7 years ago
Friday, April 17, 2009
Gabriel Fauré: Some comparative performances
Fauré (1845- 1924)
Ninon Vallin sings "Les Berceaux" (Piece begins around 2 minutes in, if you're in a hurry. Also, I'm not sure, but it may be Cortot at the piano!)
Elly Ameling sings "Après un rêve"; Dalton Baldwin, piano
Georges Thill sings "Après un rêve"
Nicolai Gedda sings "Nell"
Two different versions of Kiri Te Kanawa singing "Nell"
Kiri Te Kanawa sings "Nell"; Richard Amner, piano (First Version)
Kiri Te Kanawa sings "Nell"; Roger Vignoles, piano (Second Version)
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"Les Berceaux" is so beautiful!...and so sad. I've actually seen this video before, i think it's a little "wizard of oz/dorothy in the tornado", but it sets up the mood pretty well.
ReplyDeleteIn Georges Thill's video there is another version after his...a female voice. Who is this?
I loved hearing "Nell". When I listen to it, I get this mental image of a young lad/lass walking through a field of daisies explaining to the birds how much he/she is in love. haha, or something like that.
All three versions were wonderful! I preferred the first video of Kiri Te Kanawa. I heard more...strength in her voice rather than in the second video. Her pianos were very strong and beautiful.
Jamie, I think the woman singing is the woman who put up the post. She seems to be a lover of French music and just wanted to share her rendition with everyone. Very heartfelt.
ReplyDeleteNinon Vallin performs Les Berceaux stunningly. In comparison to the recording we have with Janet Baker, both convey the sadness that is in each of the performances. For me, I enjoyed Baker's edition because it was in a lower key which feels more appropriate for the mood of the piece. However, since I don't know what the original key was as by Faure, it would depend a lot on what he wrote. Both are amazing.
ReplyDeleteWhile I enjoyed Georges Thill's performance and obviously recognizing his immense talent, I feel like his performance wasn't as "French" as Ameling's performance. This goes hand in hand with our discussions earlier this week about what makes a performance "French sounding" and his performance really showed his Italian training to some degree. What do other people think?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite of the "Nell" performances was Nicolai Gedda's performance. I LOVED the color of his voice and has graceful and fluid phrasing. WOW! What a treat!
ReplyDeleteApres un Reve has been my favorite Faure song for years. The harmonies are so rich and meaty! I've never heard a version quite like George Thill's. I felt that there were a few phrases that disrupted the line and with this accompaniment, it can make the piece feel very stagnant.
ReplyDeleteNicolai Gedda's "Nell" reminded me of the French version of Ian Bostridge's Schubert lieder. I found something very sweet in the clarity and timbre of his voice.
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting to compare the two different "Nell"s by Kiri Te Kanawa. I was surprised at the change of tempo (and to some degree the character that results). Usually when comparing the same pianists playing early in life versus later in life, the tempos slow down and the musical ideas become exaggerated. I wonder if there is a generality like that for singers (maybe having to do with breath control or a different musicianship after many years)
ReplyDeleteBen, I love it! A Swedish tenor singing French Mélodie reminds you of an English tenor singing German Lieder! Doesn't get better than that!
ReplyDeleteI can't decide which Te Kanawa performance of "Nell" I like better. The first one has a more mellow tempo, and the overall attitude seems to be more serene, while the second one has a faster tempo, making it more energetic and almost more youthful. Either way, Te Kanawa pulls this song off with such grace. She doesn't have to do anything outwardly showy to be fabulous; the subtlety is what makes them so amazing.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that popped into my head when I listened to the Georges Thill "Apres un rêve" is "Wow, this would sound really good in Derek's voice." Just a thought.......
ReplyDeleteI've heard a couple other people perform Apres un rêve like Thill did, and I have mixed emotions about it. He gives such a heartfelt performance; its level of drama really fits in with the Italianate lines. That being said, I thought he took time in a few too many places. In my head, I always think of Fauré's music as propelling forward, even if the tempo is slow. When there ARE places for the singer to take time, those moments are so much more special and heartfelt. I could be totally wrong on that being a feature of Faure's music, but that is just my personal preference.
Gedda's Nell is so beautiful, clear, graceful, expressive and French! Gedda is one of those amazing singers who can sing in any language and sound like whatever he's singing is his native language. You can understand every word, and yet the legato line is always present. I was fortunate to be at his farewell concert at the Stockholm opera house, and it was absolutely fantastic. It was one of those rare evenings of being part of artistry that touches your deep core.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Te Kanawa doesn't seem to capture the innately French in Faure, even though her lines are smooth and beautiful. To me they sound just like beautiful lines without words. I noticed that she omits the schwa in several places (e.g.enivree, doree) in favor of the closed e, which perhaps should make it sound more French (using the spoken word). However, to me it still doesn't make the words French sounding. Even her use of dynamics seem more like generic dynamics and not so much part of the expression of this particular piece.
