Denise Duval

Somehow I'd missed the notices of Denise Duval's death - Francis Poulenc's muse during the last 10+ years of his life. Here they are - Poulenc introducing an extract from Les Mamelles de Teresias



no subtitles I'm afraid but very much worth it for those two performing together! I don't think (despite the youtube comments) that Poulenc does too badly with some singing(!) especially as he's coping with some exciting piano writing. If you want for the end you'll get as the next video the two performing extracts from the "Dialogues des Carmélites" and "Voix Humaine." Two great artists! Here's the Guardian obituary:

“For me, Duval was the Garbo of opera with a wild touch of vaudeville,” Rorem wrote. “She had clarity, intelligence, diction, beauty – with those eyes the size of eagle eggs.” For his part, Poulenc said of his muse: “This girl is pure sunlight.”

Nantes

I listened to the Norman Lebrecht documentary on Barbara (Monique Cerf)last night - if you didn't, I'd recommend a listen while it is still available on iPlayer. Here, if like me you were frustrated by some of the voiceovers, is Barbara singing Nantes:

Understanding the words are vital, so understandably there were translations overlaying the songs especially here, where you are uncertain of the person being addressed until the last emotional bars - but they needed more space (in my view). She was separated from her father - having been abused by him in her early years, here the pain is all too plain. She's hardly known in the UK but there's lots on youtube and well worth the listen!

Georges Brassens : auprès de mon arbre

Georges Brassens was born 90 years ago today..

Les Feuilles Mortes - Yves Montand à l´Olympia

Another autumnal piece:

Nabbed the link off entartete musik where's there's also film of the younger Montand singing the same piece, what a distance he has travelled between the two interpretions - this is hairs on the back of the neck stuff. I love the music of Joseph Kosma...

Rappelle-toi

.. Barbara

Oh Barbara
Il pleut sans cesse sur Brest
Comme il pleuvait avant
Mais ce n'est plus pareil et tout est abime
C'est une pluie de deuil terrible et desolee

Jacques Prevért and Joseph Kosma.. and suitable listening for a potentially wet Bank Holiday!

On knowing somone

Elly Ameling with Rudolf Jansen performing Poulenc's setting of Vilmorin's C'est ainsi que tu es

Voilà, c’est ton portrait,
C’est ainsi que tu es.
Et je veux te l’écrire
Pour que la nuit venue
Tu puisses croire et dire
Que je t’ai bien connue

C

Set to music by Poulenc, Aragon meditates on the fall of France in 1940

Ô ma France ô ma délaissée
J'ai traversé les Ponts-de-Cé

Sung by Hugues Cuénod. Haunting music paired here with wonderful images.
I wasn't intending a tie in to the previous post, but here's more Cuénod and a mention of his civil partnership, entered into when he was 105.
Not many pieces in Cb...

A little late

I meant to mark the 30th anniversary of Jacques Brel's death on 9th October, but what with one thing and another it got forgotten so here is a link to the official site and a link to the Brel videos I've previously mentioned.