“The great Nadia Boulanger was a pianist, organist, conductor, composer and a legendary pedagogue and composition teacher. … Out of the 37 works offered here, 13 are world premiere recordings, including 11 unpublished works (eight art songs and 3 piano pieces) that were transcribed From Boulanger’s manuscripts. Altogether, we’re speaking of performances of her complete oeuvre in the genres of the art song, solo piano, organ as well as cello and piano. Boulanger’s own musical inclinations were—aside from her own unique aesthetic nature—reflected in her admiration of Debussy and Ravel. … She also championed ancient music, and was a pioneer performer of music by Monteverdi, Bach and Rameau. One hears in her music the influences of Debussy and Fauré; a French synthesis of late-Romanticism and impressionism with profuse chromatic elements—altogether original, colorful and sensitive to mood and ambiance. … Boulanger presents different approaches: some love songs are joyful and ecstatic; others range from hope to hopelessness, from expectation to reflection. They are often emotionally fragile, melancholic, sad and dissonant, with contrasts or underscoring from the piano that can either hold back from the text or leave no doubt. The songs are not presented consecutively; rather they are freely grouped for the purpose of offering the listener richly varied program sequences that seek to capture the intimacy of salon music performances. … A detailed booklet in English adds further appeal to this interesting and very well done recording.”
Opera Lounge Review for Mademoiselle
Posted by Lindsay Koob on
Categories : Delos Reviews
