Donizetti Songs Vol.3 Michael Spyres

£10.00

1 disc set
Single Track Download

The prolific and versatile Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti, one of the central figures of Italian bel canto opera, also wrote around 200 songs. Volume 3 features songs in French for tenor performed by Michael Spyres and pianist and Opera Rara’s Artistic Director Carlo Rizzi. Most of these songs are rarely performed and some, until recently, completely unknown. Curated by musicologist Roger Parker and under the leadership of Opera Rara’s Artistic Director Carlo Rizzi, Opera Rara presents the complete solo songs in a series of eight recital albums.

The project makes a powerful case for Donizetti as a key figure in 19th-century song repertoire, and for the importance of the Italian school in a field long dominated by German and French composers.

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  1. Le Retour au désert “Léger coursier, plus léger que le daim” Buy Track 0:32
  2. "Morte! et pourtant hier" Buy Track 0:32
  3. “Ah! si tu voulais, toi que j’aime” **Available from 24 January 2025 ** Buy Track 0:32
  4. Ma Rose “Aimer ma Rose est le sort de ma vie” Buy Track 0:32
  5. N’ayez pas peur, Madame “On vous a peint l’amour” Buy Track 0:32
  6. Le Crépuscule “L’aube naît et ta porte est close!” Buy Track 0:32
  7. La Dernière Nuit d’un Novice “Demain quand sonnera l’heure” Buy Track 0:32
  8. Berglied “Rings ruht die grüne Alpenhut” Buy Track 0:32
  9. Je te pardonne en t’oubliant “Adieu tu brises et pour jamais” Buy Track 0:32
  10. Un Rêve de bonheur “Oh! j’ai rêvé d’une étrangère” Buy Track 0:32
  11. “Je ne me plaignis pas” Buy Track 0:32
  12. “Oh! ne me chasse pas” Buy Track 0:32
  13. “Vous dont le coeur” Buy Track 0:32
  14. Oui, ton Dieu c’est le mien “Connais sur mon âme asservie” Buy Track 0:32
  15. Le Violon de Crémone “Cet instrument silencieux” **Available from 7 February 2025 ** with Eloisa-Fleur Thom, violin Buy Track 0:32
  16. “Si tu m’as fait à ton image” Buy Track 0:32
  17. “Pourquoi me dire qu’il vous aime” Buy Track 0:32
  18. Le Petit Joueur de harpe “Ô ma harpe, seul héritage” (with Sally Pryce, harp) with Sally Pryce, harp Buy Track 0:32

Description

One of Opera Rara’s most ambitious projects in its fifty-year history is to record the complete solo songs of Gaetano Donizetti.

A handful of these songs has been long known and often heard in recitals; many more are listed in specialist catalogues but very rarely if ever performed; others still have been thought lost or are completely unknown. Recent research connected with this project, undertaken by Roger Parker in collaboration with Ian Schofield, has made clear that, in total, Donizetti wrote some 200 solo songs over the course of his thirty-year career. Making modern editions of this vast corpus has been an arduous task: sources for the songs are dispersed in European libraries and beyond, the composer’s autograph scores often having been casually given away at the time of composition (typically as a present from the composer to the dedicatee). But in their totality these compositions make a powerful case for Donizetti as a key figure in nineteenth-century domestic music-making: someone whose achievements in this area deserve to be better known; a body of work that, single-handedly, makes a powerful argument for the importance of the Italian “school” in a field long dominated by German and French composers.

Cast

Michael Spyres, tenor
Carlo Rizzi, piano
Eloisa-Fleur Thom, violin (track 15)
Sally Pryce, harp (track 18)

Tracklist

[1] Le Retour au désert “Léger coursier, plus léger que le daim” (3:22)

[2] “Morte! et pourtant hier” (5:05)

[3] “Ah! si tu voulais, toi que j’aime” (3:25)

[4] Ma Rose “Aimer ma Rose est le sort de ma vie” (3:27)

[5] N’ayez pas peur, Madame “On vous a peint l’amour” (4:27)

[6] Le Crépuscule “L’aube naît et ta porte est close!” (3:33)

[7] La Dernière Nuit d’un Novice “Demain quand sonnera l’heure” (12:36)

[8] Berglied “Rings ruht die grüne Alpenhut” (2:13)

[9] Je te pardonne en t’oubliant “Adieu tu brises et pour jamais” (5:13)

[10] Un Rêve de bonheur “Oh! j’ai rêvé d’une étrangère” (2:42)

[11] “Je ne me plaignis pas” (5:13)

[12] “Oh! ne me chasse pas” (2:17)

[13] “Vous dont le coeur” (1:36)

[14] Oui, ton Dieu c’est le mien “Connais sur mon âme asservie” (2:55)

[15] Le Violon de Crémone “Cet instrument silencieux” (with Eloisa-Fleur Thom, violin) (6:38)

[16] “Si tu m’as fait à ton image” (4:30)

[17] “Pourquoi me dire qu’il vous aime” (4:18)

[18] Le Petit Joueur de harpe “Ô ma harpe, seul héritage” (with Sally Pryce, harp) (6:48)

Press Reviews

Indeed, the combination of Opera Rara Artistic Director Carlo Rizzi and American “baritenor” Michael Spyres is a match made in heaven… What makes this album unique, however, are the more unusual items… Singers should be queuing up to welcome these miniature masterpieces into their portfolios. Recorded in natural sound, the voice pulled forward just a touch, this is a peach of a recital, whetting the appetite for the rest of this important and highly enjoyable series.

Limelight, Recording of the Month

Opera Rara’s recording project, spanning a total of eight albums, is truly extraordinary… Another fascinating aspect is how Michael Spyres, now established as a Wagnerian singer handles this primarily lyrical repertoire. The result is astonishing: Spyres, with his highly agile and uniquely wide-ranging tenor voice, unveils an inexhaustible array of elegant phrasing, breathtaking messa di voce, and seamless legato lines. Combined with his natural temperament, he once again demonstrates his exceptional sensitivity to vocal colour, subtle poetic interpretation, dynamic nuance, and a seamlessly robust vocal approach—qualities that have made him so renowned.

Online Merker

These are by no means just melodically pleasing, tenderly seductive, or strikingly triumphant pieces in which the piano merely plays an accompanying role. They come from the composer’s French years, and Spyres sings them with superb technique, flawless diction, and eloquent pronunciation.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Written for various reasons—commissions, tributes, or artistic collaborations – these melodies cover a wide range of emotions, all marked by theatricality, elegance, and an effortless musicality that makes them instantly captivating… This third volume also offers a rare opportunity to hear Michael Spyres in the romantic repertoire, where he remains unrivalled. The American tenor once again demonstrates his deep understanding of the bel canto style and his mastery of the French language, delivering each prosodic nuance with clarity that makes every word intelligible.

Forum Opéra

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