ReplyDeleteAaaaaaaaaa I love Elly Ameling! Her rendition of "Apres un rêve" seemed just right to me- there was a definite passion in her voice, and she had this cool of way of hinting at slowing down, but then resuming the original tempo as if there really hadn't been a tempo change at all. This made the actual tempo changes more prominent and special. To me, her moments of slight rubato are in contrast to the more "Italian" tendency to take too much time; the subtlety of these moments sound more like Fauré than if they were larger and more dramatic.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite recordings I ever got was a four- disc set of Fauré melodies given to me by my first voice teacher. It features Elly Ameling singing and Dalton Baldwin on the piano. There's something so cool to me about the way Ameling sings Fauré. Her voice is colorful in its own way, yet kind of translucent- in my opinion, built to sing Fauré. She also picks tempos that, also in my opinion, fit her voice while respecting what Fauré probably had in mind.
I'm listening to her recording of "En sourdine" as I'm writing this, and I can't get over how exquisite it is! Everyone should go listen to it right now! Okay I'll calm down now :)
Emily, your Ameling 'outpour' is great! I love her too, but I preferred Thill's version. It touched me more. To me his version is more French, and it's interesting to see that you Julie think that Ameling's version seems more French. Perhaps we could get a good debate going. I've been thinking about what this means and to me it comes back to the way that the language is treated. Both Thill and Vallin seem to taste every word. Great care is taken with the consonants. I don't want to separate the vowels from the consonants, because it seems like the expression lies in the articulation of each individual word and how it's part of a phrase and a poem. The innate melody of the French language expressed by both Vallin and Thill is not there in Ameling's performance. However, Ameling has captured an impressionistic sense of the piece that is very beautiful and fitting for this exquisite poem and music.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the first version of Kri Te Kenawa singing"Nell" compared to the second version. There is such a charm in the slower tempo which brings the music to a higher degree of clarity. Faure has marked the tempo to be "Andante, quasi Allegretto" which means it should be quite slow. Perhaps it is more difficult slower..... I enjoyed the interaction of the vocal melody and how the pianist would finish the phrases with either Faure's written expressivo countermelodies or melodies suggested in the accompaniment.
ReplyDeleteI find the collaboration in Georges Thill's version of "Apres un reve"sometimes very distracting from the song. Awkward things are happening between the singer and accompaniment and I think in a piece with an accompaniment of perpetual eighth notes, any rhythmic adjustments need to be pursued with incredible care. Nothing sudden. More "organic".
ReplyDeleteI absolutely adore the video of "Les Berceaux". This song is so lamenting and brilliantly conceived that it's seems it's message would be understood intrinsically by everyone. Compositionally, I love the climax of the piece. The slow ascension from F- G flat-C- E flat then F flat and finally F natural. He takes the listener a full octave and makes you enjoy every second of it. A+ FAURE!!!
ReplyDeleteMatthew, I agree with you regarding Dame Te Kanawa's performance: the slower tempo lends the performance a wonderful charm--in my opinion, it could be even a bit slower. That's one aspect of hearing multiple performances of a single work that's very intriguing. Tempo choice makes a huge difference. As much as I love Gedda's singing, his version of Nell seemed a bit quick, almost in a hurry.
ReplyDeleteI thought Ninon Vallin's recording of 'Les Berceaux' was exquisite. I also found a recording of her singing 'Au bord de l'eau' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SiJynbiSA8) and was particularly struck by the way the pianist played the accompaniment. The chords in the opening are played slightly detached and without pedal. In fact it sounds as if the pedal is hardly used in the performance. I'd never heard it played that way before.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite version of Nell is Te Kanawa's first version because I feel that she beautifully conveys the French element of emotive, but subdued and controlled. This is a tricky, but important, balance to reach. When a performer is able to do this, it gives the song added intrigue and magic. It leaves the audience wanting to know more. . . a good thing!
ReplyDeleteElly Ameling's performance of "Apres un reve" is a great example of the performance being about the music, not the singer. Ameling gracefully prioritizes the purity of the music and text without adding an overabundance of personal drama. Especially notable is her delicate handling of the melismas, as on the words "la lumiere". There is much to learn from this great artist.
