Benjamin Bernheim (tenor), Carrie-Ann Matheson (piano)

Berlioz: Les nuits d'été, H. 81 (Transcr. Matheson for Tenor and Piano)
Chausson: Poème de l'amour et de la mer, Op. 19 (Transcr. Matheson for Tenor and Piano)
Duparc: L'Invitation au voyage
Duparc: Extase
Duparc: Phidylé
Duparc: La Vie antérieure
Kosma: Les feuilles mortes (Arr. Leuenberger for Tenor and Piano)
Charles Trenet, Léon Chauliac: Douce France (Arr. Leuenberger for Tenor and Piano)
Brel, J: Quand on n'a que l'amour (Arr. Leuenberger for Tenor and Piano)

French star tenor Benjamin Bernheim announces his first solo song album Douce France: Mélodies & Chansons. Inspired by his long study and experience of French song, Bernheim imaginatively couples the famous 19th-century melodies of Berlioz, Chausson and Duparc with the classic 20th-century chansons by Brel, Kosma and Trenet. While some of these cycles are nowadays associated with the female voice accompanied by orchestra, the tenor was determined to return to the deep intimacy that a keyboard accompaniment can conjure. Bernheim’s regular duo partner, pianist Carrie-Ann Matheson, transcribed the relevant orchestral scores into the more idiomatic versions heard on this album.