COMPOSERS: Various
LABELS: Alpha
ALBUM TITLE: Plaisir D'Amour
WORKS: Chanson et romances de la France d'autrefois
PERFORMER: Claire Lefilliatre, Brice Duisit, Isabelle DruetLe Poeme HarmoniqueVincent Dumestre
CATALOGUE NO: 513
This disc proves the point that
folksong, because it exists in
no ‘authentic’ form, can best
be recaptured by an informed
inventiveness. The vagueness
of a song’s provenance or the
promiscuity of its early dissemination
unleash in this ensemble richly
diverse interpretative strategies.
Instrumentation from different
eras, languished delivery, a cappella
arrangements, frenzied accelerandos
and startling metamorphoses of
strophic tunes are among the means
by which Le Poème Harmonique
reimagines the past of these popular
tunes with energy and passion.
The ensemble reveals a command
of improvisation as it delightfully
recontextualises timeworn melodies.
Turning ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little
Star’ back into a lover’s lament
restores lost layers of meaning, and
makes us hear the tune as if for the
first time. This disc also rescues
French melodies both haunting
and bold from early anthologies,
animating lost songs with the
vocalists’ naive charm and the
players’ crisp interpolations.
The science of recording seems
however to play too large a role
in generating the atmosphere of
this recording. Sound engineering
leverages a generous acoustic into a
voluptuous aural surround in which
fundamentals sometimes overwhelm
the top line. Did the producers
think the material needed this help
to sustain listener interest? The
ensemble’s moving reconstructions
of these works say otherwise.
Berta Joncus