Renaud Les Introuvables (1995)

The French division of the massive EMI corporation has released a compendium called Les Introuvables de Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (EMI 68509, six CDs), and it contains so much outstanding material that one feels churlish complaining about what it lacks. But here we go. These six discs contain more than 125 lieder, ballads, cantatas and songs – primarily in German, but also in French, Italian, Latin and English – recorded mostly in the 1950s and '60s when Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's voice was one of the wonders of the musical universe.

She sang all the major mezzo roles, and also some in the dramatic soprano repertory, notably Leonora in Fidelio, Lady Macbeth and the Marschallin. Her voice is a rich, expressive mezzo capable of dramatic incisiveness and even throughout its considerable range. Her upper register in mezzo music is excintingly projected. Although this compilation is composed of different recordings in different settings in different years, all of them show a young Ludwig when she had not yet acquired her prime and her status of, arguably, the best mezzo of the world, which would arrive in the years to come.

Widely regarded as the definitive interpretation of the Elgar Cello Concerto, Jacqueline Du Pré's landmark 1965 recording of it is included in this unique compilation. Extending the musical range of the cello repertoire, from fine, exquisite cello suites by Bach to grand orchestral visions of Dvorák and Saint-Saëns, this CD set is not to be missed by fans of Du Pré's warm, brilliant interpretations. This collection, composed of the great works for the cello, is a must have in any serious classical music fan's library. It is an even better collection for the "newbie" to the genre. Jacqueline du Pre was undoubtedly one of the greatest artist of the century and her passion is well documented in this collection.

Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan, known as Renaud (born 11 May 1952), is a popular French singer, songwriter and actor. His characteristically 'broken' voice makes for a very distinctive vocal style. Several of his songs are popular classics in France, including the sea tale "Dès que le vent soufflera", the irreverent "Laisse béton", the ballad "Morgane de toi" and the nostalgic "Mistral gagnant". However, with the exception of a recording of "Miss Maggie" in English and a franglais recording of "It is not because you are", his work is almost unknown outside the French-speaking world.

‘Perhaps the best of all my works’, said Gluck of his Armide. But this, the fifth of his seven ‘reform operas’, has never quite captured the public interest as have Orfeo, Alceste, the two Iphigenies and even Paride ed Elena. Unlike those works it is based not on classical mythology but on Tasso’s crusade epic, Gerusalemme liberata. No doubt Gluck turned to this libretto, originally written by Quinault, to challenge Parisian taste by inviting comparison with the much-loved Lully setting. Its plot is thinnish, concerned only with the love of the pagan sorceress Armide, princess of Damascus, for the Christian knight and hero Renaud, and his enchantment and finally his disenchantment and his abandonment of her; the secondary characters have no real life.

Jazz has taken some unexpected directions in Europe. Garcia-Fons is a double-bass player, and he leads a French quartet that consists of himself, another double-bass player, an accordionist and a drummer. In this arrangement, Garcia-Fons exploits the huge range of the bass to play melody, while the other bassist large plays the traditional low part.
The well-known artist closest to Garcia-Fons' sound would have to be Astor Piazzolla, and indeed Alboreá does contain one tango, anagrammatically entitled "Natgo." Garcia-Fons also makes use of other world music sources, such as the Moorish sound of "Secret Zambra." And many of the tracks, not surprisingly, seem to owe something to French musette. Although Garcia-Fons might like to say his biggest musical influence was Charlie Mingus, it sometimes sounds as if his real mentor was André Previn, not just as jazz musician but as film score composer…

Following his beloved and best-selling 2018 album of music from popular films, Renaud Capuçon returns to the magical world of cinema in Les Choses de la Vie – Cinema II. The violinist has dedicated this sequel to 19 titles written by French film composers or for iconic French films. This includes, among others, Michel Legrand’s “The Windmills of Your Mind” featured on the 1968 soundtrack to The Thomas Crown Affair; Joseph Kosma’s “Les Feuilles mortes”, or “Autumn Leaves”, heard in the 1946 film Les Portes de la nuit (Gates of the Night); and themes from the scores to The Shape of Water (2017) by Alexandre Desplat, Lawrence of Arabia (1962) by Maurice Jarre, Memories of Me (1988) by Georges Delerue, and Les Choses de la vie (1970) by Philippe Sarde, which inspired the project’s name.

'Armide' is in the form of a tragédie en musique, a genre invented by Lully and Quinault, and was their last collaboration. It was a new form of opera that combined elements of classical French drama with ballet, French song and a new form of recitative. Critics in the 18th century regarded 'Armide' as Lully's masterpiece and it continues to be well-regarded, featuring some of the best-known music in French baroque opera and being arguably ahead of its time in its psychological interest. The subject, chosen for Lully by King Louis XIV, is the enchantress Armide’s unhappy love for the knight Renaud, drawn from Tasso’s 'Gerusalemme liberata'.