Soprano Véronique Gens and conductor Serge Baudo are ideally paired in this CD of selections from Canteloube's folk song arrangements, Chants d'Auvergne and Chants de France, as well as his original composition Triptyque. Both performers bring an innately Gallic sensibility to the songs -- a strong sense of lyricism; a predilection for warm, lush tone; and rhythmic suppleness. It's their ability to sustain this rhythmic freedom and fluidity without ever letting the energy slacken, their ability to breathe together, that's ...
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Soprano Véronique Gens and conductor Serge Baudo are ideally paired in this CD of selections from Canteloube's folk song arrangements, Chants d'Auvergne and Chants de France, as well as his original composition Triptyque. Both performers bring an innately Gallic sensibility to the songs -- a strong sense of lyricism; a predilection for warm, lush tone; and rhythmic suppleness. It's their ability to sustain this rhythmic freedom and fluidity without ever letting the energy slacken, their ability to breathe together, that's perhaps the most striking element of their collaboration. This repertoire sits perfectly for Gens' pure, radiant, and totally secure voice; she floats over Canteloube's richly evocative orchestrations. The songs of Chants d'Auvergne never cease to delight with their musical warmth and wit. In Chants de France, he sets more familiar French folk songs, and the resulting cycle is less well known, possibly because the source material is melodically simpler, mostly more restrained, and...
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