From Arleen Auger, Elly Ameling, Janet Baker, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Cheryl Studer, Christian Gerhaher, Marian Anderson, Kathleen Ferrier, Shirley Verrett, Leontyne Price, Gérard Souzay, Cecilia Bartoli, Régine Crespin, Frederica von Stade, Pierre Bernac, Benita Valente, Nicolai Gedda, Victoria de Los Angeles, Teresa Berganza, Cathy Berberian, Peter Pears, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, oh my… I could go on and on and on…
(and I’d include Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, particular iterations by Cecile McLorin Salvant, Judy Garland, Amália Rodrigues, Patsy Cline, Edith Piaf, Lotte Lenya, Janis Joplin, Judy Collins… and several composers/writers singing their own songs on this list — from Connie Converse to Kurt Weill…)
I could include a complete album of French mélodies featuring mezzo-soprano Régine Crespin that first made me fall in love with classical western-European music.
But I’ve decided to feature two of favorite live recordings:
The first by the brilliant soprano Dorothy Maynor and pianist Arpád Sándor.
“Beau Soir” (poetry by Paul Bourget; music by Claude Debussy).
This is the first French song I ever learned, when I was 17 (other than “Dites-moi” from South Pacific by Rodgers and Hammerstein 😝)
It’s about observing the gift of life, embracing it, and letting it go. It’s one of the most famous art songs ever written for a reason… (even Barbara Streisand recorded it!)
The second by mezzo Jan DeGaetani with pianist Lee Luvisi. All of her recordings are specific, personal, and detailed, with no artifice.
This song, “Crépuscule” from the cycle La chanson d’Eve (poetry by Charles van Lerberghe; music by Gabriel Fauré). It is expressed by Eve (the Biblical Eve), just after she experiences a petal fall from a tree for the first time… The great fall — subtle, almost imperceptible to some, but devastating. The sound, not just the visual aspect, beats on her heart, like a voice from the past, or a premonition.
My only recommendation while listening to any ‘art song’: listen with the text nearby (even if it’s a quick drop into Google translate 🤭 especially, if it’s in a language with which you are not familiar). Oxfordsong.org and Lieder.net are also very helpful resources. I always do this side-by-side while listening, because the text itself is half the song. More often than not, it’s the poetry that inspired the extraordinary music from the song writers.
