Henri Duparc (1848-1933)
The Complete Songs
Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano); Huw Montague Rendall (baritone); Nicky Spence (tenor); William Thomas (bass)
Malcolm Martineau (piano)
rec. 2019, Wathen Hall, Barnes, London, and 2021 in the Britten Studio, Snape Maltings, UK
Sung texts with English translations enclosed.
Reviewed as downloaded from press preview.
SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD715 [60]
Henri Duparc had a long life, living to age 85, but for the last 50 years he was incapable of composing due to deteriorating health. He also lost his eyesight. He left behind a small body of works, but he destroyed a great many and today he is primarily remembered for his 16 solo songs, which are regarded as some of the most important examples of 19th century French song. They are performed relatively frequently and have been recorded many times, but they have never quite reached the popularity of Fauré’s. When they are sung in recitals they are relegated to a group of three or four somewhere in the middle of the programme. When you become familiar with them they can become lifelong friends, but I must admit that it took quite some time when I first approached them many years ago, before I came to terms with them. And I still feel that three or four at a time is the best way to digest them. I would like to urge readers who still fight shy of Duparc, to give him a chance. There exist several complete sets, several of which I haven’t heard, but the present offering, masterminded by the indefatigable Malcolm Martineau, can definitely be the starting point for the curious.
With four singers in the line-up, there is plenty of vocal variety. The lion’s share of the songs is allotted to Sarah Connolly who, now in her late fifties, still has her voice in fine fettle. She perhaps displays a wider vibrato than when I last heard her, but the tone is beautiful and her expressiveness is undiminished, and her high notes ring out gloriously. She is allotted seven songs, while her three male colleagues have three each. But we shouldn’t forget the fifth participant, Malcolm Martineau at the piano. His role is just as important as the singers’, since these songs are no mere melodies with accompaniments but rather dramatic or narrative scenes, where the piano sets the scene and propels the action forward. In that respect Duparc is Wagnerian in his approach. Obviously we focus on the singer, but the piano part mustn’t be suppressed. Malcolm Martineau shows that he is a born director and keeps the proceedings on a tight rein.
The songs are presented here in chronological order, beginning with Chanson triste from 1868 when Duparc was twenty, and finishing with La vie antérieure from 1884, when he was 36. He began another song, Recueillement, two years later but never finished it and eventually destroyed what little he had set down on paper. His mental illness, diagnosed as neurasthenia, prevented him from further work.
Each song is a masterpiece in its own right, and it is a fascinating journey to follow in Duparc’s footsteps: 16 songs in 16 years, but most of the songs came in a steady stream at the beginning which gradually dried up with the passage of time. Some of the songs were long in the making. Phidylé, one of his most popular songs and a good starting-point for beginners, was begun as early as 1872, but it wasn’t completed until ten years later.
Sarah Connolly is a pillar of strength throughout and excels both in more lyrical songs like Extase and Élégie, inward and moving, and the dramatic and intense Au pays où se fait la guerre. Arguably the greatest song is the Baudelaire setting L’invitation au voyage. Nicky Spence seems to be omnipresent in the recording studios at the moment. Always careful with nuances he is in his element in Soupir, even more so in Sérénade, sung with lightness of tone and con amore. He crowns his contribution with a sensitive reading of the little Sérénade Florentine. Young baritone Huw Montague Rendall was a new name to me, but I was immediately caught by his beauty of tone, the lightness of his delivery and involvement. His choice of parents was an obvious stroke of genius: mezzo-soprano Diana Montague and tenor David Rendall, both distinguished international opera singers and, judging from what I hear on this disc, he seems cut out for a similar career. We have to wait until track 11 for his first entrance, Le manoire de Rosemonde, and I immediately jotted down three exclamation marks on my pad. He returns with a warm and plaintive version of Lamento, followed by a Phidylé, so lyrical and involved. His international career is already blossoming, and I hope to hear more of him in the near future.
The bass William Thomas is already well established on the international circuit. Just a couple of months ago I reviewed a set with the complete songs of Samuel Barber, where he made a good impression. This recording confirms that impression. His tone is a bit on the rough side, which befits a young bass, and he is very expressive. He is lively and dramatic in Le galop, the only extrovert song in Duparc’s output. Both the singing and the piano part are vigorous and muscular. The stormy La vague et la cloche is a tour de force for both singer and pianist. Thomas is powerful but also sensitive. He also has the honour of rounding off the programme with La vie antérieure, another Baudelaire setting. Fine singing indeed!
As I said above, there are several complete recordings of Duparc’s songs, and I can confidently recommend the one with Sarah Walker and Thomas Allen (Hyperion CDA66323). Some years ago, I also reviewed a disc with a single bass, Andrea Mastroni. A little unorthodox, maybe, but it is a worthy alternative. But the one under consideration is truly excellent, and to my mind the producer and Malcolm Martineau – I’m convinced that he had a finger in the pie – have chosen the ideal interpreter for each song. No reader who buys this disc on impulse will go far astray.
Göran Forsling
Contents
1. Chanson triste (SC)
2. Soupir (NS)
3. Romance de Mignon (SC)
4. Sérénade (NS)
5. Le galop (WT)
6. Au pays où se fait la guerre (SC)
7. L’invitation au voyage (SC)
8. La vague et la cloche (WT)
9. Extase (SC)
10. Élégie (SC)
11. Le manoir de Rosemonde (HMR)
12. Sérénade florentine (NS)
13. Lamento (HMR)
14. Phidylé (HMR)
15. Testament (NS)
16. La vie antérieure (WT)
