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DEBUSSY/MESSIAEN - L'extase

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DEBUSSY/MESSIAEN - L'extase - Magdalena Kozená (Mezzo-Soprano) - Mitsuko Uchida (Piano) - 8717306261296 - Released: May 2025 - Pentatone PTC5187129

Claude Debussy (1862-1918): 3 Chansons de Bilitis (1897-98)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918): 5 poèmes de Charles Baudelaire (1887-89)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918): Ariettes oubliées (1885-87, rev.1903)
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992): Poèmes pour Mi (Deuxième Livre) (1936)

Debussy songs predominantly come from his earlier period and fly under the radar compared to his great orchestral masterpieces. Yet they contain some astonishing music.

On this disc, they are performed by acknowledged masters of the genre and the composer, Magdalena Kozená has sung Melisande, and Uchida's disc of the Études is an acknowledged classic.

The collection of cycles in this release makes a cogent whole, Messiaen idolized Debussy, linking all these into a compulsive experience tracking the varied extasy of love. The whole disc is exceptional, if the couplings interest you, no hesitation is needed.

The quality is made evident by the beautiful playing by Uchida at the start of the first Chansons de Bilitis, 'La flûte de Pan', sung with the required 'subtle, very soft, warm colours' as Kozená herself reports in an interview in the June 2025 issue of 'The Gramophone' magazine.

The pianist has such a significant role in these works, and Uchida is stunning throughout. She had made several exceptional recordings as an accompanist, including with Ian Bostridge and Dorothea Röschmann, and one senses here a real artistic partnership between singer and pianist.

The Chansons de Bilitis were set to faux classical texts by Debussy's friend Pierre Louÿs. The music makes frequent use of modal harmonies and shifts the tonal landscape in a way Debussy made his own over his career and evokes here the (apparent) ancient world of the texts. I happen to love Regine Crespin in this cycle as well, her inimitable performance (with piano) capturing her unique vocal timbre on a classic Decca Legends release. Suzanne Danco's recording (also with piano) is also a favorite, her vocal timbre is again so unique and beautiful, though admittedly the recording is not as modern.

From the start of the Baudelaire settings, we are in a more assertive sound world. Kozená's powerful and yet supple voice handles the range of emotions with great subtlety. Even so, I tend to prefer a singer such as Barbara Hendricks (in her 'Tribute to Jennie Tourel' release from the 1980's), here and in Ariettes oubliées - the lighter soprano voice adding a certain engaging fragility.

The Ariettes oubliées sets 6 poems by Paul Verlaine, the first of which gives this release its title. They are challenging pieces for singer and pianist, performed here with great assurance. Listen to the first in the cycle, 'C'est l'extase langoureuse', singing and playing capturing the enervating tranquility of the poem perfectly. It transitions to the gentle raindrops of the second song seamlessly. This whole cycle is a high point of the recital, wonderfully performed. The lively mood changes with 'Chevaux de bois' expertly brought to life, and the arc of the final song 'Spleen' wonderfully followed, ending with the breathy and suddenly quiet affecting final 'hélas!'.

Messiaen's Poèmes are here performed of course in their original version for voice and piano adding to the intimacy but missing a little of the richness of the orchestral version. Messiaen's idiom is significantly different to Debussy's forcing a change in the listener as well as the performers. The texts written by Messiaen are uninspiring (even sometimes a little excruciating), but the hypnotic nature of the settings can be very affecting. They are beautifully sung and played, completely enchanting from start to finish.

With excellent booklet notes, this release can be unreservedly recommended. There are many alternatively coupled versions of each cycle, but this combination of singing and playing of the highest order marks this collection out as something special.

Ian Orbell - May 2025

Chansons de Bilitis - La flûte de Pan