I am a fan of the French equivalent of the German Lieder (mélodies) so I bought the recital given by Stéphanie D'Oustrac. You win some, and you lose some. This is not an "Invitation au Voyage" (CD title) that I will play often.
21 mélodies, and all but a handful of them slow, or very slow. Eyelids droop. Fatally, Ms D'Oustrac has a lovely mezzo soprano voice, but poor diction (unlike, say, Véronique Gens). The CD mixes up tracks 2 and 3, and it is some time before one realises the singer is singing the wrong song. Even a native born French speaker will need to be glued to the libretto in order to understand what Ms D'Oustrac is singing about; and an appreciation of what is being sung is as important here as it is with German Lieder. Singers must learn to articulate clearly; singing is not just about making lovely sounds – advice that is as valid for instrumental players as it is for singers.
21 mélodies, and all but a handful of them slow, or very slow. Eyelids droop. Fatally, Ms D'Oustrac has a lovely mezzo soprano voice, but poor diction (unlike, say, Véronique Gens). The CD mixes up tracks 2 and 3, and it is some time before one realises the singer is singing the wrong song. Even a native born French speaker will need to be glued to the libretto in order to understand what Ms D'Oustrac is singing about; and an appreciation of what is being sung is as important here as it is with German Lieder. Singers must learn to articulate clearly; singing is not just about making lovely sounds – advice that is as valid for instrumental players as it is for singers.
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