The voice of tenor
Benjamin Bernheim
is such a lovely thing that one may at first wish he had sung normal repertory in this recital of French songs. But he and accompanist
Carrie-Ann Matheson
, who did the arrangements, make a strong case for taking over
Berlioz
's
Les nuits d'été
and
Chausson
Poème de l'amour et de la mer, Op. 19, for tenor and piano
.
Matheson
's arrangements are quite effective. For one thing, she doesn't make the music over-busy with details of the orchestral settings but rather focuses on the melodies. And what melodies they are!
Poem of Love and of the Sea
, setting a pair of extravagantly Romantic poems by the composer's frequent collaborator
Maurice Bouchor
, is not a terribly commonly heard item, but it is an ideal vehicle for
Bernheim
's voice as it wanders sensuously into various ranges.
has fetching moves in various ranges, but it is at the low end that one can really sit and simply luxuriate. Sample the almost creepily beautiful "Au cimitière," from
. After the two big song cycles, the program builds to a "climax" in the exquisite intimacy of three songs by
Henri Duparc
; the last, "Phydilé," is really extraordinary here, and the tension is only partly relaxed by the three popular songs with which the program concludes, one of which, by
Charles Trenet
, gives the album its title.
has been known mostly for opera up to this point (although he has also sung the popular songs of
Jacques Brel
effectively, as he does here), but one would never know it; he scales his voice down perfectly. It would be easy to overlook this album, which came out during the busy season of 2024, but don't do it -- it's gorgeous. ~ James Manheim