Natalie Dessay Rejoins Philippe Cassard For "Fiançailles pour rire"

The Happy Couple: Natalie Dessay and Philippe Cassard
make a musical "marriage" made in heaven for Erato. 
Pre-order the disc by clicking here.

"For their second Warner Classics album of French song - a follow-up to the Debussy CD they released in 2011 - soprano Natalie Dessay and pianist Philippe Cassard have adopted the title of Francis Poulenc's song cycle Fiançailles pour rire (A betrothal for fun). Poulenc's compact, charming and touching cycle, composed in 1939 to poems by Louise de Vilmorin, is programmed with some of the best-loved mélodies in the repertoire, such as Fauré's 'Après un rêve', 'Mandoline', and 'En sourdine', Duparc's 'Invitation au voyage' and 'Au pays où se fait la guerre', and Chausson's 'Le temps des lilas' and 'Chanson perpetuelle'. In 2013, Natalie Dessay announced that she was leaving the opera stage, but since then her inimitable vocal and dramatic talents have been showcased in the music of Michel Legrand - in concerts of his songs (and the Warner Classics CD 'Entre elle et lui') and in a semi-staged version of Les parapluies de Cherbourg (available on a Warner Classics DVD) - and in further live recitals with Philippe Cassard....On this new disc she can also enjoy the company of some old friends: in Chausson's 'Chanson perpetuelle' she is joined by the Quatuor Ebène (who welcomed her as a guest artist on their best-selling Fiction album back in 2010) and by the bass-baritone Laurent Naouri - who is, as it happens, her husband. Naouri also duets with her on the final track of the album, Poulenc's haunting 'Colloque', a setting of words by Paul Valéry. 'There can be no doubt as to Natalie Dessay's intelligence as an interpreter and her finesse as a musician,' wrote the French magazine Diapason when the Debussy album was released, also praising Philippe Cassard for playing that was 'warm and eloquent, and not prone to the

Single Lady: Dessay last month in a monologue of Howard Barker
 directed by Jacques Vincey with sets by Mathieu Lorry-Dupuy.
 She will reprise the character at the Festival Paris Quartier
d'été starting July 21, 2015.

mistiness of would-be Impressionism or to outbursts of sentiment.' 'Dessay has a real relationship with Cassard,' wrote the American magazine Opera News, 'He is the rare pianist, in Debussy's songs or in his piano music, who understands that Debussy wrote genuine contrapuntal lines that are not meant to be negated by washes of pedal.' The magic of the Dessay-Cassard partnership was captured by The Telegraph after they gave a recital at Wigmore Hall in London in 2012: 'The second half began with Chabrier's hesitantly beautiful 'Chanson pour Jeanne' [also on the new CD] and Chausson's rapturous 'Le temps de lilas'. But the highlight was Dessay's veiled and shimmering account of Duparc's masterpiece 'L'Invitation au voyage', in which her vision of Baudelaire's 'luxe, calme et volupté' dissolved into the deep velvet cushioning of Philippe Cassard's wonderfully soft-textured pianism ... Like Shakespeare's Cleopatra, Dessay makes hungry where most she satisfies. Her singing never moves straight forward; it avoids the obvious, the clear-cut, it treats words as if they were paint. And in her throat, these mélodies remain a mystery, a realm in which shadow counts for more than light.'" [Source, Source] The complete track list is after the jump.

Patricia Petibon Gets Eccentric In A Very French Way For DG

"With this new record, soprano Patricia Petibon makes a welcome return to French repertoire on disc, exploring the fascinating world of French art song in this extraordinary new album, titled La Belle Excentrique. The record features all-time favourites by Satie, Fauré, Poulenc, Reynaldo Hahn, Manuel Rosenthal, but also popular hits by Léo Ferré. This selection takes the listener on an exciting journey of discovery: from the decadence of the cabarets of turn-of-the-century Paris to the melancholy of the 60s, from the eccentricity of the fin-de-siècle to modern-day spleen. This original program is a collection of often humorous and eccentric songs with a deeper subtext. Petibon is joined on this occasion by her accompanist and partner of many years,

Purchase your copy of the new disc, set to be
released September 26, by clicking here.

the superb pianist Susan Manoff, and a number of high-profile guests stemming from diverse musical backgrounds and influences, including star violinist Nemanja Radulovic and actor Olivier Py. This is a wonderful new release from one of DG’s key vocalists. Featuring music of exceptional variety and contrast, it showcases Petibon’s versatility and multi-faceted artistry in an intimate setting as never before, while paying homage to the great tradition of French mélodie and chanson." [Source] Watch the EPK video for the album, complete track list, and audio samples after the jump. (Photos: Inge Prader/DG)