to be seen from his room in Anost.

from notes by Graham Johnson © 2013

Tu vois le feu du soir, coulé dans la forme litanie chère à Éluard, est un autre chant d’amour, un hymne de louange traduit en un rythme doux, aussi immuable que la dévotion du poète. Cette musique dévoile la facette fortement idéaliste de Poulenc: il n’y a pas de place, dans ces mises en musique éluardiennes, pour un caprice désinvolte.

extrait des notes rédigées par Graham Johnson © 1985
Français: Hypérion

Other albums featuring this work

Poulenc: The Complete Songs
CDA68021/44CDs Boxed set (at a special price)
Poulenc: Voyage à Paris
CDH55366
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