Chansons Perpetuelles

Marie-Nicole Lemieux’s sixth recital recording on Naïve is a series of breathtaking melodies from the last decade of the 19 century, “a pivotal era that was incredibly rich and varied – and I believe this programme provides an accurate portrait of it.” Marie-Nicole Lemieux said.

Marie-Nicole Lemieux, and Roger Vignoles, internationally recognised as one of the world’s most distinguished accompanists of today, will tour this programme in several of the leading European venues in 2015.

“These were the peak years of French mélodie: we hear Fauré – the Mélodies de Venise were among his first successes; Koechlin, who is very little known today but who was very forward-looking in his orchestration and harmony; and Chausson and Lekeu as well. The composers I’ve assembled are all linked with chamber and instrumental music: it’s that intimate side that interests me, which explains the choice of Wolf rather than Strauss. In the end, the programme is a wide-ranging journey through late 19th-century Europe, illustrated by songs that I love, that I listen to myself. I like the variety of mood you get in a programme of this sort. You don’t sing Rachmaninov the same way you sing Fauré – especially the texts by Verlaine, which I adore and which for me are the poems that best lend themselves to singing. I wanted to emphasise the genuinely embodied, physical side of the sensuality in Fauré.”