John Mark Ainsley, Graham Johnson
Release Date: 01 June 2006
Label: Hyperion Records Ltd
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 034571175232
Description
This latest recital from the eternal spring of Graham Johnson’s pioneering research is entitled L’invitation au voyage (four settings of the famous Baudelaire text are included) and takes us on a fascinating armchair tour of twenty-four melodies from ‘La belle epoque’, that period of ‘settled and comfortable life in France preceding the First World War’ (Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable). No fewer than eight composers are new to the Hyperion catalogue, already so rich in French song, and while these microcosms of salon charm are rarely sublime, every note is eminently civilise.
So change the wallpaper for something a bit more fin de siècle, allow yourself to join Graham Johnson and the exquisite John Mark Ainsley for a magical hour-and-a-half (time allowed for the refilling of glasses, of course).
Comprehensively annotated and generously illustrated, this new addition to The Hyperion French Song Edition is essential for anyone with a care for a time when nothing really mattered.
Tracklisting
Roberto Prosseda, London Philharmonic Orchestra / Nir Kabaretti
The Brabant Ensemble / Stephen Rice
Steven Isserlis
The Nash Ensemble
MultiPiano Ensemble, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Ivor Bolton
Marc-Andre Hamelin
Marc-Andre Hamelin, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Andrew Litton
Gothic Voices / Christopher Page
