Benjamin Rice | Akateeminen Kirjakauppa

Sandrine Piau (soprano), Orchestre Victor Hugo, Jean-Francois Verdier

Berlioz: Le Spectre de la rose (from Les nuits d'été, Op. 7)
Duparc: Chanson triste
Duparc: L'Invitation au voyage
Koechlin: Poèmes (4) d'Edmond Haraucourt, Op. 7: No. 2, Pleine eau
Koechlin: Aux temps des fées, Op. 7, No. 4
Koechlin: Épiphanie, Op. 17 No. 3
Debussy: Suite bergamasque: Clair de lune
Ravel: Trois poemes de Stephane Mallarmé
Debussy: Epigraphes antiques (6): No. 6, Pour remercier la pluie au matin
Britten: Quatre Chansons Françaises

"Clair Obscur (Alpha 727), dedicated to German lieder with orchestra, explored the antagonism between light and shadow. Reflet conjures up the nuances and transparencies of French melodies. There is in reflection the idea of an echo, the shadow of a disquieting double, of a plural, diffracted sparkle... A clash of deceptive mirages, a kaleidoscope of senses and flashes of light, it interweaves in strange parallels the score of our lives, adorned with gold and illusions", writes Sandrine Piau. Berlioz, Gauthier, Britten, Hugo, Verlaine, Baudelaire, Duparc, Koechlin, Ravel, Mallarme... the encounters between these composers and poets "create in me a firework display of colours and shimmers", concludes the French soprano, who is making her 14th recording for Alpha Classics.

"It almost goes without saying that the performances are magnificent...Warmly supported by the Orchestre Victor Hugo under Jean-François Verdier and captured in glowing sound, Piau has created another sublime album." - BBC Music Magazine, February 2024