Eloiz Toujours là

Two classic easy-listening albums by Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra, originally released in 1970 on the Philips label, together on one CD and remastered from the original analogue stereo tapes for Vocalion's trademark crystal-clear sound. French composer/conductor Paul Mauriat is a classically trained musician who decided to pursue a career in popular music. His first major success came in 1962, as a co-writer of the European hit "Chariot." In 1963, the song was given English lyrics, renamed "I Will Follow Him," and became a number one American hit for Little Peggy March. Mauriat is best remembered for his 1968 worldwide smash "Love Is Blue."

Cet enregistrement est assez ancien, du début des années 70, mais n'a toujours pas été remplacé. On chante certes aujourd'hui Lejeune différemment, mais je ne suis pas certain qu'on y mette tout le charme qu'exprimaient les interprètes dirigés par Jacques Feuillie. Les couleurs vocales, la diction exquise font de ce disque une réussite musicale. Le calvinisme français du XVième siècle parvient avec Lejeune à dépasser l'austérité qu'on lui attribue souvent.

Liszt's position as a composer for the Church has always been controversial. The paradox that the most modern composer of the age, the supporter of the revolutionary ideals of 1789, 1830 and 1848, ended up writing music for an institution regarded as a bastion of everything conservative and reactionary, has led to a questioning of Liszt's motives. With the rapidly advancing secularization of culture, Liszt was seen as disillusioned, and his decision to take minor orders in 1865 was considered a startling about-turn for one so worldly. In fact, Liszt wrote sacred music with reform in mind. The dismal state of church music in the first half of the nineteenth century, when it was common to hear opera cabalettas sung to liturgical words, encouraged him to go back to plainsong and the music of Palestrina for inspiration. Composed in 1865, the year he took minor orders, the Missa Choralis embodies these twin elements. The influence of plainsong pervades the thematic material, albeit refocused through Liszt's boldly original and expressively chromatic harmonic language.

Françoise Hardy was one of my favorite icons of the '60's, with her sweet clear voice, her songwriting talent, and her incredible style. She just oozed style. Eventually getting bored with the life fame brought her, she followed her own path out of the limelight, but these songs from the "ye ye" years of international stardom are a treat for her fans.

The long-neglected all-round instrument appears in all geographical and musical corners. Timeless accordion pieces with the French attitude to life. Sit back and let yourself be accompanied to the cafés and boulevards of Paris, to the Seine and beyond.

Callas made her belated Paris debut with this concert at the sumptuous Paris Opéra—now known as the Palais Garnier—in 1958. It was a major social event, attended by le tout Paris, and Callas appeared on the famous stage wearing her most elegant couture and a million dollars’ worth of jewellery. She opened with Norma’s “Casta diva”, which was followed by Leonora’s plaintive aria and the gripping “Miserere” from Act 4 of Il trovatore, before she lightened the mood with “Una voce poco fa” from Il barbiere di Siviglia.