Reynaldo Hahn: Complete Songs
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REYNALDO HAHN
Reynaldo Hahn: Complete Songs
Tassis Christoyannis (baritone), Jeff Cohen (piano)
[ Bru Zane / 4 CD Box Set ]
Release Date: Friday 25 October 2019
This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.
"To have written that, you must be a poet", Massenet told Reynaldo Hahn when he read through the score of L Île du rêve. Composed when the young man was not yet eighteen years old, this curtain-raiser already had the qualities of the great works of the period. It reveals the colouristic talents of Bizet, the passionate outbursts of Massenet and even the prosodic originality of the young Debussy. The plot recounts a French naval officer's love affair with a young Polynesian girl he has to abandon. This subject also treated musically by Puccini (Madama Butterfly) and Delibes (Lakmé) is approached in an almost Symbolist style: the Romanticism of the music contrasts with a contemplative, introspective treatment of the narration. This is where the youthful Hahn particularly shines: in the very first bars (the hymn to Bora-Bora), in the various love scenes for Loti and Mahénu (notably the duet Restons encore les paupières mi-closes ) and even in the neo-Handelian prelude to Act Two.
"Christoyannis, in what is in many ways a tour de force, is for the most part exceptional throughout. Just occasionally the recording itself captures a pulse in his upper registers when under pressure, but otherwise everything is beautifully phrased, melody and text are held in well-nigh ideal balance and the prevailing mood is one of almost confessional intimacy...It's both a real treat and a fine set that immeasurably enhances our understanding of Hahn and his world. Do listen to it." Gramophone Awards 2020 Shortlisted - Solo Vocal
"It is a treasure trove: the many unfamiliar songs all repay rehearing, and Christoyannis, at 53, still sounds youthful. Listening to one singer in this repertoire is a challenge, but the Greek baritone marries his subtle carriage of the vocal line to the service of the text." Gramophone
"It is a treasure trove: the many unfamiliar songs all repay rehearing, and Christoyannis, at 53, still sounds youthful. Listening to one singer in this repertoire is a challenge, but the Greek baritone marries his subtle carriage of the vocal line to the service of the text." Sunday Times
