Kiri's voice is more than usual soprano-painful to my ears. The Darvath of the Auvergne is older than the one who sang in Mahler's 4th with Abravanel, but the diminished sweetness is compensated with authority, accent-authenticity, and song-appropriate feeling.
My choice for Canteloube - "Chants d'Auvergne" Victoria de los Angeles
Canteloube - Chants d'Auvergne / Victoria de los Angeles [Original recording remastered] Marie-Joseph Canteloube (Composer), Jean-Pierre Jacquillat (Conductor), Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux (Orchestra), Victoria de los Angeles (Performer) | Format: Audio CD
Luv'd the LP (i'm dating myself)... and of course the CD... Victoria de los Angeles is, in a word... "Sumptuous" and what a voice... Dare I say perfect?
Thanks hilltroll. I'll have to listen to the Darvath LP. I like Kiri's one, her medium vocal range is well suited to this less flashy and not very operatic kind of music, imo. I know there are those that don't like her in general, she got a lot of flack for doing "crossover" things with I think Nelson Riddle and also things like West Side Story with Bernstein. I would say that if she was good in anything, it's the lighter genres, and also art-song. I also have THIS cd, which I remember as good, but it's been a while since I've last heard it...
Netania Davrath is unbeatable, I believe all others must be measured by her performance.( Another Vanguard recording Hilltroll). I should think Dame Kiri would be far too ladylike for this--but haven't heard her De Los Andeles is good but not as good.
Davrath and de los Angeles in this music make fine examples for The Choice between Authenticity and Professional Style. Not only did Davrath spend months studying the accents of the region, she chose a... a non-aristocratic delivery. De los Angeles chose to sing in more-or-less 'standard' French, in an operatic style. For the listener it may be a matter of how you like them apples.
The Davrath recording has been reissued on Alto at £5-50--ridiculous!
I have also been reading up on the Dame Kiri performance and the Gramophone gave her a very good review.
Netania Davrath's Songs from the Auvergne... Remastered and Reissued
The CD's been remastered, reissued (February 14, 2012) from the original recordings, by MUSICAL CONCEPTS...
Senior Member Moody...
"Netania Davrath is unbeatable, I believe all others must be measured by her performance.( Another Vanguard recording Hilltroll). I should think Dame Kiri would be far too ladylike for this--but haven't heard her De Los Andeles is good but not as good."
After reading your above comment, Youtube provided a chance to listen to a few of the Auvergne songs by Netania. Indeed, they are very special, so much so, I ordered the CD... Thanks
Yes... the Davrath set sounds "special". And at the price I also put in an order for the disc. I believe I have Kiri's recording (which I quite liked) and Von Stade's (which introduced me to the songs). Perhaps my favorite set, however, is that of Véronique Gens which I purchased perhaps a year or two ago. On Naxos records, this is also a great bargain.
Joseph Canteloube: Songs Of the Auvergne
Pierre de la Roche (Conductor), Netania Davrath (Performer) Format: Audio CD (August 12, 2003) SPARS Code: DDD Number of Discs: 2 Label: Vanguard Classics
Ah, thanks for the visual reminder of the Moffo edition. Now I know why I couldn't remember it clearly - it's because I don't own it! I must have checked it out of the library at some point.
I like the wide selection on the Davrath edition, but vocally I prefer both Von Stade and de los Angeles, on different songs.
Just a quick kick start for this thread. I recently listened to Veronique Gens singing these songs and discovered that she had released a volume 2 so I acquired it and I have to say she does a stunning job. But the real revelation was Canteloube's little song-cycle, Tryptiche. Fabulous stuff, up there with Chausson and Ravel for great French songs. From some previous posts I think I need to get the Davrath too.
Opposite poles of interpretation. How good that you should enjoy both the gorgeous, orchestrally sumptuous Te Kanawa/Tate version and the more fold orientated Davrath. I like both too actually, though I incline more towards Davrath.
Te Kanawa's recordings feature some of her very best singing ever. I'm in love with it. Moffo is gorgeous too, as is Gens. Not a fan of Frica in general. I should hear De los Angeles and Davrath...
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