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Track(s) taken from CDA67333

Les matelots, Op 2 No 2

First line:
Sur l’eau bleue et profonde
composer
c1870, Op 2 No 2, ‘À Madame Edouard Lalo’, Hamelle: First Collection p15, E flat major (original key) 3/4 Tempo animato quasi Allegro
author of text

Christopher Maltman (baritone), Graham Johnson (piano)
Recording details: January 2004
All Saints' Church, East Finchley, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: January 2005
Total duration: 1 minutes 26 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

John Chest (baritone), Malcolm Martineau (piano)

Reviews

‘Hyperion's sound is impeccable and in both his playing and accompanying essay, Graham Johnson penetrates to the heart of one of music's most subtle and enigmatic geniuses’ (Gramophone)

‘There can be nothing but praise for Johnson's pianism and his selection and arrangement of the songs. Volumes 3 and 4 are eagerly awaited’ (The Sunday Telegraph)

‘Johnson's own fluent playing finds the right tempo for each song, and his booklet notes are invaluable. Those who already love a handful of Fauré's songs will make many worthwhile discoveries here’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘It sounds as if Hyperion is inviting us to embark on what will become a deeply satisfying voyage’ (International Record Review)

‘A dozen individual songs on aqueous themes are shared by a distinguished line-up of mostly British singers. As ever in Hyperion's song surveys, the piano accompaniments and the written documentation are immaculately presented by Graham Johnson’ (The Guardian)

‘Johnson's vignette-studded notes, encompassing the poems with idiomatic translations, make a consistently engaging cornucopia worth at least the price of admission and whose wide-ranging erudition will afford surprises even to close students of the period’ (Fanfare, USA)
This is a song of transition as Fauré’s early romance style begins to merge with the greater depths of the mélodie. The music seems influenced by Soirée en mer (1862), a Victor Hugo setting by Fauré’s teacher, Camille Saint-Saëns. Les matelots is more vigorous, but both songs are powered by undulating triplets which reflect the fathomless motion of the sea. The subtle, and sometimes unexpected, harmonic shadings in these restless quavers enliven the potential monotony of the accompaniment; in this roving harmony we can savour the sailors’ love of adventurous exploration. As each strophe progresses towards its vocal climax the bass line falls in steps, widening the distance between the piano’s left hand and the vocal line. This depicts the breadth of vast nautical horizons with a musical grandeur that effectively outfaces the sentimentality of the text. The poem is from Théophile Gautier’s Poésies nouvelles (1845). The composer, already merciless in terms of adapting poetry to his musical needs, cuts the second and fourth of Gautier’s strophes.

from notes by Graham Johnson © 2005

Il s’agit d’une mélodie de transition, où le style de romance du Fauré des débuts commence de se mêler aux profondeurs accrues de la mélodie. La musique semble influencée par Soirée en mer (1862), pièce du professeur de Fauré, Camille Saint-Saëns, sur un poème hugolien. Les matelots s’avère plus vigoureuse, mais les deux mélodies sont propulsées par des troilets ondoyants, reflet de l’insondable mouvement de la mer. Les nuances harmoniques subtiles, parfois inattendues, de ces croches nerveuses animent la potentielle monotonie de l’accompagnement; cette harmonie vagabonde nous fait savourer l’amour des marins pour l’exploration aventureuse. Lorsque chaque strophe progresse vers son apogée vocal, la ligne de basse descend par degrés, éloignant la main gauche pianistique de la ligne vocale. Ce qui dépeint l’ampleur des vastes horizons nautiques avec un grandiose musical qui résiste efficacement à la sentimentalité du texte. Le poème est extrait des Poésies nouvelles (1845) de Théophile Gautier. Fauré, déjà impitoyable lorsqu’il s’agissait d’adapter la poésie à ses besoins musicaux, en a retranché les deuxième et quatrième strophes.

extrait des notes rédigées par Graham Johnson © 2005
Français: Hypérion

Other albums featuring this work

Fauré: The Complete Songs, Vol. 1
Studio Master: SIGCD427Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
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