Tout en douceur... Gabriel Fauré

Do NOT tell me you didn't listen to the St. Matthew Passion I told you about a couple of weeks ago (as an alternative to the abysmal production of Aida)! Whether you're religious or not, a refined beauty of this music cannot leave you unmoved. Berlioz said: "Bach, c’est Bach, comme Dieu c’est Dieu."

I am normally not crazy about sacred music but recently, for whatever the reason, I found myself very often listening to Fauré's Requiem. I guess I got soothed in by the first track on my CD, which is Pavane, and then the Requiem unfolds pleasantly. So here is Pavane to make your day nice and easy:



and then two excerpts from the performance at La Salle Pleyel, earlier this year, by Orchestre de Paris under Paavo Järvi (Matthias Goerne is singing)

Melanie Diener kills Fidelio

Fidelio (in concert), Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, February 21 2011

Kurt Masur

Kurt Masur ..... conductor

Melanie Diener ..... Leonore

Burkhard Fritz ..... Florestan

Matthias Goerne ..... Pizzaro

Kurt Rydl ..... Rocco

Sophie Karthäuser ..... Marzelline

Werner Güra ..... Jaquino

Bálint Szabó ..... Fernando

Orchestre National de France and Choeur de Radio France

Mahler's Rückert Lieder and Tragic Symphony

Tout Mahler par Gatti, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, January 13 2011

 

Conductor ..... Daniele Gatti

Soloist ..... Matthias Goerne

Orchestre National de France

Mathis der Yawner

Mathis der Maler [Matthias the Painter, Mathis le peintre], Opéra National de Paris (Bastille), November 16 2010

Olivier Py ..... Director
Christoph Eschenbach ..... Conductor

Scott Mac Allister ..... Albrecht von Brandenburg
Matthias Goerne ..... Mathis
Thorsten Grümbel ..... Lorenz von Pommersfelden
Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke ..... Wolfgang Capito
Gregory Reinhart ..... Riedinger
Michael Weinius ..... Hans Schwalb
Antoine Garcin ..... Truchsess von Waldburg
Eric Huchet ..... Sylvester von Schaumberg
Melanie Diener ..... Ursula
Martina Welschenbach ..... Regina
Nadine Weissmann ..... Die Gräfin von Helfenstein


Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus 

Genoveva at Pleyel with Anne Schwanewilms, Matthias Goerne...

Genoveva (in concert), Salle Pleyel, Paris, June 7 2010

Anne Schwanewilms as Genoveva

Jun Märkl  conductor

Anne Schwanewilms   Genoveva
Matthias Goerne   Siegfried
Matthias Klink   Golo
Birgit Remmert   Margarethe
Markus Marquardt   Hidulfus / Drago
Gun-Wok Lee   Caspar
Jae-Hyong Kim   Balthasar

Orchestre National de Lyon
Choeur de l'Orchestre de Paris

Ingo Metzmacher's got what l'Orchestre de Paris need

L'Orchestre de Paris has everything to be among the world's top orchestra and yet they are not. They are irregular: they can be near perfect but also messy and flat. They are good more often than not, but GREAT - very seldom, if you ask me. Still, each time you listen to them play you could tell that they have a ginormous potential and you kinda feel sorry that their performances don't match that potential. I believe they need a suitable music director to do that extra step and improve them to that level at which they become great. For years they've been lead by Christof Eschenbach and there are still many ups and downs, which makes me believe that Eschenbach is not the leader they actually need...

Tonight Ingo Metzmacher demonstrated how this orchestra can be conducted to sound as any world's top orchestra. He conducted firmly and carefully and they delivered a very-very strong performance of the Britten's  War Requiem. I'm a sucker for a big choir & big orchestra. Add to that the top notch soloists : Paul Groves, Matthias Goerne and Indra Thomas - and all my fatigue was gone the minute the concert had started.

As I said, Ingo did his magic and the orchestra sounded exceptionally good. OK, there's still room for improvement but if they played steadily like they did tonight I'd be their biggest fan.

Whoever invited Paul Groves to sing in this Requiem is a true connoisseur of voices: Paul's fitted like a glove for this part. Bravino! Matthias Goerne was very good too, but my heart was knocked by the voice of Indra Thomas. That girl can sing high with an astonishing ease, and yet her voice is plain/rich and powerful. Just like I love it. This was my first time to listen to her singing live and I want it more  :)

The King of Lieder is back

After quite a disappointing concert of the Brahms' "Die schöne Magelone", Matthias Goerne came back to TCE past Thursday (December 10 2009) and brought some of the most memorable singing ever: Bach cantatas straight in your face!  
Ch.Eschenbach and all of us who were in the theater that night, were totally mesmerized.  Not only Matthias was at his best, but his complicity with the orchestra was nearly perfect.
One of those evenings that remains with you foreva.

The program was completed by a magnificient cycle of songs by Hanns Eisler.

 Cantate "Der Friede sei mit dir" BWV 158
Cantate "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen" BWV 56
Cantate "Ich habe genug" BWV 82
Hanns Eisler : Ernste Gesänge

Vielen Dank!