Phidyle

Kateřina Kněžíková's lyric coloratura soprano has delighted audiences in numerous music centres worldwide, both at opera houses and concert venues. She has appeared with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Bamberger Symphoniker, Camerata Salzburg, the Czech Philharmonic, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, etc. under the baton of conductors of such renown as J. Bělohlávek, S. Baudo, M. Honeck, J. Hrůša, T. Netopil and R. Ticciati. The highlights of her career include the invitation to portray the title role in Janáček's opera Katya Kabanova in Glyndebourne. Kateřina Kněžíková's debut Supraphon solo album features enchanting fin de siecle songs, "… songs that are particularly close to my heart and voice, all of them dating from the turn of the 20th century, all of them tinged with Impressionism," as the singer herself put it.

L'invitation au voyage is one of the most famous mélodies of all time, composed around 1870. It was Duparc’s special role in the history of French song to introduce a note of depth and seriousness into a genre that had been notably lacking such qualities during the Second Empire. The inspiration with this composer was Wagnerian (Duparc heard Rheingold in 1869) but his music distils Wagner’s visionary qualities into works of art of great concision and translucence. In this unquestionably French music there is no trace of the megalomania and pomposity that repelled Godard and other French anti-Wagnerians. Duparc embraced the Christian ideals typical of the César Franck circle as a whole; perhaps that is why the pagan resonances of Baudelaire’s ‘Luxe, calme et volupté’ are turned into music of unbelievable refinement—here is purity as well as decadence, rigour and sensuality. With Baudelaire and Duparc we traverse the landscapes of the Dutch East Indies; as in all such journeys, where imagination plays the largest part, we find ourselves flying beyond operatic sets of wood and canvas towards realms previously inaccessible to the French duo of singer and pianist.

This CD presents the brief but remarkable output of songs by Duparc during his artistic period that was cut short by a nervous affliction. These works are beautifully performed by mezzo-soprano Sarah Walker and baritone Thomas Allen, with sensitive piano accompaniment by Roger Vignoles. The collection opens with Duparc's best known melody, L'invitation au voyage, which is a setting of a text from Baudelaire's Les fleurs du mal. The lovely rolling impressionist piano harmonies are played with exquisite fluidity, as they underscore Walker's velvety and intimate vocals. The Sérénade florentine is an impressionist lullaby to a loved one, delivered with touching emotion by Thomas Allen. Extase, Elégie and Testament show the influence of Wagner, and the Chanson triste is one of Duparc's early, Gounod-style songs. Au pays oú se fait la guerre (1869) is also an early work, but is particularly entrancing with simple modal harmonies and easily perceived song construction. By sensitive use of passing tones in the piano, the harmonies are subtly redefined and the music is extended dramatically toward the end by expressive on-rushes.

“Phenomenally good … Dreisig’s voice [is] youthful yet assured, agile yet fluid, and powerful through its entire range … We can certainly expect much more to come from this singer,” wrote BBC Music Magazine in its five-star review of Miroir(s), Elsa Dreisig’s debut album of operatic arias and scenes. It was subsequently nominated for two top awards, Gramophone and Opus Klassik.

The bulk of Henri Duparc's oeuvre consists of 17 songs, the 16 recorded here plus one duet for soprano and tenor. He was a master of the late Romantic mélodie, and many of these songs are masterpieces of the genre. The recital by Canadian mezzo-soprano Michèle Losier is to some degree a successful account of the songs, but her performance isn't entirely consistent. She sings with passion and nuanced intelligence and brings real understanding to her interpretations. Her voice is full and secure through her range, even down to the depths of La vague et la cloche.