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Track(s) taken from CDA66801/2

Envoi de fleurs

First line:
Si l'on veut savoir qui m'envoie
composer
1865
author of text

Dame Felicity Lott (soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)
Recording details: May 1993
St Paul's Church, New Southgate, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Arthur Johnson
Engineered by Keith Warren
Release date: October 1993
Total duration: 2 minutes 16 seconds

Cover artwork: Lord Byron and the maid of Athens. Sir William Allen (1782-1850)
Roy Miles Gallery, 29 Bruton Steet, London W1
 

Reviews

‘Exemplary … enchanting … ravishingly sung’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘Superb … perfection … best of the year’ (The Sunday Times)

«Uniformement exquis» (Répertoire, France)

«C'est remarquable. Un coffret qui devient un événement» (Compact, France)

'Un stupendo doble compacto' (CD Compact, Spain)
The poem for Envoi de fleurs is by Émile Augier who was a celebrated playwright and the librettist of Gounod’s first opera Sapho. The piano introduction is to be played somewhat faster than the vocal refrain and this gives an impression of an old-fashioned chanson with interludes rather than an organic mélodie. There is a hint of the calculatedly charming naughty-cum-innocent little girl in this song—the elongations of words and the pauses in the middle of phrases (the prosody is cleverly worked out) suggest the pout of a temptress. In any case the song would not be out of place on the operetta stage. It is dedicated to ‘mon ami et confrère Ambroise Thomas’.

from notes by Graham Johnson © 1993

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