Edith Reyboubet

Edith Piaf is almost universally regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Still revered as an icon decades after her death, "the Sparrow" served as a touchstone for virtually every chansonnier, male or female, who followed her. Her greatest strength wasn't so much her technique, or the purity of her voice, but the raw, passionate power of her singing. (Given her extraordinarily petite size, audiences marveled all the more at the force of her vocals.) Her style epitomized that of the classic French chanson: highly emotional, even melodramatic, with a wide, rapid vibrato that wrung every last drop of sentiment from a lyric. She preferred melancholy, mournful material, singing about heartache, tragedy, poverty, and the harsh reality of life on the streets; much of it was based to some degree on her real-life experiences, written specifically for her by an ever-shifting cast of songwriters.

"dreams" is a very stylish and accessible album of elegant jazzy pop neo-prog music with just a tad of punchy attitude. It sometimes seems too conventional to be a part of a progressive music collection but the more you listen the less you will care. It's very pleasant ear candy combining the catchiness of The Police with the sound of Joni Mitchell's instrumentations during her late 70s and 80s jazzy period. The players are very talented but for the most part everyone is committed to the overall sound rather than flashy solos.

Edith Piaf is almost universally regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Still revered as an icon decades after her death, "the Sparrow" served as a touchstone for virtually every chansonnier, male or female, who followed her. Her greatest strength wasn't so much her technique, or the purity of her voice, but the raw, passionate power of her singing…

Edith Piaf, performing her greatest songs 60 years after her passing, accompanied in London by a symphonic orchestra of 60 musicians… What could be considered science fiction has become a reality thanks to renowned musicians, arrangers, and sound engineers. They took on the challenge of creating new orchestrations capable of resonating with today's ears without compromising the nostalgia of their predecessors. By technically isolating her voice, they have allowed the refrains of yesteryears to prove that they remain as immortal as their interpreter. Edith Piaf's iconic voice was meticulously extracted from the original masters by a team of sound engineers working at the legendary Abbey Road studio in London.

This CD brings together recent works by Edith Canat de Chizy, all written between 2011 and 2013. The three scores were inspired by the idea of movement / tempo / motion – a lightening gesture in Pierre D’eclair, the sphere of influence relayed by the electronics in Over the Sea, and the dialectic between mobile and immobile in Drift.

With Kempe at the helm we can be assured of elevated and noble performances. The BBC Legends issue captures him in two concerts given four months apart. The February 1976 concert was given at the Royal Festival Hall and gives us not unexpected fare – Berg – and decidedly unusual repertoire for Kempe in the form of Tippett’s Concerto for Double String Orchestra. This positively crackles with rhythmic energy and dynamism, the strings responding with admirable precision and unanimity of attack. The result is a performance of real standing and a precious surviving example of Kempe’s small repertoire of British works.