ReplyDeleteElly Ameling has a way of making it look so easy! I love how she constructs her phrases. They are so symmetrical and legato. She has such a pleasant presence on stage too. I would love to be able to play for her because her body language and breathing is soooooo natural. It's not too much though or distractive in any way. Just very inviting but soloistic too! Although I do the Georges Thill recording of this piece. My favorite rendition I've ever heard. Who cares if he scoops and slides, it's so tasteful and comes from the heart. His tone reminds me of Jussi Bjorling. I like that he opts for emphasizing the text over trying to be "note perfect." All the notes are there and when they blossom...whoa!!! It reminds me of Cortot's playing, not always note perfect but the architecture of the phrase and the feeling is always there. Nicolai Gedda's "Nell" was so charming! He reminds me of a Fritz Wunderlich easiness to his sound. When he croons i swoon! I think his tempo couldn't be any better. The Kiri Te Kanawa recordings are interesting to compare. I prefer the second for its livelier yet easier quality. Her diction is so clear. I love hearing her "volupte."
ReplyDeleteIf you all ever get the chance, go on youtube and just watch from front to back the Kiri Te Kanawa concert that this excerpt is from. It is truly mind blowing. Her charm is so transcendent and is truely one of the performers that inspires me the most when it comes to simplicity of presence. I did prefer the tempo from the Nicolai Gedda performance, but there is just something about Kiri Te Kanawa that will keep me involved.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I have not always been keen on singing Faure for the reason that I have, as a performer, felt disconnected with the stereotypical sixteenth-note, atmospheric blur that was my impression of a lot of his song's accompaniments. I have however, upon closer inspection of French melodie in the past few years, since changed my tune. The accompaniment of Les Berceaux, though lulling and repetitive, carries an exactness that does not hit you over the head like a lied but delivers its dramatic effect in a more cleverly disguised fashion. He is somehow able to convey a wide variety of emotion and dramatic effect through one single arpeggiated figure. I have greatly enjoyed working on this piece.
ReplyDeleteI like the key of Ameling's performance much better than Thill's. The lower key just seems to carry the drama a little better, but that may be a biased opinion coming from a bass-baritone...
ReplyDeleteThese performances really illustrate the importance of use of rubato in this piece. Without it, this song could lose its dramatic effect and just become boring with its repeated chords.
Gah! The second "Nell" is so rushed, I really do not like it. In order to spit out all of the words that fast she had to make the melody really choppy. It had none of the charm of performance of the first video, and really just stressed my out (her crazy hair didn't help, but that is another matter). Otherwise, I think it is a very pretty song and would be a great song from a pedagogical standpoint to help a singer work on his/her legato. Maybe I should try it...
ReplyDeleteVallin and Cortot's Les Berceaux is very enjoyable for me. It managed to maintain both the complex, emotional subject matter and the subtle purity of the music (evenness of tempo, delicate dynamics, etc).
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely musical poise Ms. Ameling has. Yet, I think I appreciated Thill's treatment of the line slightly more, as its movement felt more natural to me. It seems like it might be a challenge for the singer not to allow the chordal piano part to break up the, flowing vocal line.
Though I don't necessarily disagree with Te Kanawa's second, brisker tempo (it could be perfectly appropriate in some halls), I felt like there were more scoops/glissandi than necessary. She is able to maintain such a lovely legato line as it is, there was no need for these vocal additives, which removed some of the inately French elements of clarity and clean expressiveness that make the melodie such a beautiful art form. And maybe another over-sensitivity of mine: I am not sure how comfortable I feel with the singer keeping her elbow leaning up on the piano like that (Te Kanawa's first Nell). It made me feel like the piano was just another set piece, rather than a respected musical partner.
I, like Julie, prefer the Baker recording because of the key. Although the playback quality may have somewhat influenced my perception, I just think that the lower key captures the undercurrents (so to speak) in both the subject and the metaphor(s).
ReplyDeleteI like the heady tone of Thill. I think that that lightness is a very French stylistic aspect. However, I like Ameling's performance because it doesn't distract from the sense of line quite so much. The rubato of Thill just tugs at the texture a bit too much for my ear.
ReplyDeleteI like Gedda's version of Nell very much. As Ben said, there is a lot of color and clarity there. The tempo, too, is really not too fast and not too slow. The second performance of Kiri te Kanawa is also pretty good as well. It's a little disconcerting to look at her mouth while she sings, though. She almost reminds me of a chipmunk, her mouth is so lateral!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful interpretation. It is always a joy to listen to Kiri`s amazing voice. I had a great fortune to listen to this piece in live with Kiri which was even more powerful at the moment. She really adores french melodie, and by judging her interpretation it fits perfectly to her voice and personality. I wish...
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