FRENCH SONGS SUNG BY MEZZO SOPRANO KAREN CARGILL

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

In his gentle mélodies, Venezuelan-born, French-naturalized Reynaldo Hahn fully embraced the Romantic tradition of Gounod, Bizet, Saint-Saëns, and Fauré, all but ignoring the compositional trends of a new wave of French composers eager to break new ground – Chausson, Duparc, Debussy, and the member of Les Six, even when he lived well into the fifth decade of the 20th century.

In his delicately wrought À Chloris, Le rossignol des lilas, L’énamourée, Infidélité, and Les fontaines – all faultlessly sung by the immensely gifted Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill – Hahn establishes himself as an elegant craftsmen of melodies with a talent for setting texts to music.

The Hahn songs provide a perfect introduction to Karen Cargill’s album Fleur de mon âme for the LINN label, which, enhanced by the participation of the fine collaborative pianist Simon Lepper, take the listener on a musical journey through Debussy’s Chansons de Bilitis, Ernest Chausson’s Chanson perpétuelle, Sérénade italienne, Le charme, Le colibri, and Les papillons; and Henri Duparc’s L’invitation au voyage, Chanson triste, Extase and Phidylé.

Members of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Maya Iwabuchi, Xander van Vliet, Tom Dunn, and Aleksei Kiseliov provide a splendid string quartet accompaniment to two of the songs: the rare Calmes, aux quais deserts of Belgian composer Joseph Jongen, and Chausson’s familiar Chanson perpétuelle.

Throughout eighteen exquisitely-sung tracks, Karen Cargill displays uncommonly clear French diction, and uncompromising devotion to the text of the songs though never at the expense of clear vocalism. Above all Ms. Cargill remains serene of utterance and always in command of her ample vocal resources.

The album is clearly engineered and accompanied by an informative booklet filled with insights and intelligent translations.

Rafael de Acha     ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”