This third release in Hyperion's series devoted to the rather neglected songs of Claude Debussy introduces a new soprano, the ideal Jennifer France (with fine contributions as well from baritone Jonathan McGovern), and brings a collection of songs that might be described as miscellaneous: this is one of those Hyperion releases where the performers and the annotator seem to be struggling over the correct order, and listeners will have to keep jumping around in the notes to find out what they're listening to. Nevertheless, ...
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This third release in Hyperion's series devoted to the rather neglected songs of Claude Debussy introduces a new soprano, the ideal Jennifer France (with fine contributions as well from baritone Jonathan McGovern), and brings a collection of songs that might be described as miscellaneous: this is one of those Hyperion releases where the performers and the annotator seem to be struggling over the correct order, and listeners will have to keep jumping around in the notes to find out what they're listening to. Nevertheless, there are some gems here, both early and late, and it's likely that even deep Debussy fans will find something to treasure. Many of the songs are from the early 1880s, when Debussy was an intermittent student and an 18-year-old choir accompanist carrying on an affair with one of the sopranos, Marie-Blanche Vasnier. She seems to have been both the recipient of scorching songs like Les baisers (The Kisses, track 17) and their intended performer. Many of these songs do indeed contain...
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